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What Is Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome, or Runner’s Knee?
Have you ever had Runners knee, or patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS for short)? Along with hip bone pain after exercise, runners’s knee pain is one of the most common as well as perplexing injuries for a runner to face. It’s been estimated that anywhere from 10% to 54% of runners will experience this type of injury in their lifetime. For those who continue running, it can be present for up to 2 years, and can sometimes become chronic.So the question is, how to beat runner’s knee.
PFPS is known by other names as well, including patella-femoral pain syndrome, runner’s knee, jumpers knee, etc… Although it doesn’t discriminate based on age or sex (it does seem to be more common in women), its main target is runners. In fact, it’s been known to appear after as little as 3 minutes of running! Of course, this doesn’t mean that the cause of PFPS is simply exercise or running. A person could have a history of PFPS from an injury they received years ago, and then the symptoms merely became flashbacks every time they ran.
Fast Things You Can Do
The basic things you can do are to rest your knee, put ice on it, or use an anti inflammatory, such as aspirin, ibuprofen or turmeric. Turmeric is a natural antiinflammatory, unlike over the counter non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (“NSAIDs”) like aspirin or ibuprofen.You should also consider doing an exercise such as rowing, which takes a lot of stress off your knee joint.
How Turmeric Helps Runners Knee
Turmeric helps runners knee in several different ways, but its anti-inflammatory and pain relieving qualities are the most notable.
Turmeric Is a Common Spice
Turmeric is a spice cultivated in India and Asia, and used extensively in Indian cooking, known for its anti-inflammatory and pain relieving properties. Studies have shown that using turmeric aids in recovery from pain in the knee joint. It is also a natural alternative to NSAIDs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, which cause harmful side effects over time. In addition to being a pain reliever, it is also an antioxidant that helps prevent the breakdown of cartilage in joints.
The use of turmeric has been shown to be effective for runners knee because it provides better relief than many conventional pain relievers for knee pain, including ibuprofen and aspirin.
Turmeric also promotes overall health by reducing the risk of conditons such as heart disease, cancer, asthma, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Turmeric has been shown to be just as effective as ibuprofen and aspirin for relieving knee pain. It also poses less risk of side effects than other over the counter medications.
You Can Take Turmeric Orally or Apply Directly on the Knee
Taken Orally, Turmeric Is Very Versatile
- You can use it as a spice in cooking soups, or curries
- In smoothies or drinks, as a substitute for your morning coffee
- Or just take a tablespoon (add a little oil since it better assimilated in your body)
- Take it as a supplement in pills, capsules, in liquid form, or as liposomal turmeric
Make a Paste from It and Apply Directly on Your Knee
You can also apply turmeric paste directly to your knee in order to relieve pain. Mix 4 tablespoons of turmeric powder with warm water and a touch of olive oil until it forms a thick, smooth paste. Then cover the area where you are experiencing pain with the paste starting at the bottom and moving up towards your knee cap. You can leave it on for 10-20 minutes or even overnight if you want to give it extra time to work.
Conclusion
Let’s face it, knee pain can interrupt your running. It’s best to take care of your knee, and not just ‘bear with it’ hoping it will go away. Trust your body. If you run and notice knee pain, back off a bit, ice your knee, maybe rest until the pain goes away, and then ease back into your running.
Consider taking some medicine such as Advil, or aspirin, however, natural anti inflammatories like turmeric may be a better option.
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