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Why do my knees hurt after hockey?

Author

James Craig

Published Jan 19, 2026

The most common cause of an MCL sprain are a direct blow to the outside of the knee and/or twisting motion at the knee with a planted foot. In hockey, this injury can happen from getting checked low by an opponent or from catching a skate edge and twisting your knee.

How do I stop my knees from hurting after sports?

To help relieve your pain and speed recovery, you can:

  1. Rest your knee. ...
  2. Ice your knee to ease pain and swelling. ...
  3. Wrap your knee. ...
  4. Elevate your leg on a pillow when you sit or lie down.
  5. Take NSAIDs, if needed, like ibuprofen or naproxen. ...
  6. Do stretching and strengthening exercises, especially for your quadriceps muscles.

Why do my knees hurt after a game?

Knees take a lot of stress, particularly for athletes playing in competitive sports. In fact, activities that require running and jumping exert a force on the knees of up to nine to 11 times one's body weight. All that jumping can cause a knee injury known as patellar tendonitis or jumper's knee.

What is the most common knee injury in hockey?

What is the Common Knee Injury in Ice Hockey? One of the most common injuries that an ice hockey player sustains is a tear of the medial collateral ligament (MCL). The MCL is the inside of the knee. MCL tears can occur both from contact and noncontact mechanisms.

Is hockey hard on knees?

It's no surprise this game also comes with injuries. Among all hockey injuries, medial collateral ligament (MCL) injuries in the knee are the second most common behind concussions (Grant, Bedi, Kurz, Bancroft & Miller, 2013). The MCL is one of four primary stabilizing ligaments in the knee.

19 related questions found

What are 3 common injuries in hockey?

The most common hockey injuries include:

  • AC joint (shoulder)
  • ACL strains or tears.
  • Broken collarbone.
  • Concussions.
  • MCL strains or tears.
  • Muscle strains.
  • Shoulder dislocation.

How do you fix jumper's knee?

How is jumper's knee treated?

  1. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs, like ibuprofen or naproxen)
  2. Rest.
  3. Elevating your knee.
  4. Ice packs to your knee (to help reduce swelling)
  5. Stretching and strengthening exercises.

What helps sore knees after basketball?

The usual treatments for knee strains include a combination of anti-inflammatory medications and exercises. Corticosteroid or platelet-rich-plasma injections may also be used to treat the tendon inflammation. Meniscal tears The most common causes of meniscus tears are injuries or trauma to the knee.

How do you prevent jumper's knee?

Tips to Prevent Jumper's Knee:

  1. Wear shoes that fit well and support your arch; add orthotics if needed.
  2. When your quads and hamstrings are tight, it can place extra stress on the patellar tendon. ...
  3. Warm-up before and cool-down after exercising.
  4. Gradually increase the intensity of your workouts.

Is Runner's knee serious?

It is most common in runners but can also affect other active people who participate in sports such as cycling and hiking. Most people recover completely from Runner's Knee after a few months of rehab, although it is an injury that can become chronic if not treated correctly.

Does Runner's knee go away?

How runner's knee is treated: Most of the time, runner's knee goes away on its own. With proper rest, icing, compression and elevation (known as the RICE formula), you should be able to resume running before you know it. Your doctor may suggest you take aspirin or ibuprofen to help alleviate the pain.

How long does runner's knee last?

How long will my Runner's knee last? Patellofemoral syndrome will often require 4-6 weeks to fully recover given proper treatment and rest.

Should I play through knee pain?

When it comes to exercise, medical experts agree: it's bad advice. “It's not really true. Having that mentality and trying to push through your knee pain is just going to make things worse,” says Christopher Kim, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine.

How can I save my knees?

5 Tips to Protect Your Knees As You Age

  1. Eat an anti-inflammatory diet. Inflammation can damage your joints, and your daily diet plays a significant role in the amount of inflammation present in your body. ...
  2. Try supplements. ...
  3. Maintain a healthy weight. ...
  4. Use targeted exercises to build muscle. ...
  5. Wear proper shoes.

Is it good to ice your knees everyday?

For the first 48 to 72 hours after a knee injury, use a cold pack to ease swelling and numb the pain. A plastic bag of ice or frozen peas works well. Use it for 15 to 20 minutes three or four times a day. Wrap your ice pack in a towel to be kind to your skin.

Will jumper's knee go away on its own?

Long-term concerns. With treatment, the injury should heal without any problems. After healing, any pain or restriction of the knee joint should go away. However, not resting properly can result in a fracture and a longer period of being restricted from sports.

Will jumper's knee heal on its own?

Treatment of jumper's knee usually takes a long time, and a key question is whether or not complete rest of the knee helps. The answer to this is no: some days, weeks or even months in rest will not heal the injury.

How fast does jumper's knee get better?

Recovery time

If a person has mild tendonitis, they may be able to return to their normal activities in 3 weeks. In more severe cases, it may take 3 months or more to recover. Some people have ongoing knee pain even after recovering from patellar tendonitis.

What hockey position gets hurt the most?

Only 6.2% of injuries were sustained by goaltenders, whereas 32.7% were defensemen and 61.1% were forwards. In agreement with this distribution, Agel et al found 9.6% of injuries effected goaltenders, 40.8% were defensemen, and 48.3% were forwards.

How often do hockey players get hurt?

Epidemiological data on injury rates among professional hockey players suggest professional hockey players experience an average of over 2 concussions per season2 and male college ice hockey players experience injuries at a rate of 9.19 per 1000 athlete-exposures (i.e., game, practice, or weight-training session).

How does hockey affect the body?

Hockey: Improves Brain Function and Alleviates Anxiety

It helps to release endorphins, which – in turn, helps to combat depression, stress and anxiety. In addition to the overall exercise benefits hockey offers, the need to make quick decisions also assists in developing the brain.

What sport is hardest on your body?

According to several studies about “science of muscles and movement” experts label boxing as the most demanding sport for an athlete. Boxing requires strength, power, endurance, and the ability to withstand huge hits over a period of time.

What sport is hardest on your knees?

Top 4 hardest sports on your hips and knees

  1. 1 – Skiing. One of the most common ways to injure a knee or hip is by a fall. ...
  2. 2 – Basketball. Basketball is a fast-paced sport with sudden stops, pivots, and jumps. ...
  3. 3 – Singles Tennis. ...
  4. 4 – Plyometric Exercises + Weight Room Exercises.

What sport is worse for your knees?

Competitive tennis, singles tennis and racket ball are all especially hard on the knees. The short runs and quick pivots required to play racket sports can lead to serious injury if done for prolonged periods of time.