Knee question

[firelight1210]

Good morning! I'm new to this board, but have lurked quite a bit. I am a (hopefully) former yo yo dieter, and on and off exerciser (or?). I've now been eating clean for four weeks, which is crazy for me, and been working out semi regularly for three.

I'm already wearing a brace on my ankle when working out to stabilize, because it tweaks out on me sometimes. However, I'm new feeling some pain in my left knee when doing lunges and squats, and am considering a brace for that as well. Would that help, do you think?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, lol.

Thanks!

[wambam]

I am far from an expert, but where is the pain?

I had an issue with lateral movement in my knee and my PT specifically told me not to wear a brace. The fix for me was strengthening my glute med and concentrating on point my knees outward rather than inward.

[firelight1210]

It's basically the knee cap - when bent to 90 degrees, there's a twinge, and when I kick it out, it kind of pops. I don't know enough about anatomy or muscles to point out exactly where it hurts, unfortunately.

[emilyinchile]

Since it sounds like you're newer to exercise (I know you say you've been on and off, so maybe I'm wrong, but I have the impression from your posts that you're not super confident in knowing your body and the effect of the movements you're doing on it), I would first try to get a trainer or even a PT to look at you to make sure that you're doing the exercises correctly and that there isn't some kind of imbalance of the type wambam mentions that needs to be strengthened. If after that you're satisfied that it's just a case of wear and tear causing you pain, then I'd move to bracing. There are definitely situations where using gear to help pain is the right answer, but you also don't want to ignore an issue that should be fixed.

[firelight1210]

May 24, 2016 12:05:22 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Since it sounds like you're newer to exercise (I know you say you've been on and off, so maybe I'm wrong, but I have the impression from your posts that you're not super confident in knowing your body and the effect of the movements you're doing on it), I would first try to get a trainer or even a PT to look at you to make sure that you're doing the exercises correctly and that there isn't some kind of imbalance of the type wambam mentions that needs to be strengthened. If after that you're satisfied that it's just a case of wear and tear causing you pain, then I'd move to bracing. There are definitely situations where using gear to help pain is the right answer, but you also don't want to ignore an issue that should be fixed.

This could be. I've has issues with this knee for years, mostly just getting really achy if bent for too long (like at the movies or even at a restaurant). I always wrote that off as a consequence of being fairly tall (6ft) and having long legs, lol. But perhaps I'm aggravating it more now by working out incorrectly. I feel like I'm doing these right, lead with the butt for squats, flat back, chest and shine at a same angle, but I might benefit from having someone check.

[emilyinchile]

I feel you, I'm also tall and long legged and get those same pains from having my legs cramped for too long I for example do use knee sleeves for squats (Crossfit) because at this stage when my knees start bothering me I know it's just one of those annoying things and not from a major root problem, but for a while there I had bursitis and needed rest, so bracing wouldn't have been the right solution there. You're unlikely to seriously injure yourself by trying a brace, but I feel like the ideal answer here would be to get it checked out, especially if you have any PT/sports med friends who might take a look at you without dealing with the whole US healthcare system which I realize is maybe overkill if we're just talking about a minor twinge during workouts.

[mversace16]

If your new to the movements you are doing, lunges, squats, etc. It could just be that you aren't engaging the muscle enough and putting too much pressure on the joints. I would give it a little more time to see if you body adjusts with regular exercise.

[mrsjay]

May 24, 2016 12:59:40 GMT -5 firelight1210 said:

May 24, 2016 12:05:22 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Since it sounds like you're newer to exercise (I know you say you've been on and off, so maybe I'm wrong, but I have the impression from your posts that you're not super confident in knowing your body and the effect of the movements you're doing on it), I would first try to get a trainer or even a PT to look at you to make sure that you're doing the exercises correctly and that there isn't some kind of imbalance of the type wambam mentions that needs to be strengthened. If after that you're satisfied that it's just a case of wear and tear causing you pain, then I'd move to bracing. There are definitely situations where using gear to help pain is the right answer, but you also don't want to ignore an issue that should be fixed.

This could be. I've has issues with this knee for years, mostly just getting really achy if bent for too long (like at the movies or even at a restaurant). I always wrote that off as a consequence of being fairly tall (6ft) and having long legs, lol. But perhaps I'm aggravating it more now by working out incorrectly. I feel like I'm doing these right, lead with the butt for squats, flat back, chest and shine at a same angle, but I might benefit from having someone check.

I would also try doing some wall squats (squat facing a wall with your hands up over your head) just as a gut check for your form. It's pretty impossible to do a wall squat with poor technique since you'll hit the wall if you do. I have very long legs and it's a good self-corrector for me to make sure my knees are pushed back far enough (they get achy if I'm not pushing them far enough back). It's 'easy' for me to squat deep with poor form since I'm longer in my lower half.

[firelight1210]

May 26, 2016 13:52:32 GMT -5 mrsjay said:

May 24, 2016 12:59:40 GMT -5 firelight1210 said:

This could be. I've has issues with this knee for years, mostly just getting really achy if bent for too long (like at the movies or even at a restaurant). I always wrote that off as a consequence of being fairly tall (6ft) and having long legs, lol. But perhaps I'm aggravating it more now by working out incorrectly. I feel like I'm doing these right, lead with the butt for squats, flat back, chest and shine at a same angle, but I might benefit from having someone check.

I would also try doing some wall squats (squat facing a wall with your hands up over your head) just as a gut check for your form. It's pretty impossible to do a wall squat with poor technique since you'll hit the wall if you do. I have very long legs and it's a good self-corrector for me to make sure my knees are pushed back far enough (they get achy if I'm not pushing them far enough back). It's 'easy' for me to squat deep with poor form since I'm longer in my lower half.

This is an awesome tip! Thank you! I will try it and report back.

[hannahb]

Sounds like a patellar tracking issue. Could be tight hips, weak hips, poor truck control (core), over pronation, I could go on...
I would get it looked at by a PT. You might not need formal therapy but they may be able to give you a good home program to address whatever issues there are