Every time I run lately my right knee starts hurting after about 2 miles. I've never had this problem before whenever I ran. I tried changing running shoes, working on my running form, and wearing knee braces, but nothing seems to be helping. I'm not a big fan of running anyways, so I was wondering if there are any benefits to road work that can't be achieved through increased time jumping rope. (Sorry if this has been discussed before.)
A friend I once ran with had the same problem. There's two things that can affect your knees in a big way when running. Pronation and supination, and they can be corrected to a large degree with proper support in your running shoes. He was pronating when running, meaning his heel struck the ground mostly on the outside and he came off the front nearer the big toe. So, instead of the brunt of the stress being absorbed in a linear fashion, it was running diagonal across his foot. Supination is just the opposite, but has the same effect. Either condition puts stress on the joints and contributes to shin splints, ankle and knee pain. Take a look at the soles of your older running shoes to see how they are wearing.
^Thanks. I googled it when it first started happening and I guess it's a pretty common problem called "runner's knee". Just looked at my old running shoes and the soles look pretty evenly worn, so I'm not sure whether pronation or supination are the causes of my knee pain lol. I've been trying to land on my mid-foot when running recently cuz I heard that helps, but it hasn't so far. I run along a stream that has two tracks. One is just concrete and flat, and the one I use is cushioned but goes downhill and uphill every 500 m or so. I did notice that the pain usually starts when I'm slowly running downhill. Next time I run I'm gonna use the flat track to see if it still hurts, but I'm still curious if I can just jump rope instead and get the same or similar benefits.
I've got the opposite problem,running's not bad but skipping ****s my ankles up. Essential that you get suitable running shoes though.There are stores that take an in depth look at what you need and what you're running style is.
Just to add to this, bring your old shoes so they can see how you are striking the ground. They may see something you are not, if they are truly a store geared to runners and problems runners face.
If you're a heel striker, try looking into forefoot/midfoot striking and see it helps with your knee problems. Although, ease into the mileage a bit. Forefoot/midfoot running will give you a new set of injuries if your body is unaccustomed to it. These guys who abruptly change their running form eventually have issues with their plantar fascia, calf muscles / achilles tendon, and metatarsals.
Oops, just saw your other post. In addition to using jump rope as your LISS workout, you could also add double unders and hill sprints for HIIT. That should cover the aerobic to anaerobic spectrum of conditioning.
