Knee Pain

AquitasVeritas · 2017-12-23T10:48:33+00:00

Do squats with no weights and watch your form. This is crucial. Start 5x5 and start light. If the pain continues go see a doctor but dont stop or use it as an excuse to not work out.

rocknrollchuck · 2017-12-23T14:39:11+00:00

This quad stretch video really helped me, it totally fixed my knee pain. A couple of months after starting StrongLifts my knees started bothering me the day after squatting. I thought I would have to stop because I didn't want to mess them up permanently. Stretching more was the answer for me, hopefully it will help you too.

Senor_Martillo · 2017-12-23T16:29:27+00:00

I have a few insights for you, as an amateur knee anatomy enthusiast. About five years ago I completely shredded my left knee in a kite surfing accident. ACL, MCL, meniscus, and hamstring were all torn. The short answer is they will never be the same for me, but I strategically modified my exercises to still do what I want.

First: verify which part of your knee is actually in pain. If physical therapist is probably your best bet for this.

If it is in fact hamstrings or IT band, those are muscular structures that can be stretched and modified. Foam rollers are really helpful to break up the fascia between muscle fibers that rob you of range of motion and create a lot of pain.

Basic muscle imbalance is another common affliction. You need the abductors, and adductors to be equally strong so your knee structure stays balanced through its range. My main sport is mountain biking, the pedaling made my inner thigh ( abductors) much stronger than the outer. It tended to pull my patella inward and created a lot of problems. So I do a few sets of the adductor machine every gum day to balance it out.

If you have tendon problems they will manifest in a few different ways. A torn ACL won't hurt after the initial injury. But your knee will be super unstable, especially in rotational movement like you do in court sports, (hoops, tennis). MCL will hurt more obviously. That is down the inside of your knee. There's nothing to do for that except light duty ice and Advil. LCL is on the outside, PCL down the back, I don't have any direct experience with those, so ask your PT.

Meniscus is the most difficult one to deal with. This is the cushion between your femur and Tibia. Basically it is a fixed quantity, if you damage it or wear it out, it cannot be repaired. I had about 30 percent of mine cut away, which affected my fitness strategy for life. My priority is preserving it for the bike, so I chose to stop doing squats. YMMV. This manifests as a sharp pain right under the lower tip of the femur.

I highly recommend a sports oriented PT...good ones have seen all these injuries and can set you up with a series of exercises to balance out what they can. Good luck bro!

hystericalbonding · 2017-12-23T12:23:13+00:00

One knee or both?

Achy? Or is it, "Oh fuck, I've done something terribly wrong!"

Any swelling or history of knee injury? Locking?

It's probably not a flexibility issue.

If it's an ache the next day, it's less likely to be a major knee problem. Simple things like hip shift or other form issues are common.

Try the basic stuff. If that doesn't improve it, then get seen by someone who knows how to assess a knee.

mindfulbutgutless · 2017-12-23T12:59:34+00:00

I get this when I front squat. It is because I am going ass to grass. When I stop my decent right after I break parallel my knees are ok. I have read that it is because I am loosening up in the hole (you normally cannot get that type of depth tight) and over stretching the knee tendons. You can Try doing pinned squats where the rack takes the weight just as you break parallel.

SteelToeShitKicker · 2017-12-23T13:14:44+00:00

Consider neoprene knee sleeves. I won't squat without them. If you haven't read "starting strength" already, it has a really good discussion on squat form that really helped me. I thought I was doing them the right way, and my PT didn't have any corrections for me, but that book really helped.

Don't hurt yourself and get knocked out of the game.

Kosmoknots · 2017-12-23T14:22:25+00:00

Make sure your knees are not buckling inward.

My chronic knee pain actually went away from squats. Lay off them for a while and work on exercises that build muscles around the knee. Or lower weight and work on form. Front squats will help build up the muscles and generally use less weights.

Also Go to a sports medicine specialist for knees. They never tell you not to work out. Extra points for picking one that also lifts.

alteredflux · 2017-12-23T14:54:18+00:00

I had the same problem. I went to a physiotherapist and he said that it’s the result of weak glutes. Add in clamshells, bridges, hip abductor, and then rotations with a medicine ball. Also work on your core strength stuff like planks. Try to get up to a 2 minute continuous plank. I also got a glute loop and started squating with that so I could focus on my form.

Sometimes we need to deload and work on the basics before we can get better. Once you feel good and have the form your glutes will fire and then you can deadlift more and that will strengthen your glutes which should help your knees so you can squat more. Best of luck.

dr_pavel_im_cia_ · 2017-12-23T16:33:05+00:00

I went through the same thing. You might have 'jumpers knee', look it up.

I took a few months break from heavy squatting and focused on stretching and strengthening my glutes. worked wonders

Neoduder · 2017-12-23T18:44:32+00:00

You breaking parallel? Low bar or High bar? Post a form check video.

crimson_chris · 2017-12-23T19:53:55+00:00

I recommend yoga. That shit fixes about everything. Helps me to lift more (relieves tightness of being sore, lossens back and hamstrings). Helps me to run faster (sprint workout is MUCH more efficient, again stretching makes a big deal). Helps to relieve stress (which is good for gains and sex). Helps with overall recovery.

Or....you could just have a shitty knee, so squat lighter. Fuck not working out. Some docs a DAF.

snatch_haggis · 2017-12-24T05:58:16+00:00

Since you're new to this, and a late adopter, one important question is whether this is just generalized aches and pains that are associated with working out, or if it's pointing to a real injury.

My knees are all jacked up from a running injury, and arthritis runs in my family. My joints pop and crack during a lot of my lifts. The next day after I squat heavy, stairs hurt my knees and I don't like to sit down for long (pinches my hamstrings). But it gets better the day after that, so I figure it's just general aches and pains.

With my torn meniscus in my knee on the other hand, if I run more than a couple miles it feels like someone is stabbing under my kneecap with a knitting needle.

So is it the kind of pain that flares up the day after you squat and tapers back down? If so, maybe you're just getting older and things hurt sometimes I have a lot of that.

If so, maybe deload, work on form. You might try other squat variants too, front vs goblet vs back.

As of others have said, get to a proper sports medicine guy or PT, maybe get an MRI.

handburgers · 2017-12-28T15:59:58+00:00

Squats are the only lift I'm good at now.

For a while, I was having sharp knee pain going down stairs and sitting down. For some reason, it stopped when I stopped allowing my knees to track inward on the way up. What fixed it was to point toes and knees out to make room to get down, then keeping them pinned out while I came up

valerioluc · 2017-12-23T16:04:05+00:00

Vitamin d3 k2 glucosamine and connective tissue work, stop squatting for now..

Title	Knee Pain
Author	31Olives
Upvotes	2
Comments	36
Date	December 23, 2017 10:40 AM UTC (8 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askMRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/askMRP/comments/7lo19l/knee_pain/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askMRP/knee-pain.205034 https://theredarchive.com/post/205034

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