Don't blame the knee...
My first post comes at the back of me leading my annual Couch to 5k programme at work. And it's also a good reminder of a misconception about knee injury and what you should do or not do about them.
I have seen a few people, over the course of the 9 weeks programme, reporting issues with their knee. The first (natural) reaction for most people when this occurs is to stop running and assume that running is just bad for them and give up altogether.
So the first thing I advise if to find out exactly what has happened to the knee. Knee injuries are extremely common amongst all runners, but the two opposite end of the spectrum - beginners and runners on high mileage - are particularly vulnerable. A very common injury is patella-femoral pain syndrome, also known as 'runner's knee', but this is just one example of running-related knee injury. My view, based on my own experience, is that the origin at the problem is usually not at the knee, but elsewhere. Running is an overall body exercise that engages a number of joints and muscles, and like any machine, you need to look at it holistically in order to understand the source of the problem. Usually the knee is just compensating for another weaker area in the body (the glutes are a usual suspect although not every problem can be blamed on them), but I would recommend have a biomechanics assessment (or gait analysis) to figure out what it happening to your body when you run.
For beginners, a gait analysis may seem like an overkill due to the low mileage. However, your gait is something you are likely to keep if you are ever tempted to increase the mileage. I started running in my teens. 5k was my go-to distance in my late twenties. If I had an injury, I stopped for a few weeks, pop round to the physio, and after a few rehab execises, off I was again. However this reactive approach stopped working when I started to increase the mileage. As I started to train for my first marathon, and now currently my first ultra-marathon, I realised that I needed to take a more proactive approach to injury prevention and that started with my biomechanics. I used to heel strike very strongly, overstride, all this with very high arches. My mechanical engineering background told me all this was probably not great and could at least partially be the root of my past injuries. But the good news is that there is a way to reduce the likelihood of injury (eliminating it altogether would be ideal but may not be realistic).
The first port of call should be the physio, preferably a sports physio with experience of running. They will be able to assess where your weak points are, what you can do about them. Most likely it will be about strengthening exercises to correct any potential imbalance in your muscles. Beware this is an area of much debate (follow link below for the latest Twitter debate on this topic) and the view expressed here is my view only!
You should also consider your running technique. A GP previously told me that people should not attempt to change their gait, but I believe as long as you seek expert advice in doing so, then this is something that can be valuable. Having gone through this myself (this is still work in progress, after 30 years of running with the same gait, and I have an army of running coaches, physio, musculoskeletal specialist and podiatrist helping me out with this), I now find that running is getting easier and my legs and feet seem to take a bit less beating, so definitely worth looking into!
Whilst I will only start offering one-to-one running technique assessments later this year, please get in touch if you have any specific running-related query, I will be happy to help - and if I don't have the answer myself, I will point you in the direction of someone who has!