knee pain while walking UP stairs

abcdcm143

Hi all - while doing a strength training workout I hurt my knee during a split squat sequence. The pain was more uncomfortable and not a shooting pain, but enough to stop the movement.

I am not in constant pain. I have no swelling and it does not hurt to touch the knee. I can walk fine. I have found that the only pain I experience is while walking up stairs. Going down stairs is fine.

This happened a week ago. Wondering if anyone out there had a similar injury? Trying to decide if going to the doctor is a good idea or just giving it some time and rest.

adelinue

I had a similar injury while running. I took a few week off any activity that engage the knee and didn't have any problem since.
Is the pain the same as in Day 1? Or is it less intense/require more effort to provoke since then? Has there been any change?

earlnabby

abcdcm143 wrote: »

Hi all - while doing a strength training workout I hurt my knee during a split squat sequence. The pain was more uncomfortable and not a shooting pain, but enough to stop the movement.

I am not in constant pain. I have no swelling and it does not hurt to touch the knee. I can walk fine. I have found that the only pain I experience is while walking up stairs. Going down stairs is fine.

This happened a week ago. Wondering if anyone out there had a similar injury? Trying to decide if going to the doctor is a good idea or just giving it some time and rest.

I would give it a couple of days rest. If that doesn't fix it, make an appointment with the doctor.

Yes, I have had a similar injury. Some go away quickly and some have not.

SnifterPug

I sometimes get a pain just above the kneecap when going upstairs on a knee with an old injury. In my case it is discomfort rather than pain so I just try to take it easy and it clears up. Holding the banister and slightly adjusting leg angles can help a lot.

annliz23

Rest it and do other exercises instead like sitting down weights, crunches, waist twists etc..

Kupla71

I had a similar injury while jumping from side to side. It hurts sometimes while going up and down the stairs only so I didn’t think it was a serious injury. This happened about a year ago and only now I have gone to a physiotherapist. She has advised me to not exercise on the stairclimber, not to do squats, not to bike for any more than 20 minutes/day and recommended swimming for exercise. I also have a bunch of exercises I have to do twice a day to strengthen the muscles around my kneecap. I can only hope it will improve. I don’t want a bad knee for the rest of my life! I hope you recover quickly but I wouldn’t put off going to a doctor for as long as I did.

apullum

Has there been any improvement over that week? Have you been icing the knee and resting?

If it's been a week with no improvement, I'd get it checked out.

sijomial

If rest doesn't work I would see a Physio rather than a general Doctor.

meggs9605

Kupla71 wrote: »

I had a similar injury while jumping from side to side. It hurts sometimes while going up and down the stairs only so I didn’t think it was a serious injury. This happened about a year ago and only now I have gone to a physiotherapist. She has advised me to not exercise on the stairclimber, not to do squats, not to bike for any more than 20 minutes/day and recommended swimming for exercise. I also have a bunch of exercises I have to do twice a day to strengthen the muscles around my kneecap. I can only hope it will improve. I don’t want a bad knee for the rest of my life! I hope you recover quickly but I wouldn’t put off going to a doctor for as long as I did.

Can you share what excercises you are do to strengthen the muscles around your knee? I can google it, of course, but I have chronic knee issues. (I have flat feet that can put strain on my knees. I have dealt with OA since childhood due to being heavy. And, my joints are hyper mobile so it is very easy to strain them by hyper extending if my form slips.) I would love to incorporate some things to help with knee stability since constant injury (even mild ones) tend to set me back (both in training and motivation).

sijomial

@meggs9605

You need to get exercise advice for YOUR knee injuries and conditions - not for someone else's.
Knees are far too complex a joint to have generic advice for every possible injury or combination of injuries.

For example for one of my knees I mustn't lunge, running has to be minimal, I can (and do) cycle all day, I should avoid breaststroke kick when swimming but freestyle kick is fine, stair climber is OK, leg press is good right up to the point I grind the bones together. Very different advice compared to what @Kupla71 received for their no doubt different situation.

kshama2001

meggs9605 wrote: »

Kupla71 wrote: »

I had a similar injury while jumping from side to side. It hurts sometimes while going up and down the stairs only so I didn’t think it was a serious injury. This happened about a year ago and only now I have gone to a physiotherapist. She has advised me to not exercise on the stairclimber, not to do squats, not to bike for any more than 20 minutes/day and recommended swimming for exercise. I also have a bunch of exercises I have to do twice a day to strengthen the muscles around my kneecap. I can only hope it will improve. I don’t want a bad knee for the rest of my life! I hope you recover quickly but I wouldn’t put off going to a doctor for as long as I did.

Can you share what exercises you are do to strengthen the muscles around your knee? I can google it, of course, but I have chronic knee issues. (I have flat feet that can put strain on my knees. I have dealt with OA since childhood due to being heavy. And, my joints are hyper mobile so it is very easy to strain them by hyper extending if my form slips.) I would love to incorporate some things to help with knee stability since constant injury (even mild ones) tend to set me back (both in training and motivation).

This is what my PT gave me:



I also do most of these in between weight lifting sets (I have pain if I do the whole sequence at once)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLoMA7I7HOQ&list=PLUXvX9BaxgqG9yO5XWB3gA_QshvrrcjVr&index=2&t=2s

sgt1372

sijomial wrote: »

@meggs9605

You need to get exercise advice for YOUR knee injuries and conditions - not for someone else's.

Knees are far too complex a joint to have generic advice for every possible injury or combination of injuries.

I'd agree w/this.

I'm an example of someone w/a 3-way ligament tear in his left knee who didn't get surgery done on it and who can do just about ANYTHING w/it (lift, hike, cycle & row) as long as he doesn't twist it in the same way that caused the injury (a left foot plant while skiing; the knee twisted but not the ski).

I don't ski anymore but could still ski many yrs after the injury while wearing a custom fitted carbon fiber brace that prevented my knee from twisting.

Immediately after the injury my knee would often "pop out" of joint which was very painful but over time I built up the strength around the knee so this never happens anymore. However, if I'm going to engage in any activity which may cause me to twist my knee, like roller blading or ice skating, I'll still put on my knee brace to avoid a problem.

meggs9605

OP - sorry for hijacking your thread! But thanks to those who offered advice and feedback to my question. You all made good points. Thank you again!

cherriegh

I'm experiencing same problem but I'm not sure where and when I hurt my knee but I'm struggling to squat and doing split squats is the worst....