What do you do if running hurts your knees?

[felixwhynot@lemmy.world]

Thanks yeah that seems like a reasonable choice

[asdasd@lemmy.world]

have you thought about trying cycling?

[abbadon420@lemm.ee]

I get pain in my shins when I run outside. I exclusive run on the treadmill now and that works for me.

[skunkworkz@lemmy.world]

Maybe do strength training and stretching exercise first that target the leg muscles. A lot of knee pain comes from imbalanced leg muscles. Like when one side of the leg is too stiff or too weak.

[delphia@lemmy.world]

https://youtube.com/@thekneesovertoesguy

Check out this guy. Now full transparency I've never checked his stuff out, but people who know far more than I do say he is legit and I know a few people who have used his videos to work through injuries and improve their range of motion and it worked.

Theres also some "Performance enhancing compounds" that can supposedly improve longevity and recovery that can help with joint issues but thats a whole rabbit hole and the research just isnt definitive, I've dabbled and I feel like they worked and know stuff but I'm not trying to advertise for that sort of thing.

[ryedaft@sh.itjust.works]

It depends. Do they hurt because the cartilage is gone? Then I'm pretty sure you are boned and have to pick one of the other three midlife crisis. Otherwise try physiotherapy. Lots of things cause knee pain: imbalance of muscle strength, muscle tightness, poor running style, bad shoes. Don't power through on pain killers - you don't want to also be in pain when you aren't running. Oh, and bad shoes is the last thing to look at out of those four. People can generally run in anything. A shoe that compensates for one of the other three problems is not a good shoe.

[sassyramen@lemmy.world]

You've got a muscle there.

The pain could be from a lot of things:

Shoes too tight, the way you roll your foot as you run, schin splints (very doubtful), even not being hydrated could be a cause for your issue.

The right running shoes are also very important.

[gamer@lemm.ee]

Don't use drugs to solve a problem like this. You'll just build a tolerance and solve nothing.

Look into strength training as others suggested. Start with bodyweight exercises before moving on to weights. It'll take a while though as you'll need to experiment to find what works, and ofc exercise isn't an overnight thing.

Maybe also consult a physical therapist.

And if all of that is too much, running isn't the only effective cardio exercise. Cycling, swimming and less obvious/weird ones like slideboard mountain climbers, which should all be easier on the knees

[olafurp@lemmy.world]

Running is in most cases good for knee health in the long term. It could be that you just need to take it slower to build up the knee strength.

Important: If you feel pain, stop and wait for it to recover.

[felixwhynot@lemmy.world]

I do love cycling and sometimes use the bike in the gym. Running would be cheap and convenient tho