What disease does knee pain when jogging indicate?

Jogging is a sports activity that brings many benefits such as improving bone and joint health, developing muscles, improving mood, enhancing memory, good for the heart… However, jogging can also leading to a number of injuries, most commonly knee pain.

MSc.BS.CKI Ho Van Duy An, Center for Orthopedics, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said knee pain after jogging can be a warning sign of some diseases or injuries.

Patellar tendinitis: This condition occurs when the knee joint is continuously active for a long time or is not warmed up thoroughly before running. This causes the patellar tendon to become swollen and painful due to inflammation.

Iliotibial band syndrome: This is a condition of damage or irritation to the fibrous tissue in the iliotibial band. This injury occurs when the patient overexerts and stretches the knee. At that time, the iliotibial band tightens, irritates and causes inflammation. This tightening creates friction in the knee when the patient bends the leg and causes pain. Sometimes, this injury can also cause pain in the hip. People who regularly jog, especially long-distance runners, are at higher risk of getting the disease.

Knee synovitis: The synovium is a thin cushion within the joint capsule, containing synovial mucus. The function of synovial fluid is to lubricate the musculoskeletal system and nourish the articular cartilage in the body. When jogging for a long time, the practitioner is forced to use the knee joint a lot, causing overload in this area, easily leading to bursitis.

Meniscal tear: The function of the meniscus is to help stabilize joints and protect bones from wear and tear. However, just a sudden knee turn while jogging can cause a meniscus tear. In some cases, when a part of the knee cartilage is torn, broken, and stuck in the joint, it can lead to osteoarthritis.

Ligament damage: The disease not only causes knee pain when jogging but can also reduce mobility, joint stiffness, osteoarthritis… Damage can occur when knee ligaments are overstretched or torn. /tears due to sudden twisting movements, spreading the knees too wide to overcome obstacles when running, or stopping suddenly between strides.

Doctor An said that people who are injured while jogging or have symptoms such as sharp pain when running, pain that makes it difficult to walk, swollen joints, pain that lasts after stopping running… the patient needs to immediately stop all activities. Exercise to rest your feet. Next, you should apply home care measures including cold compresses, compression bandages, and leg elevation. Then go to the hospital for a doctor to diagnose and intervene promptly. “Being subjective about injuries while running can cause patients to face many serious complications such as persistent pain, osteoarthritis, bone fractures, bone infections…”, Dr. An said.

Patients should be advised not to run until the injury is completely healed. During treatment, when pain symptoms decrease, patients can switch to gentler forms of exercise such as swimming to avoid aggravating the injury and still ensure flexibility of the musculoskeletal system.