Fixing MY Knees

[RockShawn]

Yesterday I took the first step toward a promising resolve for a nagging knee issue I've had for years now. When I bend my knees, they grind and crackle under the knee cap. Under normal strain they are ok, but with extra stress, they burn and become extremely painful. Squats have been all but impossible for me lately but at least leg press is tolerable during the exercise, it's the aftermath that puts me out of commission.

Resolve: HG has been telling me I need to get my InterTibial to release because its pulling the knee cap out of position. Although I've been foam rolling, I'm not getting deep enough to get the IT to stretch and release tension. He also sent me a video on a technique known as FST stretching and I went to searching.

Unbeknownst to me, my chiropractor does some of those techniques to elevate that condition. He also inspected my knee (he is the official chiro for a BIG 12 football and basketball team and worked as an assistant with many orthopedic surgeons) and through tests confirmed that my meniscus is fine, but I have calcium buildup on the underside of the kneecap. Possibly due to injuries, but I also have visible calcium deposits in my lower legs.

Anywho, yesterday we started some treatment. The first if which hurt like a bitch in heat! Scraping the IT band with a metal instrument for 10 minutes which he said was the equivalent of 5 deep tissue massages. Picture attached! After it was over I felt a lot better when bending my right knee. Still have to eat away at the calcium deposits so he told me what to get for that but I haven't picked it up yet. When I do I'll update info. Said about 5-6 months on the calcium to go away.

Going forward is gonna be more scraping, and ART (active release therapy) along with deeper foam rolling. I can't pussy out of the foam rolling on the IT and I have been. It hurts to roll but the alternative is much worse.

Posting this in case anyone else needs help.

[attachment deleted by admin]

 

[massdig]

its looks like you flew off a motorcycles and slid along the pavement. :-\
As we get older we are not like we used to be.

 

[RockShawn]

its looks like you flew off a motorcycles and slid along the pavement. :-
As we get older we are not like we used to be.

massdigAmen. Most of that peticia is gone now. It's just damn sore!!

 

[JM750]

Holy shit. I lopsided on a bike a while back and it looked the same.
Glad you getting some relief. and kudos to HG

 

[lith56bigguy]

Good luck with the recovery

 

[MuscleAddiction]

Sounds like we have the same Rock...mine was diagnosed as Bilateral Femoral Patella Arthritis...or something like that. I start 4 weeks of PT 2x EW for first part of treatment, my good buddy said to use DMSO around the knee cap prior to putting a compression sleeve on and then train legs that way, with 10 minute warm up on exercise bike. I can still do squats but yes the aftermath discomfort sucks. Sitting makes it scream, and yes sounds like a bag of potato chips when I walk up the stairs. X-rays and MRI shows just wear and tear of 20+ years of training. Like my doctor said "I am a product of my own success"...as so are you. Will look forward to your progress as I will let you know of mine, see what treatments are working for each other...hopefully my knee won't look like yours in the picture though...ouch!!!

No pain no gain...pretty much sums up life don't it?

Also going to supplement with Cissus, MSM, Chrondroitin, and Hyaluronic Acid.

 

[49ER]

Ouch i bet it hurts to roll just rolling my quads hurts like a bitch when there tight. Hope it works out and you get well soon.

 

[Walker]

Looks like my face only hella lot straighter lol no jk

 

[RockShawn]

Got some advice on another forum involving VooDoo flossing the joint. Part of The supple leopard regimen. Ordered straps and gonna give it a go.

I also rolled my legs for about 30 min each Saturday night. Felt great afterwards. Just need more time to do that. To get real deep.

 

[RockShawn]

I've been rolling deep every night and started my journey toward a 10 min squat. I can only make it about 1:15 lol. But this explains a lot of my trouble with squats and deads. My flexibility is crap. I'm gonna hit this aggressive and get it right this time.



I'm also taking my oldest daughter on this mobility journey too. She has horrible shin splints and has lower back strains frequently. Testes her mobility tonight and it's worse by far than mine. She's a volleyball player and I've done a shit job of teaching her flexibility, prehab and rehab. That changes now.

 

[sityslicker1]

Holy shit! Its looks like someone beat you with a bat.

What would you say was the biggest culprit for your knee injury? I'm getting older now and trying to prevent nagging injuries like this if I can.

 

[RockShawn]

Holy shit! Its looks like someone beat you with a bat.

