Real Life Fitness Questions Answered

Im doing 30 day shred but have knee pain, why?

Hi, I've just completed my 6th day and love it but my left knee is a wee bit sore. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks in advance

Our expert says...

Hi,

When we experience pain after exercise, i.e. at night in bed, it usually relates to muscle tightness following exercise and this can cause stress and subsequent pain in or around a joint, i.e. like the knee. Unfortunately, I cannot give you a definite answer regarding your knee as the exact reasons behind your knee pain will need to be assessed in a 1-2-1 situation where your flexibility, muscle balance, muscle strength and postural alignment can be taken into account. This information would then need to be followed by special tests to rule out various possible pathologies, before getting to the likely cause of the pain.

When individuals embark on a new workout schedule it can be a bit of a shock for the muscles, regardless of whether we do everything right and with good technique. Sometimes we may also have pre-existing soft tissue issues we are unaware of (i.e. tight muscles, muscle imbalances) and these can be aggravated by new stresses (different exercise).An example cause of knee pain is where the connective tissue (called fascia) on the outside of the thigh that attaches into the knee cap gets tight and starts to pull the knee cap across, this causes discomfort and pain in and around the knee joint.

This may just be a temporary response to you undertaking the 30 day shred so I would suggest you get a sports massage for the legs, (specifically ask for work on the Illio-Tibial Tract = ITB and your quadriceps (thigh). You should find this resets the muscle length in your legs and then try your exercise again. As general preventative practice form injury, sports massage is very powerful (which is why all professional athletes in every sport have it weekly / daily) but in addition you could also do contrast showers post-training to minimise soreness and muscle tension later on. Contrast showers involve you simply alternating the temperatures in the shower between very cold and reasonably warm and contrast showers aid circulation and muscle relaxation.

Hope this helps,

Kelly