Runner's Knee

There are many major benefits to running when it comes to health. Such benefits include improved cardiovascular health, strength, endurance, and overall fitness. Taking a jog around the block will have a substantially more positive than negative impact on one’s health, however, that being said, running, like everything else in life, has its cons. The major downside to running is that it is an exercise that is very hard and unforgiving on the joints of one’s body. 

The repetitive motion of striding out as we run and the pounding on our knees can slowly but surely irritate the patella as it slides past surrounding bones. This pain in one’s knee is often called "runners knee" due to how common it is among runners. Now I am clearly no expert on the matter, so if you would like to read up further on the causes of runners knee, its symptoms, and how to help prevent it as much as possible, please visit http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=150629. 

Given that I am not well researched and informed on knee injuries or how to prevent them, I will leave it up to you to look up “runner’s knee” on google and browse through the hundreds of websites and articles that come up. I wanted to write this article simply to remind you all that knee and join issues can be very serious and are not something to joke around about or ignore. I have has a minor experience with knee pain, but I know others on my team who have had much worse knee pain and injuries. My pain arose my freshman year toward the end of my first cross country season ever. I ignored the discomfort for a little while until I realized that I should probably get my knee checked out when it didn’t seem to be getting any better after two weeks. Fortunately for me, there were so few weeks left in the season at that point that I could fight through my knee problem and cause only mild pain. Most people are not this lucky though, so please don’t ignore the knee pain and remember to try your best to follow all the necessary procedures and precautions to ensure that you stay as injury-free as possible.