Runner's Knee: Orthopaedic experts explain how athletes can overcome the issue for the Thanksgiving Day Race
Thursday, November 10, 2022

by Liz Bonis, WKRC

Read the full article HERE.

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - It is that time of year where we are getting ready for the Thanksgiving Day Race.

One of the common complaints coming into area sports medicine specialists related to it is "runner’s knee." It can come from a number of things.

The team at OrthoCincy says you can lower your odds of it with proper stretching and training.

Dr. Adam Metzler is a knee specialist who says you do not always have to stop running, but here is what could be causing it, and here are the most common treatments for it.

“Runner’s Knee is another sort of generic term for a lot of different things it can be patella tendonitis, quadriceps tendonitis, it can be overall inflammation from running, they may have patella instability things like that can all cause irritation or inflammation from running,” Dr. Metzler said. “Really, the main thing is to try to figure out why they are having pain, and we are going to recommend seeing somebody at first, stop running initially, rest, ice, maybe some anti-inflammatories, if they have a chronic history maybe we are going to get MRI's, imaging and work them from there, but a lot of times physical therapy is very effective for Runner’s Knee.”

One good thing is that if it helps -- they do let you walk the Thanksgiving Day Race, and Dr. Metzler says there is a common training program called “Couch to 5K” that can help you go from doing nothing to being able to run a 5K in six to nine weeks and avoid injury.

To learn more about Dr. Metzler and other OrthoCincy physicians, click HERE.