Help, knee pains..

[kawana]

Ok well let me give you a little back history, I was born with something called "knocking knees" basicly normal legs go like this || mine are angled very slightly inwards )( you get the idea,not that dramaticly though lol. I bought orthotics long ago and they help, but ive found that after i did squats, the next day my knee hurt quite a bit. If i give it a day or 2 rest im fine but I need to know 2 things:

1. what might i do to ease the pain on my legs, such as ice or w/e
2. What excersize(s) could i do that would give the same benefits as squats/hindu squats, but be easier on my knees.

Funny thing is something like leg lifts on a weight machine causes no pain in my legs lol. Im gunna give them a try again tonight at the gym and hope for the best. Just dont wanna push myself and tear/damage something. Thanks for the help.

[standAPART]

I suggest you foam roll your IT band (outer portion of the thigh) and stretch. Knee tracking problems during hip extension (squat) will cause pain. Where is your pain? Outside of knee, inside of leg, or above knee?
Aslo, you wil have to examine your hamstrings. If they are tight and overactive, they can be causing pain.

You can find foam roling info here: http://www.power-systems.com/news/01_26_06b.aspx

[kawana]

Ok thanks, Thanks. The pain isn't all the time, like when i walk around its fine. Its only when im doing the squats that it hurts.

[amorelli]

make sure your form is correct. Incorrect form, eg letting your knees go infront of your toes so that you feel your heels starting to come up a bit, puts a great amount of stress on your knees. Also, don't go further than 90˚ while squating, as that stresses your knees more as well. One more thing - it might be a good idea to invest in a band/brace.

[kawana]

make sure your form is correct. Incorrect form, eg letting your knees go infront of your toes so that you feel your heels starting to come up a bit, puts a great amount of stress on your knees. Also, don't go further than 90˚ while squating, as that stresses your knees more as well. One more thing - it might be a good idea to invest in a band/brace.

Ooh ok i think ive been doing em wrong, i was under the impression that i was supposed to go down Low, like almost touching my heels? That may be the problem :P The brace would be a good idea too. Thanks for the help guys

[amorelli]

Ooh ok i think ive been doing em wrong, i was under the impression that i was supposed to go down Low, like almost touching my heels? That may be the problem :P The brace would be a good idea too. Thanks for the help guys

It depends what you're doing. With weighted squats, I would never suggest going down too low. Some types of squats (hindu, and probably some others) do have you go until your butt rests on your heels. Anyway... I hope not going down so far helps.

Did you try to strengthen your adductors and abductors as well as calve muscles in in out and parallel positions.

[kawana]

No idea what you just said there buddy lol :P The pain seems to be on the back of my knee. It started to hurt yesterday after ONE squat, not weighted or Hindu. I had a knee brace on also, so im not sure why its hurting so easily?!?

[Celcius]

Back of the knee?
Between the tendons? What movement agrevates the pain? Flexion? -extension?

[kawana]

between the tendons i believe, only hurts when im going down then i stop to go back up. i dont go below bout 90%

[neoplasme]

What about your flexiblility? You should often stretch your quad and armstring and for you I would try to stretch my inner thigh a lot because those muscle attacht close to your knee and do pull kind of inward so this maybe could help you. Check you flexibility

Thanks
Neo

[Moonduck]

From reading up on my own knee issues, I've found that a fair number of non-trauma-related knee problems have muscle imbalance/weakness at their core. In my own case, my plica problems are trauma related, but my apparent 'runner's knee' problems look to be imbalance related. Whee.

[kawana]

im not sure flexibiltiy is a problem lol, i have something called "hyperflexibility" in my hips and knees, its a problem since birth :P i can touch my face with my foot standing up lol. Perhaps the extra flexibility IS my problem, dunno lol. Ill try stretching more or something.

[1rickloyd1]

touch your face with your foot standing up.....post a pic of that. :lol:

[kawana]

When i say touch my foot to my face, i mean by pulling it to my face, not no-handed lol, but ya. Its a genetic thingy, my cousin and grandpa have a more severe version of it. My Cousins left arm is the worst, it gets dislocated very very easily.

[kawana]

touch your face with your foot standing up.....post a pic of that. :lol:

Ok you were probably thinking i ment with no hands, but heres a pic anyhow. Funny thing is its only my right leg that can do this, my left cant go higher than my waist lol:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/kawana/foottoface.jpg

P.S. dont mind my belly :) Im workin on that haha

[Moonduck]

im not sure flexibiltiy is a problem lol, i have something called "hyperflexibility" in my hips and knees, its a problem since birth :P i can touch my face with my foot standing up lol. Perhaps the extra flexibility IS my problem, dunno lol. Ill try stretching more or something.

Interesting concept. On a whim, I gave it a shot, and found that I could easily touch foot to face with either legs. As I mentioned before, I have knee issues too. There might be some merit in your idea that hyper flexibility could be contributing to your knee issues, especially if yours is unbalanced.

[kawana]

im not 100% sure now, cuz last night i just made sure i stretched my legs more than normal, and i did bout 30 sqauts and 10 hindu sqauts with no knee problems. Perhaps i wasn't stretching them well enough. We'll see tonight, im gunna try to hit the gym again if i have time. Thanks for your help guys.

[koltz]

if the muscles don't hold the bone together then it grinds away

[kawana]

^^ Possible solutions? or are you saying im screwed either way lol.

[pusher]

Heres an idea for ya. If you are having problems with squats ( hopefully it gets better ), how about wall squats ?? Putting your back against a wall, walking your feet out, lowering yourself down, so that the thighs are 90 degrees, and the lower leg almost straight to the floor, and hold. No hands on the knees, keep the back flat, and hold as long as you can.
This concept will even work if you have had an injury, and cannot do repetitive movements. For example, doing a partial pushup, and holding it there, instead of cycling up and down. You will still work the muscle, and its much easier on the joints. Good Luck !!!!!