Anonymous wrote:All the pounding on your knees will eventually wear it down. Not everyone's bones are fit for running. I saw that on a PBS special before.

If possible, speed walk, wwimming or aerobic waterworks or even walking in the swimming pool.

+1

Mojo for Running podcast has a good episode on how to play running detective to find the cause of your aches and pains. Check it out.

All the pounding on your knees will eventually wear it down. Not everyone's bones are fit for running. I saw that on a PBS special before.

If possible, speed walk, wwimming or aerobic waterworks or even walking in the swimming pool.

some things to research to see if they might help:
IT Band stretches and equalizing paired muscle groups
minimalist running shoes (although you might need to go back to square one and do a 5K training program to get your form adjusted for these).

Your alternative exercises all seem to be very leg-centric. You might benefit from different cross-training, too. Yoga or pilates? Something to stretch and strengthen your whole body.

Could need new shoes. Also depending upon location if pain you could have imbalance in muscle strength in legs--for example strong calves but weak quads or hamstrings.

Where to they hurt? If just sore or mainly on the outside, good advice has been given about icing, rest and shoes. If inside and any sharp pain, get them checked out.

+1 on the running shoes. Made a huge difference for me. Not crazy about dropping the money on new shoes every few months though.

Have you been fit for you running shoe? Plz go get fitted. And ice often even when it does not hurt.

May need new running shoes

you also might want to look into seeing a physical therapist. they can really determine where your weaknesses are and give you some exercises to focus on that will help keep you running and healthy.

If you choose to seek medical help the specialist to use is a physiatrist. Good luck.

Just rest them a day or two and reassess after your next run. Soreness is normal. Pain is a little more worrisome.

Definitely take 1-2 days off from running, and blast it with heavy doses of ice/ibuprofen. No need to risk bigger injury after you've had so much success. Do elliptical or biking on those days to keep fitness up.

Long -term cure is probably a combo of gait change or stretches, depending on what sort of knee pain. Do a google search with terms to describe your pain ("running knee pain below knee" or "knee pain interior" or "knee pain stairs"). FWIW, I had a similar problem at some point (pain below kneecap especially on stairs), and the answer was to learn a simple new stretch. Once I'd added it, no more pain.

Good luck!

it depends on the pain but generally following RICE can make a big difference - rest, ice, compression, elevation. I would avoid running and switch to low impact - elliptical, bike, swimming, etc. your shoes could also make a big difference.
also, you don't mention any strength training exercises, might want to consider adding those to your rotation.

I am about halfway through a couch to 10k program. I've been mixing up exercise with running 3/week, biking, exercise class, brisk walking so thSt I'm doing something everyday. Yesterday I did a three mile run and today my knees are quite sore.
What now? I'm on a roll exercising to I will do something other than run for the next couple of days, but what helps and what causes this? What should I do differently?