The Common Running Mistake That Might Be Causing You Knee Pain

Running is an excellent cardio workout that can help improve long-term heart health, sleep quality, and even our overall emotional and mental health.

However, for many of us, running can be difficult or even painful, making us wonder if our bodies are not suited to this intense workout.But are we running the wrong way?

The unfortunate reality is that many of us are like this.

Running itself is not harmful and, contrary to what many people believe, it does not hurt your knees.However, if your running posture is slightly off, it can put pressure on the joints and lead to short or long term pain.So while it’s fun to demonize the sport itself, the problem is often with us.The problem is with us.

Some things you do while running may increase the risk of injury.

Therefore, it’s more important to adapt to your running style rather than avoid running because of a knee injury.

Many people who experience knee pain from running are doing what is known as “striding too much”.

If you’re running with your heels straight out first on the ground and your legs in front of you, this usually means that your toes are pointing slightly upwards towards the sky, which can actually lead to an increase in strength throughout the body.And usually the shins or knees will feel it the strongest.This puts more pressure on your joints.

So, if our stride is too big and thus ruining our running experience, how do we correct it?Where exactly should our feet land?

Ideally, the knees should bend more when you land – the knees bend more so that the feet fall almost under you.This benefits the muscles, which can take much more force than the joints themselves because they can actually spread the force.So let the quads, hamstrings and gluteus maximus absorb the force of the landing.In other words, maybe less jumping and more conscious landing.