Theres times when you have to remind yourself things could be(and for many people are) a helluva lot worse. My story.
I started lifting when I was 19, started with machines before moving to free weights and becoming fascinated with squats and deadlifts. It was half a year after that I noticed my knees “snapping” when i extended my knee, almost like the patella was popping back into place. I ignored this at the time and continued with leg press and other LE exercises. I always hated lunges and bulgarian squats, they never felt right to me. This itself should have been a warning.
One day I was deadlifting and felt pain in my left knee. After that I noticed I would feel knee pain when squatting even a quarter and saw how unstable I was with the bar on me. For years I avoided most LE exercises due to the pressure/pain in my L knee.
Fast forward to 32 and I can see how much dysfunction I have going on. After having an assesment done as well as my own observations I have seen the following.
My right knee now hurts alot when im standing for work and I am very uncomfortable standing on both feet. Usually I will lean on one leg or another. I cannot turn to my left side which I found is due to my lumbar being twisted to the right. My L leg externally rotates and is very unstable/weak, its also “longer” due to asymmetrical hips alignment. I have FAI symptoms in the L hip and some in the right, though I think this is less due to bone and more to tightness/dysfunction in hip muscles and maybe sacral torsion too. At this time single leg work is out of the question as are deadlifts and squats/leg presses. I have the constant wobble feeling in my LE like muscles are overcompensating and fire off without unison, the instability is likely what is making the pain in my knee so bad when standing.
I went to a movement therapy place two months ago and though I have had manual therapy and exercises i have had no real effect. I had an mri done three weeks ago and it showed a t12-l1 herniation which they had never seen. My father has many symptoms as I do as well as several back surgeries. He noted that his mri showed a similar herniation. I suspect the herniation is genetic. It’s likely pinching off something on the way down which has thrown the system into haywire. I was diagnoesed with fine motor control impairments and suspect I have asperger’s, not sure if that may be the cause.
So far I can only do high handle trap bar lifts, with no more than two plates each side. I focus upon higher reps when possible so as not to screw up the back or aggrivate the hips.
As far as upper body I had no problems until a month and a half ago where my left shulder, which protracts, started hurting and giving me some thoracic outlet symptoms. I having working quite a bit as a massage therapist so it might be triggered by that though my R shlder is mostly fine. I just try and add a ton of rowing/upper back stuff to the L side.
I’m pretty despondent about the situation, but Wendler pointed out that there are people training without limbs or the use of their legs, so there’s no point in bitching(easier said than done), just find what I can do and do the shit out of it.
Where are you located?
in the orlando,fl area. Why?
Ill be willing to check it out at this point. Admittedly im a bit wary of PT, as a PTA, I know how much outdated knowledge many therapists are working with.
I can’t vouch for her personally, but I think working with a Postural Restoration Certified therapist is the best course of action for you. As a PTA, I encourage you to check out information regarding PRI’s understanding of postural adaptations and human asymmetry. Particularly, look into Left AIC/ Right BC patterning. I think you will find much of it relevant to your case.
I visited her tues and was really blown away by what she was telling. She doesn’t usually see patients where she can explain what is going on so it was a really good experience. PRI stuff is interesting, alot of emphasis on breathing and the diaphragm. While I’m not 100% sold I’m definitely going to give this a shot as she has been able to pinpoint my issues more than anyone I have worked with so far.
Thank you for the refferal
Extremely glad to hear this. Please keep me posted if you decide to follow through with treatment. If you have any questions along the way, I will attempt to answer them to the best of my ability.