What would you say was the biggest culprit for your knee injury? I'm getting older now and trying to prevent nagging injuries like this if I can.

sityslicker1
It wasn't necessarily an injury, more a nagging problem that left me in constant pain. I believe a massive lack of flexibility, and allowing my IT bands to remain overly tight for way too long are the main culprits. I have also dislocated both of my knee caps at different times earlier in life and I think that is why I have calcium buildup under the patella.

 

[MuscleAddiction]

Starting PT myself tomorrow...foam roller is in the living room, heard of Voodoo Floss...let me know how that goes. Is that 10 min straight of bodyweight squats? That is challenging!!!

 

[RockShawn]

Starting PT myself tomorrow...foam roller is in the living room, heard of Voodoo Floss...let me know how that goes. Is that 10 min straight of bodyweight squats? That is challenging!!!

MuscleAddictionThe 10 minutes squat challenge is with your bodyweight in a bottom position ass to ankles and hold that position stretching everything out for 10 minutes. Basically just hanging out in an extremely low bottom position it stretches the front side of the tibia, stretches the ankles and hips, the adductors and abductors, the spine, everything. It's definitely difficult to do for too long and I'm gonna have to work up, but I'm seeing the benefits already.

 

[MuscleAddiction]

The 10 minutes squat challenge is with your bodyweight in a bottom position ass to ankles and hold that position stretching everything out for 10 minutes. Basically just hanging out in an extremely low bottom position it stretches the front side of the tibia, stretches the ankles and hips, the adductors and abductors, the spine, everything. It's definitely difficult to do for too long and I'm gonna have to work up, but I'm seeing the benefits already.

RockShawn
Huh...I already do this daily as you are right it is a great stretch for all the muscle groups you stated, basically sitting in a modified baseball catchers position. I will really just open up my spine by really stretching into it, but will see if I can sit in that position for 10 minutes. Thanks Rock...heading to PT here in an hour to see if they can help.

 

[homegrown]

Sounds like we have the same Rock...mine was diagnosed as Bilateral Femoral Patella Arthritis...or something like that. I start 4 weeks of PT 2x EW for first part of treatment, my good buddy said to use DMSO around the knee cap prior to putting a compression sleeve on and then train legs that way, with 10 minute warm up on exercise bike. I can still do squats but yes the aftermath discomfort sucks. Sitting makes it scream, and yes sounds like a bag of potato chips when I walk up the stairs. X-rays and MRI shows just wear and tear of 20+ years of training. Like my doctor said "I am a product of my own success"...as so are you. Will look forward to your progress as I will let you know of mine, see what treatments are working for each other...hopefully my knee won't look like yours in the picture though...ouch!!!

No pain no gain...pretty much sums up life don't it?

Also going to supplement with Cissus, MSM, Chrondroitin, and Hyaluronic Acid.

MuscleAddiction
Patella Arthritis can be alleviated pretty successfully.. Not to downgrade a diagnosis any but 80% of people walking around have it to some degree. Using DMSO to mask a pain so you can do squats incorrectly is about the last thing you should do.
1. Learn to squat correctly
2. Correct imbalances
3. Improve flexibility and ROM
4. SMR SMR SMR SMR

Your basic corrective stretching will do very little to fix a lot of the issues caused by your hips being weak and IT bands being overly tight. This is what causes your PFS leading to the arthritis. You're going to PT it looks like, that's good. I hope the Dr. is a sports doc and practices things such as ART, MAT and teaches you how to correctly perform SMR with various implements.

People need to learn to do things correctly and then heal themselves!! Should be the moral of Rocks thread here..

 

[MuscleAddiction]

Patella Arthritis can be alleviated pretty successfully.. Not to downgrade a diagnosis any but 80% of people walking around have it to some degree. Using DMSO to mask a pain so you can do squats incorrectly is about the last thing you should do.
1. Learn to squat correctly
2. Correct imbalances
3. Improve flexibility and ROM
4. SMR SMR SMR SMR

Your basic corrective stretching will do very little to fix a lot of the issues caused by your hips being weak and IT bands being overly tight. This is what causes your PFS leading to the arthritis. You're going to PT it looks like, that's good. I hope the Dr. is a sports doc and practices things such as ART, MAT and teaches you how to correctly perform SMR with various implements.

