Knee pain in runners is a common complaint, especially pain on the outside of the knee.

Unless you had an instance that resulted in an injury, there is a good likelihood that this pain is not actually in your knee.

Here’s why

You have a muscle that starts up in your hip that turns into your IT band, which ends at this outside part of your knee. This most often results from a combination of muscle tightness and muscle weakness in the surrounding muscles. Friction from inflammation along this IT band can cause pain where it inserts on the outside of your knee.

Why does this happen?

The root cause of this pain is likely due to muscle imbalances. One of the biggest culprits is often the glutes. If you do not have the proper strength in your glutes when running, this can result in your hips dropping as you land on your leg, which can cause friction and irritation to the IT band, resulting in knee pain in runners.

What should I do?

Your IT band is not technically a muscle, so foam rolling to bring blood flow to the IT band is not going to have much of an impact on its own. Instead, try stretching and foam rolling the surrounding muscles, such as your glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps.

While stretching and resting may have a short-term effect, unless you are addressing the root cause of this pain, it is likely to return. If you can get ahead of it before it becomes too inflamed, you may be able to work on your strength and mobility to be able to continue running. Strength training is a crucial part of recovering from any injury. If you have ignored it too long and you can no longer run without pain, or if you are concerned that this pain is not going away, that is your sign to get it checked out by a physical therapist to help you work through this issue.