Blog 6: The Overuse Injuries Playbook
Part 6: Meniscus Injuries: Why Your Knee Hurts, Clicks, or Locks Up and What Actually Fixes It
Welcome back to The Overuse Injury Playbook. I'm Dr. Keirstyn, a chiropractor and endurance coach. In this series, we are breaking down the most common injuries that sideline athletes. In Part 1, we covered plantar fasciitis, in Part 2, we tackled Achilles tendinopathy, in Part 3, we broke down shin splints, in Part 4, we looked at runner's knee, and in Part 5, we covered IT band syndrome. Today, we are looking at meniscus injuries.
You are running along, feeling strong, when you notice a deep ache inside your knee joint. Maybe you felt a slight pop during a quick change of direction, or perhaps the pain just gradually built up over weeks of high volume training. Now, the knee feels stiff, it clicks when you squat, and it swells up after a long run.
Many athletes assume a meniscus issue means automatic surgery. That is a massive misconception. Most meniscus injuries in endurance athletes can be managed conservatively with the right approach.
What Is a Meniscus Injury?
The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of tough, rubbery cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between your thigh bone and shinbone. You have two in each knee. They distribute weight, stabilize the joint, and keep your movements smooth.
While acute tears happen from sudden twisting, endurance athletes usually experience degenerative meniscus wear. This happens gradually from repetitive stress, especially when your mechanics are off.
Why Your Meniscus Is Taking a Beating
When your knee is forced to absorb more force than it should, the cartilage takes a beating. Here are the main reasons that load gets out of balance:
Poor Shock Absorption: If your calf muscles and quadriceps are weak, they cannot absorb the impact of running, leaving your joint cartilage to take the brunt of the force.
Hip Instability: Weak glutes cause your knee to cave inward, twisting the joint slightly with every stride and putting uneven pressure on the meniscus.
Ankle Stiffness: Limited ankle mobility forces your knee to twist to find extra range of motion, grinding the cartilage.
How to Actually Fix a Meniscus Injury
We need to take the pressure off the joint and build strength around it.
Manage the Load: You do not necessarily have to stop moving, but you must avoid movements that cause pinching, clicking, or swelling. Swap some running sessions for swimming or cycling to keep your fitness up.
Build Quad and Adductor Strength: The Modified Copenhagen exercise is excellent for building stability around the knee by targeting your inner quads and adductors.
Activate Your Glutes: Use the Glute Bridge to build hip extension strength, which keeps your pelvis stable and prevents your knee from caving inward.
Improve Single Leg Stability: The Single Leg Deadlift teaches your foot, knee, and hip to work together to stabilize your body weight without overloading the joint.
Manual Therapy: In the clinic, I use soft tissue therapy and joint mobilizations to improve mobility in your hips and ankles, taking the mechanical stress off your knee.
Final Word
A meniscus injury does not have to mean the end of your season. By building strength, improving your mechanics, and managing your training volume, you can help your knee heal and get back to running pain free.
Up next in Part 7, we will look at high hamstring tendinopathy, the deep ache in your glute that makes speed work feel impossible.
Struggling with knee clicking, swelling, or deep joint pain? Book an assessment with me, Dr. Keirstyn, at Endurance Therapeutics. Let's find the root cause and build a plan to get you back to training with confidence.
📍 Endurance Therapeutics | Oakville, Ontario
📞 905-288-7161