Knee Pain

Started Ian King’s Limping & Super Strength programs this week, did Limping this Tuesday and yesterday (Thursday) I noticed I had a slight, deep joint, dull pain in my knee. Previously, I had dislocated my knee cap twice, and after the second time my orthopedic gave me a patellar stabilization brace (has a donut that wraps around the patella). Normally I wear this while doing any leg work, but I forgot it this past Tuesday. The pain that I noticed didn’t seem like bad pain, but more like all the stabilizer muscles, etc. were actually worked for the first time in a long time. Just wanted to see what some of my fellow T-Men have to say about this.

I’d really like to get some feedback on this, this is kind of a serious issue.

Rather then relying on a stabilization brace to get your knee cap to track correctly, why not develop your muscles to do the same thing? If your medial quad (VMO or vastus medialis) is strong, and your ilial tibial band (runs along the lateral thigh from hip to knee)is not tight, your knee cap will track correctly. I speak from experience as i used to have patellar tracking problems which are now gone.

Need more information. How long have you been training? Which exercises/activities are most painful? Is there any swelling? What does a deep squat feel like in the knee? Any joint noise/crepitice (creaks, pops, crunch)? Answer these and maybe we can help.

Its not pain during the exercise, in fact I feel fine while doing the exercise. My patella tracks straight as is, the brace is just in case. So, to answer your questions, feel fine during the exercises, squats are fine, no creaks/noises while working out. Its a DOMS pain that I’m getting, 1-2 days after working out, that is deep in the joint, more on the inside of the knee than the outside. I was thinking this is from the fact that up till I forgot to wear the brace, the stabilizer muscles in there weren’t getting used. When I forgot to wear the brace, they were exposed to use during a training session for the first time in over a year. At least, that’s my theory.

First off, DOMS does not occur in the joint itself. Medial knee pain is not uncommon especially if you have been using any kind of artificial stabilization during squats (i.e., knee wraps, bracing, neoprene sleeve). There is a tendency to be able to push against the brace for stability. When the brace was removed, the medial knee structures may have been overloaded causing a low grade strain/sprain. If you are going to continue to go without the brace, take a break and RICED it to let the acute symptoms resolve, and then work back at a lower intensity. Be sure the midline of your knee tracks over your second toe when you squat to avoid recurrence. If it persists, see the appropriate health professioanl. Hope that helps.