Running is an excellent sport for overall health — strengthening your musculoskeletal and cardiac systems — but injuries are common, even if you’re careful to avoid them.

Most of us don’t have formal running training, yet running remains a popular way to exercise. More than 60 million people ran or jogged in 2017. 

We expect our knees to absorb the shock of running and our joints to work. Unfortunately, our bodies don’t always cooperate. The most common injuries can include sprains, tears, fractures and dislocations. The result is pain, inflammation and swelling -- but it doesn’t have to be.

Your knee joints are made up of bone, ligaments, cartilage and fluid, which all must work together to allow for smooth movement and shock absorption. The knee joint is one of the easiest to injure, because it is largest joint in the body.

Proactive injury avoidance is the best way to keep your knees pain-free and keep you logging those miles.  

Once you have conditioned your body with strengthening and stretching exercises, you can focus on other facets of running. Each of these can help enhance your ability to run with ease.

Unfortunately, sometimes injuries happen, even when we do our best to avoid them. If you have pain in your knees after a run, try the RICE method for two weeks.

Rest. Try to avoid putting unnecessary weight on your knees.  

Ice. Use a cold pack for 20 minutes at a time on the painful area.

Compression.  Wrap the knee with a soft bandage or bandage wrap.

Elevate. While resting, elevate the area to reduce swelling.  

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