Introduction
Hi there, I'm Paulius Jurasius, founder of JANMI Soft Tissue Therapy. If you’ve ever struggled with runner’s knee, you know just how frustrating it can be. The sharp ache around your kneecap can turn a once-enjoyable jog into a painful battle. Whether you’re a dedicated athlete or someone who likes to stay active, runner’s knee can hold you back. That’s why I’ve developed an approach at JANMI that does more than just treat the pain—I work to understand what's really causing it and fix it from the ground up.
Understanding Runner's Knee: Anatomy and Evolution
The knee is an incredible joint—it gives us the ability to move with both strength and agility. Long ago, our ancestors needed their knees mostly for climbing and moving through rough landscapes. Over time, as we began walking and running across open plains, our knees adapted, but that also meant the muscles around the knee had to stay balanced and coordinated.
Runner’s knee happens when this balance is thrown off. If your glutes are weak, or your hip flexors are too tight, your kneecap can be pulled out of alignment. And let’s face it: modern life doesn’t make it easy for our muscles to stay balanced. We spend hours sitting—at work, in cars, at home—and some muscles become tight while others weaken. This kind of imbalance puts extra strain on the knee, eventually causing pain that makes staying active challenging.
How Modern Life Contributes to Runner's Knee
Think about your daily routine. How much time do you spend sitting down? Whether it's sitting at a desk, commuting, or unwinding on the couch, it all adds up. This constant sitting makes your hip flexors tight and your glutes weak. And when your muscles aren’t pulling their weight evenly, your knees take on extra stress. Add repetitive running on hard surfaces or poor footwear into the mix, and it’s easy to see why runner’s knee is so common today.
JANMI's Approach to Runner's Knee Treatment
At JANMI Soft Tissue Therapy, I’ve developed a treatment approach that combines sports massage, myofascial release, trigger point therapy, and targeted exercises. My goal isn’t just to ease the pain temporarily but to tackle the root cause of the problem so you can stay pain-free long-term.
Sports Massage: I use sports massage to increase circulation, bring nutrients to the knee, and help flush out waste. It’s also fantastic for loosening up tight muscles like the quadriceps and hip flexors. When these muscles relax, there’s less pressure on the kneecap, making movement easier.
Myofascial Release: Think of fascia like a web that wraps around all your muscles. When it gets tight, it can restrict movement and create areas of tension that add to knee pain. Myofascial release helps free up these restrictions, allowing your knee to move more naturally and without strain.
Trigger Point Therapy: You’ve probably heard of “muscle knots.” These are trigger points—tight spots in your muscles that can cause pain to spread elsewhere. With runner’s knee, these trigger points often form in muscles like the quadriceps, IT band, and hip flexors. By releasing these points, I can help relieve the pain and restore better function to the muscles around your knee.
Targeted Exercises: I believe in giving you the tools to continue improving between sessions. The exercises I recommend are all about building strength and balance where you need it most—the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps. Glute bridges, bodyweight squats, and lunges are some of the key movements that help restore muscle balance and stability to your knee.
Sarah's Story: From Pain to Progress
Let me share Sarah’s story. Sarah is a 35-year-old who loves to run but struggled with runner’s knee for over a year. She tried everything—rest, ice, even physical therapy—but the pain kept returning whenever she tried to get back out there. When Sarah came to JANMI, I knew we had to look at the bigger picture. It wasn’t just her knee; it was her hip flexors, glutes, and even the fascia around her muscles.
We worked on releasing the tightness in her IT band and hip flexors using myofascial release and sports massage. I also focused on trigger points contributing to her pain. After several sessions, Sarah began to feel real relief. I gave her specific exercises to do at home, like glute bridges and side-lying leg raises. Slowly but surely, she strengthened her glutes and improved her hip mobility. After two months, Sarah was back to running, and she even completed her first 10K race without pain.
Important Note
Runner's knee can be caused by a number of factors, so it's important to get checked by a healthcare professional to make sure there aren’t any other underlying issues. The treatments and exercises I discuss here work best with the guidance of a trained therapist.
Conclusion
Runner’s knee isn’t just about a sore knee. It’s a signal that something is off in your muscle balance, posture, or movement habits. At JANMI Soft Tissue Therapy, I look beyond the pain to find and fix the underlying problems. By combining hands-on therapies with personalized exercises, I aim to help you recover fully and stay active without worrying about pain coming back.
If knee pain is slowing you down, let’s work together. At JANMI Soft Tissue Therapy, I’m here to help you get moving again—stronger, healthier, and pain-free.
Warm regards,
Paulius Jurasius
Founder, JANMI Soft Tissue Therapy
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