Did I Break Something?

Last tuesday I worked out in the AM and had a yoga class in the evening.
Current w/out is giant sets, back + legs or chest + legs, 22 - 28 sets with very little rest, followed by stairmaster 20 minutes as fast as I can climb and not pass out. Leg exercises are not heavy.
Yoga was Sun Salutation and triangle poses. At the end of the day I felt great.

At some point during the day. I did something to my left knee. At first I put it down as just a tweak like we all get from time to time, but it seems to be getting worse. When I go to a full squat position (ATG), pain starts about 6 inches above parallel, and I feel a pull that starts under where the quad ends just above the knee. It continues under the right (inner) side of the kneecap and down about 3 inches below it. The pain stays all the way down. Once I stand back up, it diminishes and goes away. This is irritating, but I can live with it.

The really bad part is it is stiff and painful when I first wake up, and also if I sit with my legs in one position for too long. After I walk around a while, it loosens up - I can even do a workout, although I have passed on direct leg work except SLDL (light and slow) since this appeared. So far treatment has been NSAIDS, rest, and some stretching. I cannot get as good a stretch on the hamstring on this side as I did before either.
If I can avoid the doc I would like to. Except for this, workouts are going great and (make fun if you like)the yoga kicks ass. No previous problems with the knees. Anyone got an idea what this is and how to make it go away?
I am making great progress and hoping this is just a bump in the road and not a detour.

Sounds to me like you need a trip to the doc and an x-ray. The down side is x-rays do not show soft tissue damage. That takes an MRI. I did something very similar about 4 or 5 years ago on a real heavy lift. The knee would swell up and hurt like hell in the AM then would fade. The pain only showed up when I was squating or climbing stairs. The doctor keep jerking me around until one day I insisted to see an ostiopathic doctor. He ordered an MRI. What they found was a stress fracture at the top of the shin bone just behind the knee cap. The knee cap hid the crack in the x-ray. The ostiopath laughed and said, “I could have sworn you blew out you ACL.”

Go get looked at.

DS Thanks for the input. This sounds very similar. I hope not - but what was the course of treatment? It seems like something where you really can’t do much of anything to speed healing, except rest it.

Unless it fades quickly indeed, I will be at the docs this week. Very stiff this AM, but loosening up.

What can be done depends on whatthey find. It took so long for an MRI that by then the bone was already starting to heal. I can’t remember but I believe it was about two months between the hurt and the MRI. The ostiopath told me there were two options at that point. One was to rebreak it and run in some screws the other was to let it heal on its own. I decided to not help the surgan buy another Porche. I let it heal on its own. It took about another three for me to be able to squat without any pain and another three with heavy weight. Good luck, let us know whatthe saw bones says.

Dr & X-rays on Monday - Left knee has been getting bigger. Stiffness is gone, but now it is puffy, and feels “loose” for lack of a better term. Feels like shit is moving around in there. Doesn’t hurt much though.
Sucks bacause now no Stair Master escalator thingee, and that thing was burning the fat off like crazy.

Be sure you let us know what is happening when you find out.

Got it. My Chiro. is also a Masters Division rugby team coach. He nailed it immediately. “This won’t hurt” Didn’t. “This will hurt” I came up off the table.

I have a strained lateral collateral ligament. Good news is no real damage. Just have to skip a lot of the yoga and avoid any tisting movements for that leg.

Dodged another bullet.