Squats and knee pain

[st8k_lover]

Hello All
When I do standard squats, my knee get a sharp pain , seems to be coming from just below the knee cap, but it is intense and stops me dead in my tracks. Oddly enough if I hold heavy dumbells to my side and do them or do deadlifts there is no pain. I had a torn meniscus years ago but it really has not bothered me. The only thing I can come up with is the weight distribution is different and putting more stress on my knee. I can do squats with no weight and there is no pain. Any ideawat s on this or a good alternative to squat would be appreciated

Peace

 

[General Maximus]

You could try Smith Machine Squats. This will allow you to position your feet in such a way as to allow some of the pressure to be taken off of your knee's. I would only do these temporarily until the knee's get better. Some of the leg press machines are good as well.

 

[st8k_lover]

hey general, Thanks for the reply. I left out one piece of info and that is I lift at home. have a rack and leg ext/curl , thats about it for legs.

Peace

 

[zen42]

Have you tried a ball squat?

 

[TheProject]

How wide do you squat, and where are your knees at the bottom position in relation to your feet?

 

[st8k_lover]

ZEN, never tried a ball squat , never even heard of a ball squat for that matter.

Project, Knees are about shoulder width and kneea hurt as soon as I start to go down. Width is alot closer when holding db. My wife thinks it could be some kind of arthritus in the knee as I am almost 40 it is possible.

Peace

 

[TheProject]

st8k, my question is really this...do your knees come forward when you squat? As in ahead of your ankles? I know mine go forward some, but not nearly as much as they used to. I squat a little wider than shoulder right now (A PL Squat vs. a BB squat), and if my knees buckle inward, or if they go too far forward consistently, they'll hurt.

My .02...stay away from the smith machine.

 

[gmanlax7]

i was gonna post this up too. since i started squatting with the free bar instead of smith i have had some knee pain, not while squating, but just throughout the day. COuld also be related to playing basketball with shitty shoes, but i think my knees do go forward a bit when i try to go real low. How can i go low and not have my knees go forward?

 

[gymtime]

This is what I've done to aleviate knee pain while squatting:

1. Use lighter weight and go below parallel.
2. Concentrate on pushing off your heals, not your toes.
3. Do not put plates under your heels.

As simple as these things sound, they took me months to do without thinking. You really have to retrain yourself on how to squat. But since then, I have no knee pain, my lifts are going up, and I can see the results in my legs.....and all without loading up a bunch of unnecessary weight on the bar. My legs have gotten bigger by using less weight with proper form!!

It's frustrating at first, but it's more than worth it in the long run.