This is probably the most common problem we see in runners. There are 10,000 reasons you can have runner’s knee. Anything from incorrect shoes to too many miles too soon, to a leg length discrepancy to, ….. you name it.

Contrary to popular (non-runner) belief, runners do not get arthritis any more frequently than non-runners. But arthritis is a fact of life. We all get some arthritis as we age. How we deal with it is our choice.

Knock knees can be acquired or inherited. We can help a little with inherited knock knees, but we have to blame your family for most of the problem. The next time you go to a family reunion you will notice, ‘Hey, everybody on Uncle Bob’s side of the family has knock knees!’ Lucky you.

A lot of patients with knock knees, especially female runners, have developed a movement pattern where their hips rotate internally and turn the kneecaps toward each other. There are a lot of reasons for this, but it is beyond the scope of our website.

When you stand with your feet together, the family cat can jump between your legs.

It is pretty unusual to see some with knee pain and just have week quads. Weak quads usually accompany some other combination of pathologies. If you have just weak quads it is probably a lingering weakness from a previous injury which has not been completely rehabilitated.

The gluteus medius muscle is a very important muscle on the outside of the hip. It is a small muscle which attaches to the top of the femur and has an extremely important job. It holds you upright as you stand on your leg. It has to hold 2.5 times your body weight. If it is too weak, your opposite hip will drop as you run. (A weak right gluteus medius will let your left hip fall when your right leg is on the ground.) It will make your brain think the opposite leg is too short and it will land on the ground too hard. It can make your opposite knee sore because of this hard landing or the ITB on the same side as it gets yanked every time you stand on the weak leg.