When your knees hurt while running/walking/hiking, it could be due to a few reasons.

When your knees hurt while running/walking/hiking, it could be due to a few reasons.

·         Poor fitting running shoes

·         Increased muscle tone, leading to increased stress at the patella tendon (around the knee cap)

·         Decreased joint motion, causing compression pain along the joint line

·         Gait biomechanical issues

o   Crossing your feet while you run

o   Not bending your knees enough

o   Over bending your knees

Incorrect running and walking gait is more likely what is causing the knee pain. Crossing your feet over midline at initial contact puts a lot of force on the outside of your knee. When people strike their heels, and land out in front of themselves, they tend to land with a reduced amount of knee flexion causing extra stress to occur at the patella tendon (around the knee cap). Combine crossing your feet and with heel strike, and you have a recipe for a lot of knee pain. Over bending your knees between initial contact and midstance (when your foot is directly under your body) causes the shock from the ground to go into the tendon just below your knee cap (patella tendon) instead of distributing the force throughout your muscles and leg. If you’re whipping your feet after pushing off, then pain can develop from irritation of the bursa behind your knee.

Athletes can benefit from getting their gait analyzed and form corrected. Chiropractic care (soft tissue massage, joint manipulation) and muscular rehabilitation is the best combination of treatment for correcting any gait biomechanical issues.

Dr. Verity Stow offers chiropractic care and rehabilitation in North Vancouver for a wide range of injuries and conditions. To book an appointment click the “Book Now” button on the upper right.