Women Runners Are More Susceptible to Knee Injury : What To Do When Knee Pain Strikes

Knees (and pain thereof) seem to be on several minds here this week.  Betty mentioned that women tend to be more prone to knee injury and indeed, that’s true.

You see, the width of the female pelvis results in a sharper angle where the bones meet, which can cause a greater chance for misalignment of the kneecap.  Also, women’s ligaments tend to be more lax than men’s and the muscles that support the knee are typically not as strong in women as in men.

Interestingly, a research study at the University of Michigan has shown that unlike men, women athletes tend to reply more on the quadriceps – the muscles in front of the thighs- to stabilize the knee, rather than the stronger hamstring muscles behind the thigh.  The result is a greater chance of injury to the critical ligaments that hold the kneecap in place.

In fact, According to Dr. Greslamer, chief orthopedic surgeon at the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, that favorite circuit exercise, leg curls, is really bad for our knees – placing way too much force on a small contact area of the knee.  Also (listen up ladies), stair stepper machines and step classes in which the steps are high are high-risk when it comes to knee injury.

So what are we supposed to do?

1)    Keep your weight down.  One additional pound places up to 25 extra pounds of stress on your knees!

2)    Maintain good muscle balance. That means strengthening BOTH the quads and the hamstrings so that both muscle groups are equally developed. Jumping rope and hamstring curls are great for exercising the hamstring muscles.

3)    Wear properly fitted shoes and shoes that are designed specifically for your foot strike type (i.e.pronation.)

4)    Avoid twisting your knee and squatting.  Avoid locking your knees when doing leg-presses.

5)    Don’t forget the RICE: (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.)

It’s a real temptaion to just keep popping the ibuprofen and going on – but if pain persists, it’s a good idea to see an orthopedic surgeon, an exercise physiologist or sports medicine specialist. 

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