After doing a lot of research on why my vastus lateralis is pulling on my patella all the damn time, I found an interesting discovery. In many videos, and even in gyms, people are constantly told to “point the toes out” during squats. At first, my knees were perfectly happy for a few years, but ive noticed a lot of tension has built up over time and now I get a clicky, popping knee.
In the last few days after finding some interesting youtube videos, I have focused on a lot of mobility to not only loosen the vastus lateralis, but also my ankle flexibility and now when I test a bodyweight squat (with feet straight), the clicking and popping actually decreased dramatically (though still there).
I think I will keep working on this along with more hip release movements etc and go from there. Has anyone else had this issue? For along time, being a derp, I tried constantly rolling my IT band, which eventually I learned my lesson and found out it just cannot be loosened.
This is really interesting to me. I have a really loud click in my right knee. It doesn’t hurt, but it clicks at almost exactly when I hit parallel (it’s so reliable that it’s how I gauge when I’ve hit depth). I’ve always figured that my poor ankle mobility might have something to do with it, but I’m going to roll my vastus lateralis tomorrow before squats and see how it goes.
I’d be interested in hearing more thoughts on this.
I’ve been struggling with a clicky right knee for about 4 months now. 2 months ago it turned into a dull pain. Click occurs about midway between standing and a full squat. I saw two different ortho Dr’s who diagnosed patellar mal-tracking and patellofemoral pain syndrome.
Continued squatting 3x per week, while doing PT. Pain escalated.
Started seeing a chiropractor 1x per week with new PT as well, got slightly better, but continued squatting.
Now, I’m at the point to where I have to take time off squatting. I’m about 10 days into no leg work. Knee feels drastically better, but is still loud. Climbing stairs I get that predictable click and kind of grindy noise.
Had X-rays done which did not show any abnormalities. Neither Dr’s nor Chiro says there’s a need for an MRI.
I’m working on trying to re-establish proper tracking through mobility, stretching and strength training…focusing on hips, glutes, etc.
Also, as you have, I have straightened up my foot orientation on squats. I find it helps me keep everything aligned and neutral. When you get so f’ed up, it’s almost like you have to go back to the basics and relearn proper techniques and remove the hacks.
Knees are so important. Take care of them! Take time off before forced.
Sorry to hear that you’re having this issue as well. It is annoying to have clicky joints. Within a week of mobility work and strengthening my quad muscles focusing primarily on single leg movements to really focus on the VMO I have noticed a decrease in catching and clicking in the patella. Yes yes, I know we all talk about you cant isolate the VMO, however I noticed, in my mind sometimes I have to actually cue myself to turn that side of the quad on.
Something to also take note, if you look at alot of videos on these issues, they all tend to scream VMO VMO VMO, however if you notice most never take into consideration the fact of why is this outer muscle pulling on this positioning. I think I may have found the culprit. Glute Med is the little bastard I think.
Over the next few weeks I am going to primarily focus on single leg movements (split squats, jefferson step ups with weight etc) and keep track of what exercises make my knee have the sensation of being more stable. At the same time, focusing also on band box squats, side steps, etc to try and really force my body to adapt to a better position of my tibia angle.
Your rehab is very similar to mine, glad I’m on the right track with my general assessments.
I like the idea of single leg work for a lot of reasons. Are you working through the clicks for full ROM or staying shy of the click? Do you have any pain? I get a dull pain, and occasionally a sharp pain, but that’s rare, and when I’m cold.
Are you still full squatting?
Have you modified your program BC of the issue?
HI mate did you ever get your distal bicep tendinitis sorted ,I’m suffering the same injury ,got a Mri and was diagnosed with distal bicep tenonosis ,I’ve done 6 months of physio and still have the same issue,
Hey bud, I forgot all about this threat unfortunately but yes I did actually get rid of my bicep tendonitis for the most part. Once in awhile I get a little sensation if I do too many pull ups or something, but it goes away quick. What I did to let it heal was stick to high bar squats, pressing movements, etc and primarily stayed away from alot of curls and pull downs. After a few months it finally seemed to be OK. I was pulling at a high frequency and not enough rest and I think that was the starting issue. Good luck, hope yours is better.
Only just saw this. I’m pretty certain I had this in both arms (elbow hurts like crazy, pain is like a toothache radiating from elbow to wrist and shoulder).
Fixed it by:
no straight bar squats for about three months
no pull ups
when back on straight bar gripped super wide (sleeves of the squat bar)
three finger grip, no squeezing the bar and instead focusing on putting my scaps in my back pocket