Knee pain during squats/ lunges

LisaAnn642015
LisaAnn642015 Posts: 91 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, I'm looking for advice for finding relief for knee pain during squats/lunges. I use a brace on my left knee ( that's the only one I have the issue with ) would it be better to wrap the knee? I've tried using slip on support knee sleeves, the Tommie copper, and icy hot the heck out of it but to no avail it still twinges during and after workout. I'm double checking to make sure my form's correct and I've started modifying by not lowering as far or stepping forward as much. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,984 Member
    Have you had it assessed by an orthopedist yet? If not, that would be the first thing I would have you do. If it was BOTH knees, then it may be a form issue, but you're only pegging it on one knee.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • Grosen17
    Grosen17 Posts: 56 Member
    Hey, start with form
    Im 220; When I used to do 315 my knees would hurt during and after
    I started to try different techniques and now I'm doing 465 with no pain
    When you stand,
    feet shoulder width,
    Heels slightly in and toes slightly pointed out
    This will take pressure off your knees
    Imagine plates under your feet and throughout the whole motion, imaging twisting those plates outward. This will help from keeping your knees going inward
    Keep your chest up, head neutral and elbows tucked

    Aside from form, take some fish oil which is a natural anti inflammatory . good substitute for Advil

    Hope that helps : )
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    lunges are knee killers for me. Maybe use the Trx until you get better strength, sometimes its just about developing the muscles and getting them strong and of course you need to have spot on form.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Have you had it assessed by an orthopedist yet? If not, that would be the first thing I would have you do. If it was BOTH knees, then it may be a form issue, but you're only pegging it on one knee.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    +1. Pain is a warning. Ignore it at your peril.
  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
    I had "minor" knee pain/discomfort when going heavy on squats/lunges. Started wearing SBD knee sleeves and now they feel 100%. If you haven't yet, check out the "So you think you can squat" series on YouTube. Very good info! Also have one for deadlift and bench.
  • ursoco86
    ursoco86 Posts: 12 Member
    I had a similar problem, for me it was my muscle on my inside thigh was not as developed as my outside thigh muscle and when I did squats or lunges the outside thigh would pull my knee cap. I saw a physiotherapist who gave me exercises and stretches then I changed my leg routine to work on strengthening those muscles. I suggest you see a physio, when it comes to pain while training it's usually an old injury or muscles, or as many have said form... But a physio can identify which muscle and what the problem is
  • BrandNewMan1970
    BrandNewMan1970 Posts: 373 Member
    Go light perfect form but really a squat is a tough exercise on the joints
  • armylife
    armylife Posts: 196 Member
    baysidebitches wrote: »
    Go light perfect form but really a squat is a tough exercise on the joints

    As opposed to?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,984 Member
    baysidebitches wrote: »
    Go light perfect form but really a squat is a tough exercise on the joints
    Depends on resistance, form, and execution. Some people do them wrong and have knee issues as well as low back issues.
    And as mentioned, any exercise will impact joints to an extent. Running, jumping, swinging a golf club, swimming, etc.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    I can't do either, but with bodyweight lunges it's the repetition that gets me. I do weighted glute bridges instead and my knees don't bother me then. Of course, there are probably a million different reasons for knee problems, so YMMV.
  • Merrysix
    Merrysix Posts: 336 Member
    I have bone on bone arthritis in my left knee and this is how I worked up to great squats -- I started out doing them holding on to a pole. I stand very close to the pole, and my feet are about hip width apart, and toes pointing outward, so that my knees don't hurt when I squat. Each session I went down as far as I could in the squat, and keeping my knees pointed outward (most important not to collapse knees inward), and my core totally engaged, and my shoulders/lats down, I moved upward using my quads/glutes/core, and using as much support as I needed from holding on (pulling up) the pole. Doing the squats this way, I could keep my form perfect, and didn't experience knee pain. In fact the motion seemed to mush my synovial fluid around in my knees and they felt a lot better. Now I can do squats without the help of the pole, but I still do some at the pole so I can practice deep, deep, perfect form squats. I really see progress -- today I did the squats very deep ("in the hole"), curling a bar weight upward when I came up. I do a lot of heavy weights to strengthen all the muscles around my knees, quads, glutes, core to help the knee arthritis, and unbelievably (and after losing some weight (with more to go) I am able to run 2 miles twice per week. When I lose some more weight I will up it to three!
  • LisaAnn642015
    LisaAnn642015 Posts: 91 Member
    Thanks for all the advice everyone will check into all this information. Appreciate everybody's input Have a Great Day!
  • _Bropollo_
    _Bropollo_ Posts: 168 Member
    Likely your knees travel over/past your toes. Common issue during squats. Make sure to keep your back upright. Using a low-bar squat position and a slightly wider stance can help, just make sure to adjust your foot angle accordingly so your knees track in line with your foot if you do so.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I can't do lunges yet. I do squats; down slow, fast up. Try doing a squat with your back against the wall.
  • mmebouchon
    mmebouchon Posts: 855 Member
    Merrysix wrote: »
    I have bone on bone arthritis in my left knee and this is how I worked up to great squats -- I started out doing them holding on to a pole. I stand very close to the pole, and my feet are about hip width apart, and toes pointing outward, so that my knees don't hurt when I squat. Each session I went down as far as I could in the squat, and keeping my knees pointed outward (most important not to collapse knees inward), and my core totally engaged, and my shoulders/lats down, I moved upward using my quads/glutes/core, and using as much support as I needed from holding on (pulling up) the pole. Doing the squats this way, I could keep my form perfect, and didn't experience knee pain. In fact the motion seemed to mush my synovial fluid around in my knees and they felt a lot better. Now I can do squats without the help of the pole, but I still do some at the pole so I can practice deep, deep, perfect form squats. I really see progress -- today I did the squats very deep ("in the hole"), curling a bar weight upward when I came up. I do a lot of heavy weights to strengthen all the muscles around my knees, quads, glutes, core to help the knee arthritis, and unbelievably (and after losing some weight (with more to go) I am able to run 2 miles twice per week. When I lose some more weight I will up it to three!

    Interesting
  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
    No one can tell you if you are doing anything wrong that is causing your knee pain unless they can see a video of you performing a squat. It would be best to post a video of you squatting a weight that is very heavy for you so we could see where your form breaks down.

    With that being said, the most common reason that people experience knee pain when squatting is that they don't sit back into the squat or activate their hamstrings and glutes to the same extent they do their quads. This causes an uneven force to be applied to the knee and can result in knee pain or even patellar tendonosis if they keep squatting without fixing their form. Do you sit back far into your squats? How far do your knees come over your toes? Do you use a wide stance or a narrow stance? High bar or Low bar position?

    If you don't know the answers to these questions then you don't know how to squat well enough for it to be safe or effective; however, you can get on the road to remedying that by watching this video series:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ME8gEN54Ao&list=PLD7BE939BB32B4CAB

    It can take years for someone to really get their squat down so don't get discouraged. Just keep trying to make improvements and fix problems quickly when they arise. Good luck.

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