There is nothing more painful than being denied what you love most. Knee pain can be quite disturbing when it comes to running. Many have witnessed their running career drain down into an endless pit just because their knees are painful. Do you really think knee pain should be an obstacle to your joy and success? I mean why would such a manageable condition bring so much pain and loss to you? Honestly, I believe it’s high time we stood still and realize that some of these conditions are manageable and sometimes may be temporary that is if well managed. As a matter of concern, we have placed this issue under thorough and detailed research in order to come up with tips to help you in running with bad or painful knees. Our research bore us fruits and below is a rundown encompassing some of the basic tips for running with bad knees.
- Do a warm-up
When you want to get used to something, you begin with the less then upgrade gradually until you reach the peak. A warm-up is very crucial when it comes to running with bad knees. It helps prepare your knees to cope with the forthcoming running exercise. A warm-up maybe in the form of normal body exercises like push-ups and squatting. You may also prefer walking as a type of warm-up. Remember walking is just but a slower version of running. Both of them uses the same muscles. So now you can see how walking will work out well as a warm-up before the real deal.
- Wear the right shoes
Running is a very challenging activity and requires great attention. Choosing the right shoes for exercise is part of the attention needed. You will not start running on some sandals or your high-heeled shoes. That will be so much unreasonable of you. Understand that the type of shoes you put on when running should reflect and cater to the needs of a bad knee victim. Therefore, it is recommended that get yourself some best running shoes for bad knees. In case you are not aware of the qualities and features of the shoes, kindly see our reviews on the best shoes for bad knees.
- Run short intervals with walking
Do not think that you are fit for running continuously throughout. Just be gentle and patient with yourself. Make a schedule to guide you during the entire exercise. Start with running thrice at most in a week. Running on a daily basis could worsen your condition and that is not what we wish for. And most importantly, run and walk in intervals. That is, you should walk after every 30-meter run. Either way, you can alternate 20 seconds of running with 40 seconds of walking. This way, your knees will adapt gradually to the whole thing and with time, you will realize that things are really working well for you.
- Lean forward
Most of the pain you experience on your knees is caused by the force created after you hit the ground when running. There is a certain sort of shock that is produced after every single stride you make. This shock flows up all the way from your feet to the knee joints. That is now when you feel that piercing pain in within your knee joints. So in order to prevent or rather reduce this force/shock, it is advisable that you run in a lean-forward posture. This posture will reduce the force or shock significantly.
- Improve on your stride rate
Do you know what “stride rate” means? Okay, am right here to expound on that for you. Well, as far as am concerned, stride rate refers to how fast you make your strides. High stride rate is correspondent to shorter steps which all together builds up a faster pace. This is said to be an effective way to reduce the workload that is placed on the knees’ caps when running.
Conclusion
Now that you know the trick behind your misery, what else holds you back from pursuing your running ambitions? Nothing at all should stand in between and running provided you can manage/control it. Having bad/painful knees is just but a very minor issue compared to what you will lose after you give up with your running career. The decision is all yours to make though.
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