Whats Causing Your Knee Pain When You Squat?
It’s 5am, you’re up and ready to hit the gym. You sip your morning coffee on the way, get into the gym for 6am, and start warming up (or you roll out of bed at 5:45am and frantically scramble to get there haha, or you rush there straight after work!). Either way, you are there, you won the hardest part of the battle. As your’e warming up, you tentatively do your first bodyweight squat. Your knee grumbles at you, but thats just part of it right? You push through the warm and make it to your first set of squats with some weight. As you put the bar on your back, step out and descend into your first squat, you get mid way and your stabbed in the knee by your gym partner, or at least that’s what it feels like! Have you ever experienced this? It’s one of the most frustrating things ever!! You’ve overcome the dread of getting into the gym, only to be stopped by knee pain, how annoying.
What’s causing this I hear you asking?
Well, without a full examination it can be tricky to give exact answers, but here are some of the more common culprits…
Patellofemoral Joint Pain - this is the joint between your knee cap, and your femur (thigh bone). Have you ever felt pain from what feels like behind your knee cap? This is likely the Patellofemoral Joint and its associated structures. The joint surfaces themselves, synovial membrane and fat pad can all give rise to symptoms. Patellofemoral pain can be tricky to deal with, but with proper load management/activity modification, along with treatment and progressive rehab, you can usually get Squatting again with no issues!
Patellar Tendon Pain - this is the tendon that attaches your Quadricep muscles to your Tibia (shin bone). Quite often referred to as Jumpers Knee, Patellar Tendinopahty is the most common complaint with pain that is directly over the tendon, just below your knee cap. Again, with proper load management/activity modification, along with treatment and progressive rehab, you can usually make a full recovery.
Knee Joint Pain - the knee joint and its associated structures itself can also lead to knee pain whilst Squatting. Irritation of the meniscus, and other soft tissue structures around the knee, such as the bursa (fluid filled sacs that prevent friction) can all contribute to symptoms when when squatting in the gym.
It is important when to recognise that it is time to have something assessed. If your knee pain is stopping you from exercising as you would like to do, it is probably time to have it assessed and have your own individualised treatment and rehabilitation plan.
You can also download our Ultimate Knee Pain Guide by click here.
Want more help from our team? Call 01563262123 to find out how we can help.