Knee injury from squatting

[phil]

Hi there. About 5-6 weeks ago I was squatting, when during a warm-up set I had a sharp pain in my left knee once I reached the bottom of the squat (thighs just below parallel)and had to dump the bar on the safety racks. I could not squat for 2 weeks but after lots and lots of ice and elevation I had a reasonable squat session just before a powerlifting meet so went ahead and competed as planned. I won my comp, but since then my knee has been painful. It seems to eminate from inside the knee and is quite a sharp pain. I have been squatting fairly light and doing reps a bit slower than normal just to make it safer. It doesnt seem to be getting any worse but it is not getting better either. I took 2 weeks off and it seems to be the same. The knee feels a bit tighter than normal. I warm-up thoroughly as well. Any help will be greatly appreciated as I compete at international level and injuries feel like the end of the world!

[Heidi]

Hi

It may be a problem with the tracking of the knee cap - this is common in squatting and walking down hills and stairs etc. The knee cap moves too far to the outside of the joint resulting in pain and damage to the cartilage at the back of the knee cap when it rubs on the bone underneath.
Try a knee support with a patella buttress and strengthening the hip abductor muscles, whilst stretching the groin and quads (especially lateral quads - massage may help with this).

[phil]

Thanks Heidi, your reply is greatly appreciated. I will get the knee support you talk of. Should I wear this all the time or just during squats? I do find it is painful walking down the stairs but probably more painful going up. Thanks again :-)

[phil]

Oh, and also I squat with a very wide stance (about twice shoulder width) and I point my toes out to approx 45 degrees. Could this have a bearing on the injury? Would it be better to try a more conventional squat stance for a while do you think? Or not to squat altogether for a while?

[Heidi]

A rest from squatting altogether is adviseable. But also a more standard squat stance may be beneficial. In the wide stance with the toes out this places more emphasis on the lateral quads and so may result in lateral mal-tracking.
With the knee brace, wear it for anything that may aggravate it.

[Humanwithsoreshoulder]

Hi Phil,

I am also experiencing a problem with my right knee due to squating. It began last Monday morning after a legs session in the gym. It did'nt hurt right away and I finished my session without noticing that hurt my knee. As the evening went on the inside of my knee became more sore with a sharp pain now and again after long periods of sitting down in lectures.

Last May I dislocated my kneecap. I recovered fully after around 3 months while putting alot of work into strenghtening my thigh muscles. Also I am hyperextensive and I have flat feet. For my feet I am wearing specially made insoles which help hugely.

As for this current injury I am a little worried as the pain is located deep inside the knee. I used to get pains on the outside beneath my kneecap which was due to the kneecap tracking problem. I can balance on one leg and squat down so I don't think instability is an issue.

Has anyone had this problem before or a has anyone advice??
Thanks.

[phil]

I squat with out knee wraps. But I own a pair; would putting on knee wraps tight help at all? All the lifters I have talked to seem to be divided on this. Some say the compression is good for the knee, but on the other hand you can use more weight with knee wraps on which in turn cant be good? Would knee wraps hold the knee patella in place and stop it maltracking?

Once again Heidi thanks for the reply :-)

[Humanwithsoreshoulder]

Thanks for the response.

Im not so worried about squatting, thats just how I think I got the injury. As I said before I can't remember any time during the session when my knee got instantly sore. As the day progressed my knee got sore on the inside. Maybe I should'nt have posted my query in the squatting section as I may be going off the point, but I have been doing alot of it lately as I am also currently Injured with my shoulder which I am getting an operation on in 3 weeks. So in the gym I have been focusing alot on leg weights while doing some upper body weights. Also it might be worth mentioning on the Saturday before I went for a long run on the road which I don't do very often. Could this have contributed to the problem??

I am just wondering is it possible to do internal damage while squatting. I definately did'nt bend or twist it. It hurts when I kick my leg out just inside on the right hand side. It is stable I can balance on one leg and do knee bends without it hurting.

Im just hoping its nothing serious as Ive beeing fooling around with injuries for the last year and I want to get back playing rugby soon!!

[Heidi]

Phil,
No, knee wraps won't help. You need either a knee support with an open patella and padding which surrounds the knee cap and prevents the excess movement or you need to tape the knee cap!

[Heidi]

Humanwithsoreshoulder,

Your pain may be due to a number of things, here are the most likely:
Cartilage injury
Fat pad impingement
Synovial plica
Pes anserine injury

You can find more info on any of these here: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/knee_injuries.htm#medial