These articles have quotations from film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings and related works: 1  The Lord of the Rings.  J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1978)
This causes a twisting on the tibia and changes its relationship to your kneecap. This can cause tracking problems as well. If your quadriceps or hamstring muscles are too tight, they also will affect the mechanics of the knee and lead to compensation patterns that cause pain.
Your kneecap (the patella) is aligned in a groove at the bottom of your femur, and movement within this groove is referred to as patellar tracking. If your kneecap doesn't move properly in this groove, as you bend and extend your leg while running, it may cause runner's knee. Runnerâs Knee: Risk Factors. Specific factors that can contribute to runner's knee include: 1  Weak thigh muscles. 2  Poor flexibility â tight thigh muscles and ligaments. 3  Overuse â running too much. 4  Trauma or injury. 5  Poor alignment of the kneecap, resulting in wear and tear of the cartilage of the kneecap.