Runner's Knee
Article by John Miller


What is Runner’s Knee?
Runner’s Knee
As the name suggests Runner’s Knee is knee pain suffered by runners. Rather than being a specific condition, runner’s knee can be one of the numerous injuries. Essentially most runner’s knee falls into either anterior knee pain or lateral knee pain commonly experienced by runners.
What Causes Runner’s Knee?
Anterior Runner’s Knee Pain Sources
Anterior knee pain is pain felt in the front of your knee. The most common conditions in runners are:
- Patellofemoral Joint Pain Syndrome
- Chondromalacia Patella
- Patella Tendonitis
- Knee Bursitis
- Fat Pad Syndrome
Lateral Runner’s Knee Pain
Lateral knee pain is felt on the outside of your knee.The most common cause of lateral knee pain in runners is Iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome.
What are the Symptoms of Runner’s Knee?
As mentioned earlier, runner’s knee is not a specific diagnosis but rather a cluster of knee pain conditions suffered by runners.
Therefore, by definition, runner’s knee symptoms can be described as “knee pain during or after running”. In most cases, they are overuse type injuries rather than acute trauma.
For more specific symptoms, it is best to have your runner’s knee professionally assessed to identify the specific injury. Until then, more information about the various runner’s knee conditions and their symptoms please click the link to the specific conditions.
- Patellofemoral Joint Pain Syndrome
- Chondromalacia Patella
- Patella Tendonitis
- Knee Bursitis
- Fat Pad Impingement
- Iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome.
How is Runner’s Knee Diagnosed?
Your sports physiotherapist or sports physician are experts in the diagnosis of runner’s knee. For an accurate diagnosis, please seek their professional opinion since treatment can vary considerably depending on the diagnosis.
Runner’s Knee Treatment?
Runner’s knee treatment will vary according to the specific underlying condition.
Common Causes - Knee Pain
Knee pain can have many origins from local injury, referred pain, biomechanical issues and systemic issues. While knee pain can appear simple to the untrained eye, a thorough assessment is often required to ascertain the origin of your symptoms. The good news is that once a definitive diagnosis is determined, most knee pain quickly resolves with the correct treatment and rehabilitation.
Knee Ligament Injuries
- Knee Ligament Injuries
- ACL Injury
- PCL Injury
- MCL Sprain
- LCL Sprain
- Posterolateral Corner Injury
- Superior Tibiofibular Joint Sprain
Knee Meniscus Injuries
Kneecap Pain
- Chondromalacia Patella
- Fat Pad Syndrome
- Patella Dislocation
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
- Osgood Schlatter’s Disease
- Sinding Larsen Johansson Syndrome
Knee Arthritis
Knee Tendon Injuries
Muscle Injuries
- Corked Thigh
- Thigh Muscle Strain
- Hamstring Strain
- ITB Syndrome
- Popliteus Syndrome
- Muscle Strain (Muscle Pain)
- Cramps
- DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
Knee Bursitis
Children’s Knee Conditions
Other Knee-Related Conditions
- Runner’s Knee
- Plica Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Stress Fracture
- Overuse Injuries
- Restless Legs Syndrome
- Sciatica
Knee Surgery
For specific information regarding your knee pain, please seek the assistance of a healthcare professional with a particular interest in knee condition, such as your physiotherapist.