Forum Replies Created

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • 04/07/2015 at 8:21 pm in reply to: Chronic IT band/quad TIGHTNESS and knee pain (chondromalacia patella?) for 6 years! #75909
    Joshua A bradleyJoshua A bradley
    Participant

    I haven’t been following the thread.  I just wanted to jump in and say that my pain is completely under control now.  Unfortunately, I still can’t squat down or walk down stairs or the pain returns.  But this is probably because I let this problem fester for about 5 years.  But whenever the pain starts returning, I know exactly what to do to.  It’s not hours of leg exercises every day – which like you guys, i did religiously at one point.  All I have to do is one thing:  Strengthening hamstrings.  And I’ve found that this is my favorite way to do it.  short video… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAYtwM95-ug    The hamstring machines at the gym are garbage.  This swiss ball method is pretty good.  I know I’ve mentioned hamstrings before and you guys indicated it’s not likely your issue.  But thought I’d post with this one last time.  GL

    01/07/2015 at 1:48 pm in reply to: Chronic IT band/quad TIGHTNESS and knee pain (chondromalacia patella?) for 6 years! #75628
    Joshua A bradleyJoshua A bradley
    Participant

    JTrue- I’m no squat expert, but here are my 2 cents for what they’re worth.  

    First off, I get pain when I go down too low.  Even 90 degrees is slightly too far for me, and you’re way past 90 degrees.  I’d reduce that range of motion first.

    If your squat still hurts, adjust your stance until you find one that doesn’t.  Spread your legs further apart and point your toes either further outward or more towards the center.  Keep changing this up until you find a combination that causes no pain, then stick with it.  
    Once you find a squat position that works, give the 1 arm kettlebell swing a try.  It strengthens the whole posterior chain and I feel great the day after doing it.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8uI-EopErw    make sure to use your empty arm like a counterweight behind you, kinda like a cowboy on a rodeo horse.  Grab the weight in mid-air with the other arm to switch arms… no need to put the weight down.  GL
    12/14/2014 at 10:44 am in reply to: Chronic IT band/quad TIGHTNESS and knee pain (chondromalacia patella?) for 6 years! #75541
    Joshua A bradleyJoshua A bradley
    Participant

    Maybe a little oblique tightness but not much.  Kefu and Jtrue, do ya’ll have forward head / thoracic kyphosis / computer guy posture?

    12/09/2014 at 7:36 pm in reply to: Chronic IT band/quad TIGHTNESS and knee pain (chondromalacia patella?) for 6 years! #75527
    Joshua A bradleyJoshua A bradley
    Participant

    jtrue – when lifting weights, i’d avoid the high weight / low rep approach which is designed to build bulk muscle.  It often promotes bad form and it always places a lot of stress on the joints.  My personal trainer has me lift heavy sometimes, and it seems to result in more clicking and popping.  So I try to avoid that.  What works well for me is doug mcguff’s super slow lifting method.  What he believes in is 4-8 reps and 8-10 seconds in each direction with the weights.  By the end of that 2 minute set you should be completely at failure.   The benefits are that you won’t need multiple sets, 1 is enough.  By going to fatigue you’ll have made deep inroads in your muscles and you’ll gain strength similar to if you had lifted much heavier weight.  And the slow, controlled motion with the lighter weight puts the least amount of stress on the joint.  

    Second thing is I’ve recently stopped working out with headphones on.  My knees click and pop in certain positions and I try to stay tuned into that when I hear/feel popping, I can adjust my form or reduce my ROM to prevent it from happening as much.
    12/09/2014 at 5:25 pm in reply to: Chronic IT band/quad TIGHTNESS and knee pain (chondromalacia patella?) for 6 years! #75526
    Joshua A bradleyJoshua A bradley
    Participant

    My knee pain improved from the hamstring work, but after walking down a staircase last week the pain came right back.  Either the hamstrings are not the ultimate solution, or I’ve now fixed the imbalance but years of damage are not so easily undone.  

