Knee Pain from Treadmill?

Toddrific

It seems my knee hurts, but only running on a treadmill.


#17.

Does this sound normal?
It doesn't bother me doing other activities or throughout the day.
If I try running on a trail after running on the treadmill, it does still bother me.

On days I don't run, I do squats. I'm thinking this might be related.

It's really not bad enough to see a doctor as it doesn't linger very long after using the treadmill.

Any ideas would be appreaciated, Thanks!

brianz72

I don't know about "normal", but it's common... knees are pretty complicated pieces of machinery. I'm 39 and my knees hurt sometimes from the treadmill. They make painless grinding/popping noises all the time, but only hurt once in a while. When they hurt, I give them a rest. I also mix in some rowing machine work just to add variety.

Wouldn't surprise me if the squats were more at fault than the treadmill though it's hard to speculate. I find that my knees are noisier with the grinding/popping when I lift heavy objects.

Toddrific

Good idea about mixing it up, back to swimming.
Thanks.

Silver_Star

Maybe because the surface is pretty hard? My knees hurt sometimes too, and i just walk even...
would wearing a knee bandage ( neoprene?) help?

kbmnurse

I know what you mean. Bilateral knee pain when I run on treadmills. So I don't.

Toddrific

Yeah, if it hurts when you do something, don't do it

Now that I think about it, I might have a knee bandage...good idea.

lisapr123

All I know is when I run on a treadmill I experience a whole host of problems I don't experience when I run on the road.

Specifically knee, foot, and ankle pains.

I think my gait isn't as natural on a treadmill. I've traded treadmill runs for outdoor ones, regardless of weather.

Hope it goes away soon for you!

josavage

I take glucosamine every day. If I don't, my knees hurt when I run. I didn't take it at all on my vacation in March and when I got back, my knees really hurt. After about 2 weeks of taking the glucosamine again, I'm now running pain free.

marycmeadows

running is hard on the knees period - whether you do it on the treadmill or outdoors. (don't get me wrong, I still do it, but it's really hard on your body)

Typically when I get knee pain it's actually from muscles in other areas being tight and pulling on my knees. foam rolling and rolling with the stick -- along with a little ice - usually help clear it up. This is also true of my back pain, had back pain for years, thought I was just stuck with it, but got introduced to foam rolling - fixed that problem.

TluvK

The typical problem with knee pain associated with running is your shoes. I also have knee pain though and have been diagnosed with runner's knee, but it's not the same pain location as you've indicated you're having problems. I'd check your shoes. Have you been fitted? You really do need to get new shoes pretty often if you run regularly and I firmly believe it's really important to get fitted. I used to run, before my knee problems, about 40 miles a week, and got new shoes about every 3 months or so.

I'm seeing a physical therapist for my knee and she's told me things to watch out for with squats and lunges:

Squats: Feet should be shoulder width apart, chest up, pressure on your heels.
Lunges: Keep your body straight - no bowing forward - this puts unnecessary pressure on your knees and not enough pressure on the area that you're meaning to improve.

As for the knee wrap or neoprene - it won't do much for you except give you a little piece of mind - but that's worth something, right?

Patty_Petz

I was thinking along the same line as lisapr123 - being very conscious of your foot fall on the treatmill vs. outdoor.

I had a smiliar issue when I started on the treadmill (foot pain vs. knee) but I paid attention to how my foot hit the treadmill and I was being lazy and not picking my foot up enough, so I worked at correcting my gait on the treadmill and now it no longer bothers me.

I hope you find your fix - there are some really good options here for you!

Toddrific

Just finished a little session with me and my foam roller. I also did a bent knee calf stretch and that aggravated it, thinking maybe the tight calf pulled on the knee?

TluvK

running is hard on the knees period - whether you do it on the treadmill or outdoors. (don't get me wrong, I still do it, but it's really hard on your body)

Typically when I get knee pain it's actually from muscles in other areas being tight and pulling on my knees. foam rolling and rolling with the stick -- along with a little ice - usually help clear it up. This is also true of my back pain, had back pain for years, thought I was just stuck with it, but got introduced to foam rolling - fixed that problem.

This is also very true. Knee pain often means you have tight quads - usually from bad form with squats and lunges and another common culprit is a tight IT band, which is a great thing to roll out on a foam roller. Feels SO good!!! I think everyone that exercises should own a foam roller!

Toddrific

Have you been fitted? You really do need to get new shoes pretty often if you run regularly and I firmly believe it's really important to get fitted.


Squats: Feet should be shoulder width apart, chest up, pressure on your heels.
Lunges: Keep your body straight - no bowing forward - this puts unnecessary pressure on your knees and not enough pressure on the area that you're meaning to improve.

As for the knee wrap or neoprene - it won't do much for you except give you a little piece of mind - but that's worth something, right?

I've been fitted for shoes, bu they may be over their mileage.
Still working on my squat form.

Thanks for the tips everyone!

Brinasacat

I've got bad knees, arthritis, missing cartilage. i had one scoped out which wasn't entirely successful. the surgeon offered more sugery, but I declined! any way, my orthopedic prefers I do low impact stuff, like biking and swimming. I love aerobics and mostly kick it down to low impact. My fitness instructor makes a big poimt of saying when we do lunges, to make sure our knees don't go beyond our toes, in order to protect our knees. I have to make a conscious effort to hang my rear out, to keep my knees safe.

SMarie10

Neoterrar - are you using any ice packs or ibuprofen for the swelling? Might help to ice the knees down once in a while. I always switch to swimming in the summer months to give mine a break - not much of a runner, but figure the less impact the better, No jumping jacks for me.

Toddrific

Thing is, I don't really notice any swelling. I put an ice pack on it just in case.

Shelby814

If you haven't already done it, I would invest in some good running shoes. I would suggest being fitted by one of the places that specializes in this. We have aplace called "Runners" in my area & it has made all of the difference in the world for me.

DakotaKeogh

I recently had knee pain so severe I had to see an orthopedic surgeon. He couldn't rule out a tear in soft tissue. But he couldn't rule out a flare in arthritis, either. By the way, this is when I found out I have arthritis in that knee. Anyway, as part of the visit I asked if there were any limits I should follow at the gym while it heals. First thing he ruled out was the treadmill. Just sayin'.

TluvK

Thing is, I don't really notice any swelling. I put an ice pack on it just in case.

You won't always notice swelling - internal swelling is very common with knee issues. Ice is also very good. In fact, I was told to do it 3 times per day.

Toddrific

Thanks again for all the replies. ~Gets out the ice pack again~