Forums >Running 101>Knees are Tight
I'm running about 12 miles per week right now. The average length of my run is about 3 miles but they can go up to 6. Sometimes my knees feel tight or "there" the day after a run. They don't hurt, I am just aware of them, at the least. But, this doesn't always happen.
Does this have something to do with my stride?
not bad for mile 25
Your stride or your shoes. I ran for a couple of years before I figured out that my shoes were the cause of my knee pain.
What changes can I make to my stride to see if that's the cause?
#artbydmcbride
Try to kick higher in back with each stride. Not actually kick your butt, but lift your feet higher towards your butt.
Runners run
Thanks, I will try it this evening.
I'm going against the grain here and saying that it's not a form issue so much as it is a training load issue. Based on your statement that you run about 12 miles a week, and your runs are between 3 and 6 miles each, I'm guessing you are only running two or three times a week.
I'm also guessing that the aching/tightness tends to show up after one of those longer runs, yes?
First thing I would do is not run over about 4 miles at a time for now.
Second thing I would do is focus on running at least 3 times every week, and try to hit 4 times a week more often than not.
Third thing I would do is try to determine how hard you are running those miles. If you finish a run and don't feel like you could turn around right then and there and do the whole thing over again at the exact same effort, then you ran too hard. Next time, focus on keeping it easy.
You could get your shoes checked out, make sure they aren't too worn out. But I am putting my money on the training side of things first.
You also have the name "Spin Chick". I will go out on a limb and ask... do you take/teach spinning classes? How many times per week?
rectumdamnnearkilledem
This...Spin, I've been having some mild pain/stiffness in my left knee, lately (mostly in the first 2 miles of runs). It's coinciding with increasing mileage/effort load on my bike (that hot stretch of weather had me substituting a few runs with rides). My quads are starting to feel noticeably firmer/stronger, so I suspect there's a bit of muscle tightness/imbalance at play. Particularly since I pretty much never stretch after rides--a habit I need to break.
Are you stretching after workouts (running and cycling/spinning)? I agree with Scout7 re: your longest runs. Perhaps keep your longest at no more than 4-5 miles for a while.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
That... and... if you take spinning, it is possible you need to adjust your bike. (if you *teach* spinning, you probably know this part like the back of your hand)
Oh, yeah...it's really amazing how many issues a saddle even a cm too high or too low can wreak.
I'm running 3-4 times per week, I've just had a couple of days off here and there. Mileage is an estimate.
Shoes are a month old, so I don't think it's the shoes. And yes, the tightness is sometimes after a longer run, but not always.
I stretched last night after my run, but I have to get back into it again.
Finally (!) I don't teach spin classes but I am an avid cyclist, hence the name.
Thanks for all the suggestions!
Biomimeticist
there is no such thing as having "tight" knees.
What you're doing is running with increased friction in the joint.
The biological explanation is running with higher than manageable levels of pronation in your step.
Experts said the world is flat
Experts said that man would never fly
Experts said we'd never go to the moon
Name me one of those "experts"...
History never remembers the name of experts; just the innovators who had the guts to challenge and prove the "experts" wrong
If that's true, then I pronate some of the time and not others?
It's time for you to learn the "T-Rex".
Pronation is natural in humans. What determines it is the strength difference between each leg as well as what your dominant side of your body is.
Right handed athletes are far more vulnerable to knee issues in their right leg than their weaker side.
The largest variable is fatigue. Pronation is a byproduct of forward lean, so the body naturally increases in forward lean as one fatiges.
Another variable is a change in terrain incline can impart the same results.
Biological reality is that each one of your legs functions with completely different biomechanic processes. How you compensate for that is the string of variables ending up in knee pain.
Do you have a history of IT band issues or other pains?
Without watching you run personally, it would be hard to diagnose your exact issue, but the above lists the most common variables to influence its cause.