Do you always have knee pain when running? The problem is that your butt isn't strong enough!

Do you often experience knee pain from running but don’t know where the problem lies? Rehabilitation physicians say that the root cause of many leg sports injuries is actually weak hips, and "iliotibial band syndrome" is a common cause of knee pain in runners. Runners with iliotibial band syndrome usually have particularly weak hip muscles. Therefore, if you want to prevent sports injuries, the key is to exercise your hip muscles!

Although jogging is mainly driven by the legs, long-term jogging requires the gluteal muscles to support the thighs. Only when the gluteal muscles are strong enough can the leg muscles have more endurance when running. Modern people sit for long periods of time, so they have fewer opportunities to use their gluteal muscles, causing them to become increasingly weak. If the muscles in the buttocks and legs are not strong enough, they will need to rely on auxiliary muscles and ligaments for support when running, which can easily lead to "iliotibial band tightness" in the long run.

Knee pain from running turns out to be caused by iliotibial band syndrome

Dr. Scott Wang, a resident physician in the rehabilitation department of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said that iliotibial band syndrome is a common cause of knee pain in runners. Risk factors for this disease include running long distances, running downhill, and poor running posture.

In the past, some scholars conducted research and unexpectedly discovered that runners with iliotibial band syndrome also have particularly weak hip muscles. The buttocks are the largest muscle in the human body. In addition to propelling the body forward when walking or running, the buttocks are also an important contributor to maintaining body posture. When we walk, the gluteus medius must contract to keep the pelvis level. When the gluteus medius is weak, the pelvis will tilt to one side.

Strengthening the gluteus medius muscle can help relieve iliotibial band syndrome

What happens if your gluteus medius doesn't work properly when you run? Other muscles and soft tissues must replace lazy colleagues and do some work that they are not used to. At this time, the iliotibial band will be pulled, tightened, and excessively rubbed, which will cause inflammation over time and produce painful symptoms.

Some studies in the past have found that when patients with IT band syndrome were given rehabilitation to strengthen their gluteus medius muscles, their pain disappeared after 6 weeks.

KO iliotibial band syndrome stretch + roller to relax the iliotibial band

So how do you relax an overly tight iliotibial band before running? Dr. Wang Siheng pointed out that you can use stretching and rollers to relax the iliotibial band before running. For example, the stretching exercise on the left side below and the picture on the right side below use a foam roller to use the weight of the body for local massage and relaxation.

One thing to remind you here is that it is true that these exercises can temporarily relieve tight iliotibial bands, but if the posture is not corrected, the pain will soon come back.

★【Strengthen the gluteal muscles and hamstring muscles】

【Action 1／Clamshell pose】

action:

1. Lie on your side on a suitable mat with your feet bent.

2. Keep your feet in place and lift your thighs and calves upward, stretching them like opening a clam shell.

Tips: When doing this, you will feel the outer and upper side of your buttocks contracting. If you do it in the correct posture, you will feel muscle soreness without any weight!

[Action 2/Lying on your side with your thighs spread out]

Movement: Start with your feet together, then step out with your top foot, contracting your gluteus medius to resist gravity.

[Action 3/Pelvic Lift and Lower]

Action: Place one foot on the training board and use the strength of the gluteus medius to lift the pelvis on the airborne side for a few seconds, then do the same action on the other side.

Tips: The important function of the gluteus medius is to maintain pelvic stability during walking and running, so standing on one leg is the best way to challenge the gluteus medius.

[Action 4/Single-leg deadlift]

This is my personal favorite exercise. It trains the gluteal muscles and hamstring muscles at the same time, and also challenges the sole muscles of the feet a lot (if you have tried it, you will know why).

Action: Hold a kettlebell in each hand (optional), lean forward, lift one foot back in the air, keep the body in a straight line for a few seconds, then switch sides and do the same action.

Tips: This movement is relatively difficult. You can start without any weights, and then add dumbbells or kettlebells to increase the challenge.