KNEE PAIN When Squatting – How to treat?

Note: This blog post does not refer to scientific studies, but rather to my personal experiences.

Pain, no matter where in the body it occurs, is one of the biggest eliminating factors in an athlete’s life and should not be taken lightly.

should not be taken lightly. You should rather listen to your body’s signals, because the body is on strike not only because it is boring.
RECENTLY I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING MORE AND MORE QUESTIONS ON KNEE PAIN AND HOW TO TREAT IT?

At the beginning of this year, it was my left knee that simply didn’t want to give me any rest. I simply missed the chance to take a break in time. For me, it started small. A small point, which I felt every now and then. Probably caused by an overload or a simple incorrect load. At some point, I noticed this pain more and more after training.

At a later stage, the pain became more intense and I had to adjust the training slightly. In the training camp during preparation for the European Championships in Georgia I could not lift any more without using pain medication. Even though I was able to train painlessly for short moments, I felt that my body was already sending clear signs with some strains. Evasive movements cause one side of the body or a part of the body to be loaded more and accordingly unevenly. Exactly this additional load can possibly already cause further problems.

Once you have got stuck in this situation, there are two possibilities:

1. Increasing the dosage of pain medication.
2. Trace the problem and fix the cause.

I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND OPTION 2! AFTER ALL, THIS IS ABOUT YOUR BODY!

In my case, it was the tendon that couldn’t withstand the strain of training. According to the MRT, it was only irritation but I did not want to take any risks. but I did not want to take any risks.

Just a small side remark: Tendons and ligaments hold everything together and are therefore at least as important as the muscles themselves!

So for me, it was clear to get out of the training and into the gym to strengthen tendons and ligaments. I noticed that even during light exercises like the isometric holding on the leg extension machine I was not able to control the movements. I was exhausted after a short time, even though I didn’t really put on any loads.

I continued with the one-leg split squats. Even without a load, it was hardly possible for me to enter the squat in a controlled and fluid movement. My knee just wobbled back and forth. Pistols! At this point, it was absolutely impossible for me to perform this exercise. I couldn’t even squat down to ¾.

ANALYSIS COMPLETED, RESULT: I HAVE UNFORTUNATELY NO ROSE FOR YOU.

Within two weeks I was able to control the state of stimulation with exercises such as walking lunges, isometric and concentric training on the leg extension machine, increased split squats and split squats on the rope pulling machine AND daily physiotherapy. My progress in the gym made it possible to do some lifts on the bar again.

I was even able to do pistols in the end. I moved powerfully down to the lowest position and back again. My squats also improved as I was able to control the load over the full range of motion.

When I look back I have to realize that I never warmed up my tendons and ligaments properly in the past. 10 min. on the bike, some stretching and short moves on the bar.

Reflectively, my tendons and ligaments had to go into each session cold. I think there is no need to wonder about pain.

Therefore, I recommend a sufficient warm-up! One feels whether the body is ready or not!

Currently, walking lunges orsplit squats, as well as two to three warm-up sets of leg extension exercises, are an integral part of my warm-up routine.

My Warm-Up Routine on YouTube

Stay healthy!

Yours Max