💗 SUCCESS STORY — FROM KNEE PAIN TO HER FIRST 5K 🏃‍♀️

When this lady first came to see me, she'd recently started Couch to 5K and was really enjoying getting into running.

But then knee pain started.

Initially affecting one knee and then both, the pain was mainly around the front of the knees and was aggravated by:

🏃‍♀️ Running
🪜 Going up and down stairs
🪑 Getting up from a chair
🦵 Getting moving after having the knees bent for a while

At its worst, the pain had become bad enough that she was struggling to walk comfortably.

🔎 What did we find?

Her assessment suggested that the problem was coming from the patellofemoral area — around the kneecap.

There was reduced quadriceps strength, particularly around the inner part of the quadriceps (VMO), alongside stiffness of the kneecap and altered patellar tracking.

Rather than telling her to stop running altogether, we worked on improving the things that appeared to be contributing to her symptoms.

💗 Treatment included:

✨ Patellar mobilisation to improve movement
✨ Quadriceps and VMO activation and strengthening
✨ Sit-to-stand and wall squat exercises
✨ Stretching and soft-tissue work where appropriate
✨ Shockwave therapy around the symptomatic tissues
✨ Advice around gradually progressing her running

And the best bit?

🏃‍♀️ She completed her first 5K — and enjoyed it!

At her final appointment:

💗 No pain at all in her right knee
💗 Only a brief couple of days of symptoms in the left
💗 Quadriceps/VMO strength improving
💗 Running comfortably
💗 And she'd managed her first 5K pain-free

She was doing so well that she was discharged from physiotherapy, with advice to continue her strengthening and return if she needed me.

This is exactly why developing pain when you start exercising doesn't automatically mean you need to give up the activity you've just started enjoying.

Sometimes we need to work out why the area is struggling, improve its strength and capacity, and help your body adapt to the new demands you're placing on it.

And seeing someone go from worrying that running was hurting their knees to completing their first 5K is a pretty lovely outcome. 🥰🏃‍♀️

You don't have to keep putting up with pain. 💗