I've been on Ripptoe's Starting Strength for about 3 months. I had previously never done squats in my life. Today, I have been doing ~200lb squats. I had gone up to 220lbs, but reset to 190 to insure I was going below parallel.
Anyways, over the last two weeks I have noticed that my left knee gets really soar both during and after squats. The soarness is on the upper part of the kneecap. In fact, it also feels as if it's bruised underneath the skin.
The soarness only lasts till the end of the day. However, when I poke in that region, I feel pain. Friday afternoon was the last time I squated, and today when I poke my upper kneecap I can feel a slight pain.
Any ideas as to what it could be? Should I be using one of those knee support things when squatting?
Thanks!
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08-03-2008, 02:32 PM #1
- Join Date: Dec 2007
- Location: Massachusetts, United States
- Posts: 9,556
- Rep Power: 6733
After Squats: Left Knee soar and feels bruised
Because if it were easy, I wouldn't be interested.
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08-04-2008, 04:24 PM #2
- Join Date: Apr 2008
- Location: Massachusetts, United States
- Age: 38
- Posts: 293
- Rep Power: 335
You haev a bursa in that area (look it up) supra-patellear bursa. Also, your tendon attaches around there. So, it could be either tendonitis, or the beginning of bursitis. Either way you are probably squatting uneven a little. Have someone watch you and look at your gait/shoes to try and correct this. don't do leg extensions anymore and try more deadlifts/legpresses/lunges to change it up. Squats are great for heavier weight, but arent the alpha and omega to leg training.
Chris Brown, CSCS
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08-04-2008, 08:21 PM #3
- Join Date: Nov 2006
- Location: Danville, California, United States
- Age: 51
- Posts: 1,910
- Rep Power: 622
I would suspect patellar tendonitis. If this is the case, you need to ice the affected area, stretch and massage your quads and IT band, and avoid doing stuff that causes pain till you have it under control. You can also help to naturally reduce the inflammation and promote healing by using a good joint support product lik Elasti-Joint.
Best,Dr Clay Hyght, DC, CSCS, CISSN
www.DrClay.com
www.Labrada.com
Labrada Nutrition: "The Most Trusted Name in Sports Nutrition!"
The above is for informational purposes only and is not meant to be used as medical advice. Always consult your doctor prior to beginning any new diet, supplementation, or exercise program.
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08-04-2008, 08:32 PM #4
i was having a similar issue a few months back, i did an additional 2 extra warm up sets and switched to box squats (no pain in the knees for alot of people) for a month then moved back to regulars. Good as new right now, infact box squats are great for insuring parallel, and improving strength though some people dont have good carry overs to regular squating.
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08-04-2008, 08:36 PM #5
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08-04-2008, 08:45 PM #6
I have the exact same problem and I've had it for about 3 months now. Pain right on top of the patella, a little toward the inner part of the leg. Pressure on a certain spot reveals a great deal of tenderness. Incidentally, I was squat about the same as you (230 lbs). Perhaps you'll notice that the first rep in your squat is usually the most painful. These days standing around or sitting around for long usually causes my knee to stiffen up. I went to rehab for a while but at $20 per hour I wasn't seeing any results. If you're like me "rest" doesn't seem like much of an option. I genuinely tried to rest for about 4 weeks and seemed to get better but when I got back to squatting the pain resumed to as bad as before. Basketball makes the pain worse and you'll find that once you get warmed up playing your sport or lifting the pain virtually disappears but once you're done with it you're hobbled. Your ability to squat too with just your body weight will be limited, almost like knee mobility has decreased.
Unfortunately for me similar problems began to appear in my left knee as well, but not as badly (perhaps a compensation injury). It seems to no longer be a bother in my left knee though.
My doctor recommended getting a patella strap and it seems to alleviate the pain, although that probably is in large part to the fact that it inhibits knee flexion almost totally, which means no squats or lower body activity, actually...
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08-04-2008, 08:53 PM #7
http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/ls9.htm
Possibly give this article a read, its on box squating. I dont want to sound like a salesman but it really helped me with still having leg progress while having knee trouble. My squat went from 170x5 (pre box squat, painful knee) to 315x2 (post box squating) in 3 months, alot was probably just having a pain free knee and being able to get back to going 100% at it, but still it works!
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08-06-2008, 05:28 PM #8
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