Knees Hurting

So lately I have been noticing that my knees are just a little bit achey or feel slightly off when I’m lifting. I first felt it during heavy squats in my left knee - not exactly painful, just kind of a slight twinge.

More recently I noticed both knees feeling a little achey during sprints on the treadmill. This week for the first time I also had that feeling when playing ice hockey (I play once a week). It went away after I warmed up a bit.

I know this is really vague and it isn’t really a problem… yet.

I’m wondering if this is the time for me to pay attention and do something about it before it actually becomes a problem. And if so, what should I do? I take Flameout, should I start considering something like glucosamine and chondroitin? Specific prehab exercises I should focus on?

I’m 36, is this just one of those things I should expect and get used to?

Just trying to be smart and avoid injury, if possible. Thanks in advance!

I’ve had to work around some knee pain recently as well. I’ve generally found that a thorough warmup helps. Although I don’t have a set warmup, I usually do something like:

farmers walks
walking lunges
then either front squats or overhead squats

The weight is generally very light (such as maybe even just the bar for squats) but I make sure the pace is fast so I’m starting to sweat.

I think it just comes down to getting the fluid into and warming up the joint. There are also sleeves you can get, but I haven’t picked them up yet (I think Zap uses them).

As for hockey, you could try some lunges in the dressing room prior to hitting the ice, it may help.

I don’t know if it will help, but Mike Robertson wrote an article on here last year called
“18 Tips for Bulletproof Knees”. I am having some of the same problems as you and I am slowly trying to adjust for it using some of the tips

Get neoprene knee sleeves.

I have had no success with supplements to alleviate joint pain but a good warm up and a knee sleeve usually means less or no pain. When I forget to wear it my knee will ache for days.

I know from my experience I had the same problem when I started going super heavy for a month (left knee as well). It went away when I started increasing my rep and set range this month.

To be more specific. The pain in my left knee started at the end of the powerful partials program and got worse when I went back to my regular program which was usually 5x5…though heavy but not as heavy as the weight used in the powerful partials program.

It went away this month when I went on a 10x10 program for squats/lunges/leg press… so basically lower weights go for more reps/sets to increase blood flow to injured area to expedite healing process…hope this helps…

[quote]Jillybop wrote:
So lately I have been noticing that my knees are just a little bit achey or feel slightly off when I’m lifting. I first felt it during heavy squats in my left knee - not exactly painful, just kind of a slight twinge.

More recently I noticed both knees feeling a little achey during sprints on the treadmill. This week for the first time I also had that feeling when playing ice hockey (I play once a week). It went away after I warmed up a bit.

I know this is really vague and it isn’t really a problem… yet.

I’m wondering if this is the time for me to pay attention and do something about it before it actually becomes a problem. And if so, what should I do? I take Flameout, should I start considering something like glucosamine and chondroitin? Specific prehab exercises I should focus on?

I’m 36, is this just one of those things I should expect and get used to?

Just trying to be smart and avoid injury, if possible. Thanks in advance!
[/quote]

Jilly:

Thanks for starting this thread. I’ve also been experiencing some knee pain also left knee more on the front to interior (inner leg) specifically when my deadlifts get heavy of all things. knee bands sound good. Zap – where do you get these knee bands?

YES HANDLE IT NOW

sounds like a mild tendonitis, can be solved quickly and easily. Take care of it now before it gets worse. Nothing normal about pain

mad titan you would be the ultimate guy if you change your avatar.

I know its alot to ask but even though I don’t look at it people at work are always walking by like wtf is he at a p$rn site.

JB:

MT raises a good point about rep ranges and loads. Cycling the frequency with which you train heavy, should help.

Also, as Chad Waterbury has mentioned frequently, it is important to exercise through different planes of motion as training one exercise (and thus one movement pattern) too much can lead to overuse injuries.

Thus variation in movement patterns will, arguably, assist in keeping you injury free. If, for example, you wanted to perform energy systems training multiple times per week, you might consider running stairs on on day, treadmill on the other, rope skipping on another etc. These exercises aren’t just different - they involve different movement patterns and, thus, load the target muscles differently (and, moreover, subject the target joints to stress in different degrees and from different angles).

All of which is good for joint longevity. Training in this way provides the benefit of frequent training of a particular capacity (in this case energy systems work) without over-training any one given movement pattern.

As I’ve been told before (and discovered after much trial, error and pain), change is like rest.

Finally, if you’re not already taking a good quality omega 3 supplement, you may wish to start. Omega 3’s are useful for their anti-inflammatory properties (bear in mind, however, that an omega 3 supplement will probably take several weeks to fully saturate at the cellular level, so stick with it).

Also (I know I said that my point above was the last one, but the coffee’s kicked in and I really couldn’t resist!), pain in a joint can often be caused by tightness in the surrounding muscles. As you’re probably already aware, when a muscle tightens it shortens, pulling all the associated structures out of neutral alignment (to varying degrees, depending upon the severity of the tightness). Thus, you may also wish to investigate and seek to stretch any tightness in the quads, hip flexors, muscles of the lumbar spine, etc.).