    F this shit, long term joint issues are absolutely depressing.  I’m hoping you guys figure this out soon so I can piggyback on your success.
    12/03/2014 at 9:57 am in reply to: Chronic IT band/quad TIGHTNESS and knee pain (chondromalacia patella?) for 6 years! #75511
    Joshua A bradleyJoshua A bradley
    Participant

    Both knees were weak, but 90% of the pain came from my left knee.  My left knee has a patella tracking issue which my right knee doesn’t.  I suspect this additional underlying issue made my left knee more susceptible to patellofemoral pain, although i know that thoughtful doctors such as Scott Dye have refuted patella-tracking PFPS hypothesis.  

    11/30/2014 at 10:56 am in reply to: Chronic IT band/quad TIGHTNESS and knee pain (chondromalacia patella?) for 6 years! #75506
    Joshua A bradleyJoshua A bradley
    Participant

    Wow guys, this is one heck of a series of posts.  I’m floored by how much effort you’ve put into this.  I’m not nearly on your level but perhaps my experience can shed some light.  My quick background is that I’ve had patellofemoral knee pain for 7 yrs now, and over the last 3 years it’s significantly affected my quality of life.  No sports, no jogging/running, no sitting with my knees at 90 degrees for more than a few mins at a time, not able to walk down stairs at all.  I haven’t gone the extreme lengths you guys have to fix it, but I’ve gone to 4 different physical therapists for months at a time.  They all recommended a variety of the same thing… strengthening quads, hips, vmo, and rolling out IT band.  Everything seemed to marginally help, but nothing fixed it.  Over time it grew worse.  I began to fear taking flights (due to the long sit times), and I could no longer sit in an office chair at work, had to stand.  Inactivity made my knees worse, very quickly.  Walking for up to 30mins at a time always helped.  I’m writing because as of recently I’ve gotten a lot better.  I’m hoping it sticks and that i’m not posting this prematurely, but I feel ya’lls pain and wanted to share some of the things I’ve learned which have helped:  

    • Despite all my strengthening with PTs, none of them focused on my hamstrings.  Hamstrings don’t tie directly into the patella, so they’ve been mostly ignored.  I went to the gym a few weeks ago and thought I’d give the hamstring curl machine a try for the first time in years. Turns out I had trouble curling 20 pounds!  And when I did, I noticed my calf muscles would quickly kick in to help.  Having trouble with 20 pounds was a huge red flag obviously, and I’ve spent the last 2 weeks just focusing on that.  Within a couple weeks my pain started to reduce.  This whole F’ing time that was my main problem!  I see red just thinking about it.  So basically I was told by my PTs that I would need to continue doing the straight leg 4 ways and all the exercises they gave me for 30 minutes a day for the next year and then I’d finally be cured.  Which is what ya’ll have been doing.  But my experience shows that continuing what’s not working isn’t the answer.   The 3 months I did those exercises every day were some of the most depressing of my life.  To put in all that work and make little to no progress is extremely frustrating, as you know.  Instead, I found a muscle that had no strength whatsoever and within a couple weeks of training the problem was sorted.  I realize that something as obvious as a weak hamstring likely isn’t ya’lls problem, I just write all this to caution you away from strengthening the same 4 muscles over and over again, because that is likely not the answer.   Instead, work out your core, your back, calves, adductors, etc, and try to find something that might be weak and that you were missing.  
    Other observations over the last few years:
    • Foam rolling is great.  But it’s like taking a drug.   It’s a temporary fix and then you need the next fix to be even stronger.  So I upgraded from a foam roller to pvc to a black rumble roller.  What’s next, metal spikes?  I think rolling is good to continue, but I don’t think it’s the answer
    • After 4 PTs and 2 sports medicine docs and 2 orthopaedists, I finally figured out my problem without them.  The internet is great too for anecdotal evidence.  But the takeaway is that doctors and PTs only know so much.  They rely on studies that apply to problems large groups of people face, not unique problems like Kefu has with one leg shorter than the other.  Also we know our bodies best, so we can’t rely completely on someone else to fix us.
    • Where’s your pain? If it’s to the right or left of the patella it could indicate the problem is from a muscle connected at the sides, like the IT band.  If the pain is above or below, it could indicate a hamstring or quad issue  
    I think that’s all I’ve got.  Best of luck to you guys
  • Author
    Posts
Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)