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Squats and knee pain
So basically, my goal for the following months is to work on lower body because I’ve been neglecting it for far too long. I’d like to add sets of squats, lunges, etc into my regular workout routine to try and tone up/strengthen my legs and thighs. My issue is that I’ve had chronic hip & knee pain for as long as I can remember. It basically always hurts somewhat when I get up & down, and I can’t sit in a chair with bent legs for a long period of time or it’s really painful. My leg mobility has actually improved a lot since starting pole, before I looked like an 80 year old trying to get out of a chair. I’ve watched a ton of videos on proper squat form, and everyone insists that if you’re using proper form, it shouldn’t hurt your knees. No matter how close I get to the correct position, it kills the top of my knee caps. My question is, will pushing through it using the correct position eventually help my knee pain, or could I end up hurting myself further? Does anyone else have a similar problem? Lunges are usually ok for me if I’m warmed up. The reason I’d like to correct this is because the knee pain is preventing me from doing a lot of stretches that will help me get my splits and progress to some of the more flexy pole moves.
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7 Replies
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I’ve had knee pain on and off since starting pole, sure mine is from neglecting conditioning and strengthening as well as stretching… As well as horrid posture. Yoga Has made the pain less frequent but not disappear. I am only 6 months into yoga , how ever, things worthwhile take time. I’m very interested to hear responses on this 🙂
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Hey Jenn1989!
I had chronic knee pain since I was 14- I only recently stopped being in chronic pain this year, since starting my running.
However, this is not necessarily the course I would suggest for you.
Knee pain can be caused by so many issues. For me, it was a muscle imbalance that resulted in my kneecap not being able to sit correctly. For others, it can be issues with tendons or ligaments, with fluid, with bones.
I would suggest going to the doctor and getting a proper diagnosis (if you don’t have one already). It’s always very important to be careful with joints, and to find out if pushing them more will hurt or hinder their health.
For me, because I had a muscle imbalance, strengthening the muscles was most important. I saw a physiotherapist for a while, and did a lot of exercises.
However, with other issues, putting more weight and strain on the muscles may actually cause greater damage to your knees. More movement might aggravate the issue.With a proper diagnosis, you’ll know what to do, and hopefully, your doctor will be able to give you proper treatment information.
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If you are having knee pain with daily activities then you should get it checked out by a doctor. Pushing through the pain even with correct form could do damage depending on what’s going on. Don’t push through that kind of pain
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Thanks for the replies! I actually had hip dysplasia when I was very young that was surgically corrected, so it could possibly be related to that. I haven’t been to a doctor about my legs in about 10 years, so it probably would be a good idea to ask about. For now I’ve been doing sets of step ups too, which are usually ok. I hate feeling unbalanced, haha.
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yes, your hips being out of alignment can definitely put stress on your knees. it causes a chain reaction down the leg. it very well could be something that is fixable with physical therapy, the right stretches and/or strengthening certain muscles. hope you get answers soon and are pain free.
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Echoing what others have said;; joint pain is often due to a muscle imbalance somewhere, I think it would be advantageous to work on strengthening the muscles which surround your knee. I think particularly with your previous issues it would be a good idea to see a Dr or physio just to make sure, and ask for exercises which will help stabilise your knee (which will come in handy for splits esp middles, because those same muscles will protect your knees when stretching )
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That’s what I was thinking. I might start doing the Cleo rockin’ legs & abs DVD again to build some strength, it’s sooo brutal (but in a good way, lol) and it’s way more on the floor stuff than bending if I remember correctly.
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