(soft upbeat music) - Runner's knee is something you hear fairly regularly in the running world. It is something that can
seriously hamper your training or leave you completely sidelined. So today, I'm heading to the gym, and I'm gonna be taking a closer look at what exactly is going
on in runner's knee and, more importantly, how you can prevent and avoid it in the first place. (beeping) Okay, so runner's knee is probably something most of you have heard about, but do you really know what it is? Well, I'm going to very
quickly try and explain, and to help I brought in a model knee. Now, this is actually a
slightly poorly model knee because it's actually got
a ruptured ACL tendon here. So actually count yourself lucky if you've only got a runner's knee. But actually all jokes aside, ignoring this dangly ACL tendon, it's actually gonna help me demonstrate and run through how the knee works. So you've got the knee cap,
the patella, just here, and that's situated over the knee joint. And that is all held
in place by the muscles and then obviously the tendons that are connected to those muscles. So you've got the quadriceps tendon here coming out above the patella, and then that would go into
your quadriceps muscle. And then beneath that, we
have the patella tendon, so that connects from the patella down into the top of the tibia. Now runner's knee is actually
a bit of an umbrella term for one of several conditions that can cause this discomfort or pain around the kneecap patella region. But as the name suggests, runner's knee, it is most commonly caused by running, but actually, any activity
that stresses the knee joint could be a cause of this disorder. So it could be walking, could be skiing, could be jumping, could
even be playing football. But if you were to have runner's knee what you would experience is perhaps a dull aching feeling above, below, or even behind the kneecap. You may even experience some swelling, or you may even get
some cracking, popping, or grinding sort of feeling
or sensation within the knee. Now this is all caused by an irritation of the soft tissue or lining of the knee. You can even have worn or torn cartridge, or you could even have
some strained tendons. Now obviously, this is not
something any of us want, or if you do actually have some ongoing issues with runner's knee, then you probably want to
know how to prevent it. So, let's run through some tips. (soft upbeat music) So first of all, you
should gradually increase your training volume and intensity, and regardless of runner's knee, that is just good
training advice full stop. You should never dramatically
increase any of your training. You should always be making sure that it's done incrementally. In fact, if you were to
flip through a running book and flip to the chapter
on increasing mileage, you would inevitably find them
talking about the 10% rule, and what that is referring to is that you should never
increase your training or volume by more than 10% per week. So for instance, if you're
currently running 30 minutes at a steady aerobic pace, the following week you'd run 33 minutes, and then the third week 36 to 37 minutes, and then after a month of running you should be up to running
around 40 to 45 minutes. And that is actually
just a good rule of thumb across all the sports,
swimming, cycling, running, and even exercises that
you're doing in the gym. (soft upbeat music) Okay, but now let's move on
to another really key area and that is your flexibility
and your mobility. So here are a few really
important stretches that you should really keep on top of. Now the first one is a kneeling
hip flexor and quad stretch, and this is actually
one of my all-time faves because not only does it hit a couple of really big key areas at once, it's also just easy to
do in front of the TV. Now personally, this is actually a bit of a nemesis area for myself because I know that if I
don't keep on top of this, I do start to experience a bit of discomfort and mild
pain within my knee. But actually, by doing this stretch, pretty much instantly
I relieve the pressure in my knee and the joint. So get into a knee length lunge position with one knee on the floor and the other leg bent 90
degrees in front of you. This is your starting position. Squeezing your glutes, shift your body weight slightly forward while maintaining an upright torso. Reach around to grab
your foot with your hand and increase the stretch. Hold this for 20 to 30 seconds. Obviously, if your knee is sore, then make sure it is well cushioned, or you can always stand up and put your knee of the sofa behind you. Now for a quick and easy one
and this is the glute stretch. Now the glute is actually
the largest muscle in the human body, so by improving the
flexibility in this muscle, we will undoubtedly help
to easy any knee pain by preventing any overuse or even by improving
on any limited movement that might be the cause. Now lie face up on the floor
with your knees and hips bent. Place your right ankle
across your left thigh. Grab your left thigh with both hands and pull it gently towards your chest. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds
and then switch legs. Now when your calves are tight, this can actually force your
knees to move in or out. It tends to be an inwards movement. But this can cause pain. And this is actually another area that I really have to keep on top of. Now stand on the edge of a curb or step and place your
left foot on the ground, keeping the ball of your
right foot on the step. Allow your right heel
to drop below the step and hold here for 20 to 30
seconds and then switch sides. Additionally, I would really suggest the use of a foam roller. And personally, I would
be in a lot of trouble without one of these because it is incredibly
common for the ITP to get tight on a lot of athletes, and that can lead to pain
or discomfort in the knee, and the best way to loosen that off is by using the foam roller. So lie on your right side and place the foam roller
just below your right hip. Cross your left leg over and place it on the
ground in front of you. Keep your right hand or forearm on the ground to stabilize yourself, and then using that left leg, you can push yourself
down the foam roller, stopping just above your right knee. And then, repeat the same motion but back up towards your hip. Do this as many times
as you feel necessary and then switch over and
repeat on the other leg. (soft upbeat music) Now another really important
area that we need to address is your strength and your stability. Because after all, when we're running, we're essentially hopping
from one leg to the other, so it's really important that we're solid and we're stable on one leg at a time. So a really good exercise for
this is the single leg squat. Now this is fantastic
because it not only helps to improve the strength in both the glutes but also it activates the quads and basically all the
muscles in the lower limb. So when you are performing this, the idea isn't just to go for
the deepest squat possible. You actually want to execute
the squat really well and make sure that everything's
really well aligned. So hips are level and the knee
tracks nicely over the foot. Stand with both feet pointing
forwards, hip width apart. Lift your left foot off the ground and balance on your right foot. Now bend your right leg
and slowly lower yourself, making sure your knee doesn't go past your foot or lean forwards. Push back up slowly to
your starting position. Start of with three sets
of five reps per leg, and overtime this can be increased or even performed on an unstable
ground like a BOSU ball. And now for some side leg lifts
but with a slight variation because this example is also gonna focus on some core and trunk
stability and strengthening. So on your side, support
yourself on your elbow and your knee closest to the ground by bending your leg behind you. Make sure your hips are level and legs are stacked on top of each other. Then with a straight top leg, raise it off the floor
to a comfortable height without moving the rest of yourself. Then, slowly drop that leg back down. Start off with three sets
of five reps per leg. And the final one is the clam shell, and this will really help
to activate, strengthen, and stabilize around the hip region. And this will ultimately help to prevent the knees from being unstable or, in fact, over working to compensate. So lie on your right side with your knees bent on top of each other and your right arm under
your head to support it. Keeping your feet together,
open the clam shell by lifting your top knee up. You should make sure that your
pelvis and core remain stable and then slowly close the clam shell. Repeat 15 times and switch sides. Well there we go, there
are some tips to hopefully avoid runner's knee for yourself. But if you are someone that has experienced runner's knee before and you perhaps have
some really good advice that you'd like to share, then please do drop them in
the comment section below. I'm sure everyone would love to learn from your experience and your advice. Now if you like this video, please hit that thumbs up button, and if you'd like to see
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S and C exercises for runners, then just click down here, and if you'd like to see our
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