Lunges and squats kill my knees!

2»

Replies

  • Mellouk89
    Mellouk89 Posts: 469 Member
    You can do stationary lunges like this one leg at a time, it's easier on your knees I believe.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2Qbxb6nJKc
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,974 Member
    Could be a lot of reasons for the pain.

    Form should be easy to fix, if that's the issue. Orthopedic problems can only be assessed by a qualified physician.

    Have you ever tried neoprene braces (reinforced and non-reinforced) or elastic wraps? If not, you might want to try them to see if they help or not.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
    sgt1372 wrote: »
    Could be a lot of reasons for the pain.

    Form should be easy to fix, if that's the issue. Orthopedic problems can only be assessed by a qualified physician.

    Have you ever tried neoprene braces (reinforced and non-reinforced) or elastic wraps? If not, you might want to try them to see if they help or not.

    Personally wouldn't use wraps, braces, etc unless I knew the root cause of the pain and then preferable with the advice of a medical professional.
  • DD265
    DD265 Posts: 651 Member
    edited June 2021
    As others have said, it's worth seeing a medical professional.

    I developed tendonitis in both knees when running; a session with my physio determined that I currently lack ankle mobility and therefore was putting more through my knees. I also need to work on my lower abdominal strength/activation and t-spine mobility. He gave me a series of exercises which are making a huge difference.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
    edited June 2021
    DD265 wrote: »
    As others have said, it's worth seeing a medical professional.

    I developed tendonitis in both knees when running; a session with my physio determined that I currently lack ankle mobility and therefore was putting more through my knees. I also need to work on my lower abdominal strength/activation and t-spine mobility. He gave me a series of exercises which are making a huge difference.

    You make a very good point.

    The knee is generally considered a dumb joint, it just acts as a hinge, while joints like the ankle and hip movenin multiple planes. Unless there is a specific injury to the knee such as torn ligaments, the root cause of the pain is more likely to be poor motion in the ankles or hips (through injury, lack of strength/mobility etc). The poor motion of the ankles and or hips makes the knee try to compensate resulting in pain.

    http://graycook.com/?p=35

    https://rockysfitnesscenter.com/knee-joint-dumb-as-post/
  • TinaLeigh67
    TinaLeigh67 Posts: 669 Member
    pismodiver wrote: »
    Another thing (which may or may not make a difference for you, but helps me) is to do reverse lunges (i.e. step backwards, not forward).

    I agree. I have had issues with knee pain and front lunges. I find reverse lunges are much easier on the knees.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
    Beverly2Hansen wrote: »
    So I had this problem after my muscles atrophied because I was struggling with my health and I over came it. Hear me out, you might not be strong enough for those exercises. I had to switch to walking and swimming which massively toned my legs over 6 months and I increased my speed in both over time. After that I could do weighted squats and regular squats but lunges still irritate my knees so I do step ups instead. Sometimes you need to work on foundation flexibility and foundation muscles before doing these exercises.

    I found that after a few months getting back into running I could do squats and lunges much more easily than I could before. I wasn't dealing with sharp pains, though, just intense DOMS. I decided to stop, wait a few months, focus on running and increasing my walking because I could do that without intense soreness. Then I tried again and it was much more reasonable. Challenging, but I didn't feel like I was going to die!

    I was also much lighter after those couple of months so I'm sure that contributed. :D
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    Knee issues can be caused by any number of things, so it's really better to have it assessed by a physical therapist or personal trainer who really knows about these kinds of things.

    My knee had started to bother me in squats, even though I had really been focusing on my glutes in all planes of movements so felt like that wasn't the issue for me. Once I started working on ankle mobility and strength (and in my case,modifying my diet to find out what foods trigger increased joint/muscle problems), I almost never have knee issues anymore.

Categories