Injury corner: Runner's Knee

Runner's Knee or Chondromalacia is a softening, wearing away, or cracking of the cartilage under the kneecap. This softening and inflammation prevents the kneecap from riding smoothly over the knee. Pain typically occurs around or behind the kneecap and worsens when sitting with legs bent for a long period of time or climbing stairs.

Runner’s knee is caused by several factors, including a high quadriceps angle, wide hips (female runners), and pronation of the feet. Most often, week quadriceps muscles will be the problem, as they do not absorb a sufficient amount of the impact or running, passing down the impact onto the knees.

Common Runner's knee treatments include icing the area around the knee, using running shoes with better motion control, utilizing orthotics, and avoiding anything that requires the knee to stabilize itself (such as running on uneven surfaces, steep downhills and tight turns).