3 Ways to Use a Knee Massager for Runner’s Knee: Prepare for Workouts, Relieve Knee Pain, and Prevent Flare-ups

Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) is a massage technique used in physical therapy for soft tissue injuries like Runner’s Knee. PTs use stainless-steel tools to directly manipulate and transform soft tissue, such as muscles and connective tissues like ligaments and tendons. IASTM has been shown to provide multiple benefits:

• Quick pain relief

• Reduction in tightness and stiffness

• Mobility improvements

• Shorter recovery time

In Runner’s Knee treatment, there are two major ways physical therapists use IASTM. An effective knee massager for Runner’s Knee self-care should be able to replicate both of these maneuvers.

Physical therapists use IASTM to activate the VMO and increase its output, so that the output of the two thigh muscles are better balanced, moving the kneecap to the correct location where it doesn’t cause pain.

As is the case with other soft tissue injuries, Runner’s Knee causes pain not just in the malaligned kneecap, but also in the muscles and tendons involved in kneecap alignment. Pain in the vastus lateralis and tightness in the ITB (iliotibial band) are common among people with Runner’s Knee.

IASTM is also effective in addressing these problems. Deep, strong massage of the vastus lateralis and iliotibial band, especially after activities, releases tightness, reduces pain, and helps the tissue move more easily and better support the aggravated knee. 

You can use knee massage moves to shorten your Runner’s Knee recovery time, either as an addition to your PT appointments, or on its own. But how can you replicate the benefits of IASTM yourself? Let’s take a look.

When you have Runner’s Knee, it’s important to get your knee ready for activities like workouts and runs. Here, “getting your knee ready” means activating your VMO, so that it can counterbalance the outward pull of the vastus lateralis with its own inward pull, placing the kneecap in the center.

You can think of this as an additional warm-up step before your exercise routine. Without the VMO activation massage, you’ll end up putting more strain on the knee, which causes pain and risks even less output of the VMO as a response to the pain signals.

To prepare for workouts or runs, use your knee massager to gently stroke the VMO. You don’t need deep, powerful strokes to “wake up” the muscle. Use a short, quick, and lighter touch. With this extra step, you’ll be able to enjoy your workouts, run longer, and save your knee from aggravation.

Just like a physical therapist uses IASTM knee massage to reduce pain and tightness, you can use your knee massager to address any pain and tightness that develop after activities or over the course of the day. The idea is the same: apply deliberate pressure directly on the muscles and tendons where you’re experiencing pain.

For pain relief and release, you’ll need a deeper, more powerful massage. Use slow, long, and moderate strokes and work away any tight knots and painful spots, especially in the VMO and VL. Deeper moves also improve blood flow to the area, which reduce fatigue and support tissue recovery.

How can a handful of quick, light strokes activate the VMO? There are several things happening in your muscles and the nervous system when you use a knee massage blade for this purpose.

• Friction creates a sensation that’s different from pain, which helps activate the pain-weary muscle

• Additional neural activity encourages higher output from the VMO

• Friction generates heat, which increases blood flow and decreases tension in the muscle

All of these contribute to higher output from the VMO, which counteracts the stronger outward pull of the vastus lateralis.

You should use VMO activation moves before any activities that involve compression (bending) or explosive loading of the knee joint. If you’ve been dealing with Runner’s Knee, you’ll know them intimately - these are the moves that often trigger Runner’s Knee pain.

• Plyometrics

• Ballistic training

• Calisthenics

• Agility work

• Walking or running up stairs

Though they aren’t necessarily “workouts,” these repetitive movements that load the knee also benefit from VMO activation, when you are recovering from Runner’s Knee:

• Running

• Hiking

• Long walks

• Working on your feet for long periods of time

• Current research suggests that foam rolling doesn’t change the underlying tissue, even though foam rolling can bring a sensation of reduced tension

• Our Massage Blade replicates a physical therapist’s IASTM technique, which has been shown to affect positive changes in the problematic tissue

• Typical knee massagers that massage the knee itself can’t work on the root cause of Runner’s Knee: the weakness in the muscles that keep the kneecap in the correct position

• Our Massage Blade is designed specifically so that you can work directly with the problematic thigh muscles, facilitating recovery and improving function

Alleviate was founded by a patient-and-clinician duo to bring the effective chronic pain treatment from physical therapy offices to everyone's home. With the Runner's Knee Essentials, you can use the Alleviate Method to recover from Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome at home. No physical therapy appointments required!