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Knee pain when running, more commonly known as Runners Knee, is a painful and limiting condition that affects an estimated 1 in 4 of those who are active, now new research may have finally pinpointed the cause - weak muscles.

Those who develop this problem tend to have weaker quads and hamstrings according to study co-author Darin Padua, Ph.D. "As a result, they don't bend their knees as much when doing tasks, such as running or jumping. That means the contact area between the kneecap and the femur is smaller, so pressure is focused and pinpointed on a smaller area."

Known to medicine as patellofemoral pain syndrome, the study out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the first of its kind to look at athletes both before and after they develop this painful problem.

The pain around or behind the kneecap can be so bad it limits your ability to exercise at all, and the symptoms are likely to recur.

Of course if you've got a high enough pain threshold, you might try and ignore it, but this only causes cartilage to break down, bringing you to the point of bone on bone contact. Once this happens there's nothing that can be done to replace the destroyed cartilage.

Earlier research had identified possible risk factors for runner's knee that were related to biomechanics and strength, though no one could say what caused the problem in the first place.

For this work, the team studied about 1,600 midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy. They looked at participants' biomechanics when they first enrolled at the academy, then followed them for a number of years to see what happened to their knees. Of these subjects, 24 women and 16 men (for a total of 40 in all) developed runner's knee over the study period.

The researchers noticed that those with weaker hamstring muscles were 2.9 times more likely to develop runner's knee than those with the strongest hamstrings.

Weaker quadriceps were 5.5 times more likely to suffer runner's knee than those with stronger muscles in this area. Those with a bigger navicular drop, a measure of arch flattening when bearing weight were 3.4 times more likely to have runner's knee.

Finally, those with smaller knee flexion angle (knees that bent less on landing after a jump test) were 3.1 times more likely to have this troublesome condition.

Lead researcher Padua believes that the pain that comes with runner's knee might be explained by all these factors coming together to create a focal point of pressure between the kneecap and the bone underneath.

The UNC work appears in the November 2009 issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine and does bring some good news.

If you change the way you move, and work to improve your leg strength, you may be able to prevent or even correct the problem. If you're wondering about your own risk, Padua suggests three questions to ask...

- Does the knee cross over the big toe when squatting?

- Do the arches of the feet collapse when landing from a jump?

- Do you bend your knees much when your land?

If you answer "yes" to these questions, you may stand a better chance of developing runner's knee.

To help yourself if you've got runner's knee already there are things you can do to speed healing. Rest the knee as much as you can. Ice the knee for 20 to 30 minutes every 3-4 hours for a few days to reduce pain and swelling.

Use an elastic bandage, straps or sleeves to compress your knee and give it extra support, arch supports for your shoes may also help with flat feet. Keep your knee elevated when you're sitting or lying down and take anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil, Aleve or Motrin that will also help with pain and welling.

You might also practice some stretching and strengthening exercises if your doctor gives the okay to help reduce knee pain when running.

FREE Bonus Secret Health Reports - For a limited time you can grab 5 FREE essential health reports from Daily Health Bulletin and click the link now to discover other ways to reduce knee pain when running, plus other helpful exercise tips and benefits.

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