Alternative to squats and lunges?

dolezalovaeli

So due to the recent developments of my patellar tracking disorder, I have to find a different way to target my leg muscles than lunges and squats. I'm able to do bridges with no pain or almost no pain so that's good for glutes, I can do dead lifts for hamstrings but I have yet to find a suitable replacement for exercising quads. I can lift and bend knee just fine but the knee is unstable when bent so I cannot do any "balancing" on it like when lunging or squatting because it hurts like hell due to my patella pressing itself the wrong way. Basically I cannot do the sitting down motion when the weight is on the knee. Any ideas for quads with knee issues?

BoxerBrawler

I have seen people modify by using the assisted pull up machine. They set their weight and the height of the step and then standing straight up in front of it and put on foot on the platform and push down.

Keira08

Does the leg press cause you any pain? Or leg extension machine? Both will target your quads

yobigman

I do assisted squats for my arthritic knees, on the advice of a physical therapist. I put a chair next to a solid object that offers support for lowering my body (I use an elliptical trainer). I hold onto the elliptical & squat my butt towards the chair. When the butt touches, I stand back up, using the elliptical for support. I do 20 reps.

Muscleflex79

I have a patella tracking problem as well (just had my second surgery in the last year for it in January). RDLs have been great for hamstrings, but I have the same problem for quads. I've been doing partial leg presses for the last couple years - only coming down as far as I can - I am definitely engaging the quads and have leg development and definition now that I've never had in the past - so I figure I'm doing something right!

Are you seeing a doctor about it?? Do you have plans for surgery or what is the long term plan to deal with it?? This has been the struggle of my last few years!

pondee629

dolezalovaeli wrote: »

So due to the recent developments of my patellar tracking disorder, I have to find a different way to target my leg muscles than lunges and squats. I'm able to do bridges with no pain or almost no pain so that's good for glutes, I can do dead lifts for hamstrings but I have yet to find a suitable replacement for exercising quads. I can lift and bend knee just fine but the knee is unstable when bent so I cannot do any "balancing" on it like when lunging or squatting because it hurts like hell due to my patella pressing itself the wrong way. Basically I cannot do the sitting down motion when the weight is on the knee. Any ideas for quads with knee issues?

What answer does your DOCTOR or PHYSICAL THERAPIST have to this question? Shouldn't that person have a crack at it? Personally, I'd take the advise of the trained professional I hired over random opinions from the net.

dolezalovaeli

pondee629 wrote: »

dolezalovaeli wrote: »

So due to the recent developments of my patellar tracking disorder, I have to find a different way to target my leg muscles than lunges and squats. I'm able to do bridges with no pain or almost no pain so that's good for glutes, I can do dead lifts for hamstrings but I have yet to find a suitable replacement for exercising quads. I can lift and bend knee just fine but the knee is unstable when bent so I cannot do any "balancing" on it like when lunging or squatting because it hurts like hell due to my patella pressing itself the wrong way. Basically I cannot do the sitting down motion when the weight is on the knee. Any ideas for quads with knee issues?

What answer does your DOCTOR or PHYSICAL THERAPIST have to this question? Shouldn't that person have a crack at it? Personally, I'd take the advise of the trained professional I hired over random opinions from the net.

Geez, man. I'm just looking for inspiration here. I'm not asking for health advice. I asked about alternative ways to exercise quads that I may not have thought of.

For your peace of mind, I've lived with this condition my whole life. The only thing I'm not allowed is skiing, otherwise I can do anything as long as there's no pain.

dolezalovaeli

Muscleflex79 wrote: »

I have a patella tracking problem as well (just had my second surgery in the last year for it in January). RDLs have been great for hamstrings, but I have the same problem for quads. I've been doing partial leg presses for the last couple years - only coming down as far as I can - I am definitely engaging the quads and have leg development and definition now that I've never had in the past - so I figure I'm doing something right!

Are you seeing a doctor about it?? Do you have plans for surgery or what is the long term plan to deal with it?? This has been the struggle of my last few years!

Thanks, I'll try the partial leg presses too. I've been seeing a doctor for the past 10 years or so when I first started experiencing issues. I've been on magnetotherapy and various suplements which sustained me for a significant chunk of those 10 years. Since my left knee has gotten worse, we've discussed surgery. How are you happy with yours though? This disorder runs in my family and some of my relatives had undergone surgery but neither of them feels like it helped or was worth it.

Cherimoose

If your symptoms have been worsening, you might have other contributing factors, like with your foot arches, for example, or working a desk job. A sports physical therapist or sports medicine clinic should be able to identify contributing factors, as well as answer your quad question. Following random advice has in fact injured people.

That said, wall sits are generally safe for knee issues.

Exercises that sometimes work for some knee issues are wide-stance squats, split squats, and step-ups. For stepups, use a shorter step than shown, like 1 or 2 stairway steps.

Also, the rectus femoris - one of your quad muscles - works on leg raises, hanging knee raises, etc.

I thought magnet therapy was pseudoscience?

dolezalovaeli

Cherimoose wrote: »

If your symptoms have been worsening, you might have other contributing factors, like with your foot arches, for example, or working a desk job. A sports physical therapist or sports medicine clinic should be able to identify contributing factors, as well as answer your quad question. Following random advice has in fact injured people.

That said, wall sits are generally safe for knee issues.

Exercises that sometimes work for some knee issues are wide-stance squats, split squats, and step-ups. For stepups, use a shorter step than shown, like 1 or 2 stairway steps.

Also, the rectus femoris - one of your quad muscles - works on leg raises, hanging knee raises, etc.

I thought magnet therapy was pseudoscience?

Thanks, will check. Not sure if I'm calling it right because english is not my native language but this was prescribed by my doctor (orthopedist) and is performed by physical therapist (and as I was told, is pretty expensive if you want it more than twice a year which is what my insurance covers) - basically they put your leg in a tubular device resembling MR scanner but much much smaller and it does something for about half an hour. I was going a couple times a week for a period of time. The knee is sometimes achy after but it helped in the long run.

Muscleflex79

zolezalovaeli - ill send you a private message to discuss knee surgeries more!