I'm new to running and now I have joint pain! Running is therefore the cause of my pain, right?

Is it though? I recently read an article and it got me really thinking. When clients present to me with pain, we as physiotherapists try to establish a mechanism of injury. People typically report "I was doing the gardening and my back was sore the following day" or "I went for a run and my knees started hurting". As clinicians, we would naturally assume that the gardening or the running, in this instance was the mechanism of injury. The article that I read recently got me to challenge this viewpoint a little more. This woman, an experienced runner of more than 20 years suddenly began to get right knee pain during running. Now it would lead one to believe that, she was perhaps getting older and her knees could not take the strains of running anymore. However, she had a feeling it was more than this and began to think in a little more detail. Before too long, this person had realised she had changed jobs recently and had to commute in her role more frequently. She soon concluded that becuase her right leg was either hovering between the brake pedal and the accelerator, with her knee slightly bent and therefore her quadriceps under strain and her hamstrings under over-activity, it was this that was the cause of her pain! The person in question began to undergo a stretching and postural change regime. She ensured she was stretching, foam rolling (see earlier blogs!!) and ensured she was standing at work where possible but this did not fully resolve the problem.

One day, she decided to bite the bullet! She decided, what the heck, I am going to do an intensive obstacle course. She approached with extreme trepidation, fearing her knee would give out. She started (in pain) but as the course proceeded, she found her knee pain began to ease! What she had realised is that as we get more and more sedentary, our muscles get weaker and thinner and we get more aches and pains. She had realised HARD exercise to give her muscles some strength had managed to alleviate her pain. Having STRONG muscles is the answer to many issues; running injuries, arthritis, falls prevention for example. We have not evolved to remain in seated sedentary positions. We need to have strong muscles to support our joints, the fundamentals for a musculoskeletal (MSK) physiotherapist. So before you blame the gardening or the running for the cause of your pains, take a look at your daily habits. I have certainly been undertaking this from a clinician for a very long time! Take the stairs, leave the car at home, get off the bus one stop earlier. We all know the theory, let's really start to put it all into practice!