Knee Tendinitis from Squats

[BendtheBar]

Thanks for all the feedback. I am going to read this in detail tonight and reply back to some of the comments. Too busy right now, but a lot of great insight from all of you.

Originally Posted by jasonjduke

I would stop thinking that you have ... "bad" reps

Sometimes my wife plays Daughtry in the dungeon...then every rep is a bad rep.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Fazc

What I would suggest, and what I am also doing as I'm not confident with my own Squat form, is to reduce the number of days that you actually Back Squat and fill in the other days with variations that do not hurt. For me that works out currently to Squat, GM and Partial Squat. As my form becomes smoother I will Squat more often and do less work on the main lift.

Good idea. I have been talking about adding good mornings and LtL mentioned wide box squats. Perhaps I will incorporate both of these.

With that in mind a friend mine recently suggested Goblet Squat Holds as a good way to introduce weighted stretching which should improve form and lead to healthier knees.

This is one of the exercises I tossed around for morning workouts.

4) Strengthening hamstrings specifically. This could be GMs taking the place of Squats on one day a week.

Wide stance squats are hard on my hamstrings and shine a light on how bad my flexibility is on general. GMs and wide stance box squats...

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by *MC*

IMO, tendonitis is going to best be solved by anti-inflams, heat-ice treatments, and either (a) complete rest and/or (b) taking some of the pressure off the tendons/connective tissue with wraps and such while working with very sub-maximal weights. If the tendonitis gets bad enough, even good reps with light weights are going to hurt.

Hot baths, candle light and Twilight. Check.

Thanks for the suggestions. All good. Ignore the above joke.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Off Road

I think working high frequency combined with high intensity just brings the pain, regardless of good form. Powerlifters that are really pushing themselves are always feeling beat up somewhere.

I keep thinking of CS Sloan's article on overtraining the movement pattern. Not sure if me and you had discussed this one in particular.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Pull14

I'd also look at other things such as strength/volume balances. Not only that but tight quads, tight hamstrings, glutes, or a lower back can all put more unneeded pressure on the knee. Greater strengths in one of these areas can create tightness in that muscle and/or increase the strain in the opposing muscle. Or poor mobility in one region can do the same.


My bet leans more towards your total workload (frequency, volume, intensity) and given that you push it so hard that your 'dead' by your 3rd week (deload) says a lot about the demands training puts on your body.

The changes that can be made to minimize the issue are as open to interpretation as is the specific causes of the issue. Reduction of frequency, reduction in intensity, longer deload, shorter loading period, greater focus on mobility, strengthening a weakness, etc, etc.

Great thoughts, and appreciated. I definitely have tight hamstrings. I can also add that sitting all day does little for my leg and back health.

[BendtheBar]

Thanks for the insights Jason.

Originally Posted by jasonjduke

A shoulder width and narrow stance may make your upper body come forward and put nearly all the weight onto the lower back and remove much of the weight from the knee.

I am pretty narrow-stanced right now. I would say about shoulder width. I have brought my stance out a few inches these last few years. this might help fro a frame of reference.

2011 Power Palooza 529 Raw Squat - YouTube

2011 Power Palooza 529 Raw Squat - YouTube

Therefore: shoulder width stance with parallel feet removes nearly all stress from the knee. But, alas, you may be only be able to squat to above parallel or if we have the particular leverages to parallel and maybe even below parallel.

I have tried it an was pretty darn high my first go around.

Wide Stance Squats Raw 415x1 - YouTube

Wide Stance Squats Raw 415x1 - YouTube

[jasonjduke]

Thanks for sharing those squat videos. I enjoyed them.

Wow! that first one for 529 was simply awesome! Your a beast - a bearded one at that.

One thing I see from that video is that you are throwing your knees outward on the way down - maybe before you begin to sit which might be causing you to pull your hip forward and tighten your hamstring prematurely. This might even account for the slight tippage in the sticky on the way up.

For me this is/was kinda of fear factor pyscological thing that gets me when I do limits too. When I used to do this often my knees got a bit painful and popped all the time. My lower back would get extra worked also from the pre-activation of the hamstring. As a note: you don't do this in your 415 squat probably cause you feel more than confident sitting into the weight and because 415 is "light" for you.

Here is another way of saying what I was attempting to say:

I had this friend who taught me to use a leg extension machine. He told me it was the best machine ever invented. I soon learned that he blew his knee out squatting for a very heavy limit. He showed me how to use the leg extension machine to target specifically the rectus femoris quad - this is the one that pulls the knee joint from the center. Now, what is most interesting is that I had chronic slight knee pains/hamstring flexibility issues from squatting during my previous years of training. Doing this machine and modifying my squat slightly made these popping pains disappear within weeks. Seriously blew my mind and humbled me before the Iron Goddess.

I adopted this same feel into a particular form of squat that I was outlining above. It is one where I feel like I am almost tucking my knees inward when squatting down (but they don't buckle inward in the slightest - just feels like it). I notice that I cannot go as deep but my knees get this real strong feel to them afterward. I do this style mostly during my warm-up sets. I actually found that close stance squats with feet parallel (3 to 5 inches apart) that are above parallel in height mimic the leg extension machine quite well. I do these cause it works the muscle and tendons right around the knee very well - they begin to burn on high reps and with heavier ones get a real snappy feel to them. This squat I do mostly for knee power.

As a note: the only time I get knee pains now is when I turn my toes outward; otherwise my back and knees never hurt. But when I turn my toes outward I can squat below parallel with more weight. I did this with my last squat session of 2x15x315 (I had something I needed to prove to myself) and I felt it the next couple days until I did my special close stance squats - bingo, pain gone. I've now learned that trade offs are simply part of the game.

Anyway, I hope some of that helps Steve and I really do hope that you may have many years of painless squatting ahead of you.

By the way, I wish I had your bar. Looks like a real nice one...