Help for Runners with Knee Pain

From Dr Mercola.com

New research shows that a twice weekly hip strengthening regimen proved effective at reducing or eliminating the kind of knee pain referred to as patellofemoral pain (PFP) in female runners.  Stronger hips may correct running form errors that contribute to PFP.

The study used a pain scale of 0 to 10, with 3 representing the onset of pain and 7 representing very strong pain. The injured runners began the six-week trial registering pain of 7 when they ran on a treadmill, and finished the study period registering pain levels of 2 or lower.

According to Science Daily:

"PFP, one of the most common running injuries, is caused when the thigh bone rubs against the back of the knee cap. Runners with PFP typically do not feel pain when they begin running, but once the pain begins, it gets increasingly worse ... PFP essentially wears away cartilage and can have the same effect as osteoarthritis."

Vigorous physical activity in young children results in stronger hip bones.

More than 200 six-year olds participated in a study. Researchers measured bone mass and analyzed the structure of the hip and thigh bone. Physical activity was assessed for seven days.

According to Science Daily:

"The results showed that there was a relationship between time spent in vigorous activity and strength of the femoral neck, both in terms of shape and volumetric mineral density. This was independent of other factors such as diet, lifestyle and physical size."
Poor form during exercise can end up frequently hurting your knees and cause you to develop problems like patellofemoral pain (PFP) which frequently occurs in female runners. PFP occurs when your thigh bone starts rubbing against the back of your knee cap while running.According to a pilot study, this type of pain can be reduced or even eliminated simply by strengthening your hips.Granted, this was a very small, preliminary study, but your body almost always has the innate ability to rebalance itself when something is out of alignment, so the theory is quite plausible.The key is to determine which area needs to be strengthened to correct the imbalance.In this case, the theory that strengthening your hips to improve your gait, which in turn might correct the form error that contributes to PFP, makes sense, as stronger hips will help reduce the severity of the "q" angle on your leg alignment. The q angle is more severe on women because the distance between a woman's femur bones is greater for child-bearing reasons.  This ends up putting more pressure on women's knee joints. The hip-strengthening exercises prescribed during this study involved single-leg squats and resistance band exercises, twice a week for 30-45 minutes, for six weeks. The results were surprisingly positive as the majority of the runners no longer experienced onset of pain when running at the end of the trial.
So, if knee pain is bothering seek out a "qualified " professional who can evaluate you to find your imbalances and prescribe an appropriate exercise program for you.  Hint - if your laying on a table or the floor doing various leg lifts you are in the WRONG place!
Life is a sport. Get Strong! Stay Strong!
Chris