Can stretching actually be hurting my knee?

[Simmypie]

I know it seems like a strange thing to ask, everyone advises stretching after a run to avoid injury, but please bear with me (grrrr).

I wear a knee support and don't have any problems with my right knee when running on grassy surfaces.

It's about an hour after stretching when it feels tight at the front of the kneecap.

If my knee is dodgy, then is doing the quad stretch ( the one where you hold your ankle and pull your knee up behind your back) doing more harm than good or is it slowly stretching the muscles? Or are other stretches more advisable?

I go skiing once a year wearing a knee support (after twisting my knee years ago trying snowboarding, just in case) and go from absolutely no exercise to 5 or 6 hours per day with comparatively heavy boots and skis, down bumpy icy runs that jolt my knees and give me a good workout.

I have never stretched afterwards, never really thought about it and apart from tired legs my knees have never had any problems compared to how they feel now.

Advice needed please.

Thanks.

[Kmcm66]

I am not expert enough to advise about stretching and I am sure others will respond to that. Running does put pressure on the knees and mine have been painful at points. I have found doing knee strengthening exercises in between runs and cross training has really helped. Hope it improves soon.

[davelinks Graduate]

Build muscles around the knee, are you not doing any cross training on your rest days? A lot of us stretch after, I don't have any problems with it..

You could try strength & flex excercises..

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Certain stretches may not be appropriate for all, but only a medically trained professional is going to be able to say whether you, with your condition, should avoid particular stretches. I used chronic knee problems as an excuse for not starting to run for years, which is why I prefer to run off road, but my knees are stronger now than ever before.