Quest

[quote]Airtruth wrote:
mad titan you would be the ultimate guy if you change your avatar.

I know its alot to ask but even though I don’t look at it people at work are always walking by like wtf is he at a p$rn site.[/quote]

done

[quote]deputydawg wrote:
Jilly:

Thanks for starting this thread. I’ve also been experiencing some knee pain also left knee more on the front to interior (inner leg) specifically when my deadlifts get heavy of all things. knee bands sound good. Zap – where do you get these knee bands?[/quote]

I bought mine at an Army Navy type surplus store but you can get them in K-Mart, Wal Mart, sporting goods stores and even drug stores.

I don’t remember the brand name I have because it has worn away. I have been trying to find replacements and haven’t had any luck because I prefer the ones with the open patella and most I see are solid.

It is just a black rubber sleeve lined with a thin terry cloth.

Some people here swear by Rehband but I have never tried that brand.

All it really does is keep the knee warm with a little compression and it makes a huge difference.

[quote]Mad Titan wrote:
Airtruth wrote:
mad titan you would be the ultimate guy if you change your avatar.

I know its alot to ask but even though I don’t look at it people at work are always walking by like wtf is he at a p$rn site.

done[/quote]

Appreciate it.

[quote]Airtruth wrote:
Mad Titan wrote:
Airtruth wrote:
mad titan you would be the ultimate guy if you change your avatar.

I know its alot to ask but even though I don’t look at it people at work are always walking by like wtf is he at a p$rn site.

done

Appreciate it.[/quote]

no problem…I would have told them to mind their business or get their mind out of the gutter but then again…that’s me

[quote]Mad Titan wrote:
Airtruth wrote:
Mad Titan wrote:
Airtruth wrote:
mad titan you would be the ultimate guy if you change your avatar.

I know its alot to ask but even though I don’t look at it people at work are always walking by like wtf is he at a p$rn site.

done

Appreciate it.

no problem…I would have told them to mind their business or get their mind out of the gutter but then again…that’s me[/quote]

What did you have as your avatar?

Just a note on Glucosamine…

As with any sort of “treatment” there are “responders” and “non-responders.” Simply put, any treatment of any sort will work for some people and will not work for others.

The rate of responders to Glucosamine and chondroitin is fairly low. Most people aren’t helped by it but some people are. In other words, you won’t know until you try if you’re a responder or not.

Another factor might be your cholesterol levels. Many nutritionally conscious people (and I assume you are) often have diets very low in cholesterol. There is such a thing as too low and proper cholesterol levels are necessary for hypertrophy and good recovery. As an experiment, try budgeting two or three whole eggs into your post-workout meal and see if it helps.

Good luck!

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Mad Titan wrote:
Airtruth wrote:
Mad Titan wrote:
Airtruth wrote:
mad titan you would be the ultimate guy if you change your avatar.

I know its alot to ask but even though I don’t look at it people at work are always walking by like wtf is he at a p$rn site.

done

Appreciate it.

no problem…I would have told them to mind their business or get their mind out of the gutter but then again…that’s me

What did you have as your avatar?[/quote]

The same pic I have on my profile with my brief on except I was leaning against a wall on this one

I’m back after a long stroll thru Mad Titan’s pics :wink:

Thanks a bunch for the feedback, I will look for that MR article and some sleeves to start. Extra stretching is something I always say I’m going to do, but never actually seem to get around to - more incentive for that now.

My current workouts have me doing weights and hiit mixed, with sprints, jumping rope and uphill walking all in one workout.

I’ll think about the possible low cholesterol, too, but I often do eat 1-2 whole eggs/day and take Flameout 6/day (when I remember them all).

The twinge does seem to be right in the front middle of my knee. At this point it’s really more of an “awareness” than an actual pain, if that makes sense.

Thanks again! :slight_smile:

Zap: Thanks for the info. I’ll go out and get some.

I feel funny posting the in over 35 lifter, but my knees seem to be worse than any other here. Anyway I ran out of cartilage in both knees and as a result got some dead spots on the bone, fun fun!

Knee sleeves don’t do much for me, so if they don’t work for you, you could try knee wraps. Elitefts.com has some nice ones, which as soon as I can afford I will be buying! (I have cheap ones right now that work alright)

I’m sort of in the same boat, but not quite… :wink:

I “feel” my right knee the next day but it isn’t painful while working out. I do find Flameout helps.

It isn’t “painful” the next day either really, but it’s a mild sensation I’d rather not be feeling. I’m assuming it is likely to slowly get worse over time and I don’t like it!

Getting bigger and heavier doesn’t really seem to help either.

I use glucosamine/chondroitin from time to time and use Flameout liberally, hoping to buy a reprieve.