People need to learn to do things correctly and then heal themselves!! Should be the moral of Rocks thread here..

homegrown
^^^ DING...DING...DING!!! Which is why I waited for my PT to come back from his medical leave...yes you are correct, stretching is the homework he prescribed me. He will be checking my ROM on my squats and such once we get more flexibility in my hips, quads, and hams. You hit the nail on the head bro, so yes I need to focus on my stretching more and we will be working on all the other things you mentioned too. He looked over my MRI and said no issues, just some wear and tear behind the knee cap. This guy has worked with me on some other injuries I had like my Achilles Tendon so he knows me, doesn't tell me not to do things...just if it hurts then be smart and don't do it lol. So yes you are correct...I will applaud you, and I am glad that this is all it is!!!

 

[homegrown]

^^^ DING...DING...DING!!! Which is why I waited for my PT to come back from his medical leave...yes you are correct, stretching is the homework he prescribed me. He will be checking my ROM on my squats and such once we get more flexibility in my hips, quads, and hams. You hit the nail on the head bro, so yes I need to focus on my stretching more and we will be working on all the other things you mentioned too. He looked over my MRI and said no issues, just some wear and tear behind the knee cap. This guy has worked with me on some other injuries I had like my Achilles Tendon so he knows me, doesn't tell me not to do things...just if it hurts then be smart and don't do it lol. So yes you are correct...I will applaud you, and I am glad that this is all it is!!!

MuscleAddiction
Good to hear... Most people wen I teach them to squat correctly can't even do it with their own body weight initially. Loss of torque and leverage runs rampant through most. For all interested this is how HG teaches a squat....
1. Stand with the same foot placement as you would when jumping
2. Screw feet into the floor.. You should feel your hips engage and your low back relax from tension but oddly enough feel about 10x more braced/supported.
3. Without bending at the mid back or waist draw the bottom of your ribcage towards your hipbones. You should now be feeling your hips engaged from #2, back flat and stomach in and tight from #3. It is very likely that while doing this you feel a lot of muscle fatigue already.
Now... With #2 and 3 in place we need to start squatting....
4. First thing you need to do after #2 and #3 is push our hamstrings back! Push back, putting our knees in correct position (slightly out), hips and glutes engaged.
5. Squat down slow and controlled keeping your chest up shoulders square and turned out, ribcage down, feet screwed hard into the floor. While doing all of this Force your knees slightly out putting a great amount of strain on the hips, glutes and hamstrings. Alleviating the stress on the knees and low back.
6. Sit down and touch your ass to your calves
7. Don't bounce out of the bottom. Controlled, explosive movement up while simultaneously pushing back to come up. This move is an insurance policy that your posture stays correct and everything remains inline.


Give this a try on your own and tell me if it doesn't only feel better on your body but also on the amount of work you do. Weights may not be as high but what you will get out of it will be immensely better.

 

[lith56bigguy]

Good to hear... Most people wen I teach them to squat correctly can't even do it with their own body weight initially. Loss of torque and leverage runs rampant through most. For all interested this is how HG teaches a squat....
1. Stand with the same foot placement as you would when jumping
2. Screw feet into the floor.. You should feel your hips engage and your low back relax from tension but oddly enough feel about 10x more braced/supported.
3. Without bending at the mid back or waist draw the bottom of your ribcage towards your hipbones. You should now be feeling your hips engaged from #2, back flat and stomach in and tight from #3. It is very likely that while doing this you feel a lot of muscle fatigue already.
Now... With #2 and 3 in place we need to start squatting....
4. First thing you need to do after #2 and #3 is push our hamstrings back! Push back, putting our knees in correct position (slightly out), hips and glutes engaged.
5. Squat down slow and controlled keeping your chest up shoulders square and turned out, ribcage down, feet screwed hard into the floor. While doing all of this Force your knees slightly out putting a great amount of strain on the hips, glutes and hamstrings. Alleviating the stress on the knees and low back.
6. Sit down and touch your ass to your calves
7. Don't bounce out of the bottom. Controlled, explosive movement up while simultaneously pushing back to come up. This move is an insurance policy that your posture stays correct and everything remains inline.


Give this a try on your own and tell me if it doesn't only feel better on your body but also on the amount of work you do. Weights may not be as high but what you will get out of it will be immensely better.

homegrown
Im in the ballpark but I do not believe perfect Mr. Homegrown. I will get on board with this as I start squatting again next week

 

[RockShawn]

I gotta say, the combination if all the strategies I've employed has made a huge difference. I finally manned up and rolled my IT bands with full body weight and they are much looser. Using the mobilityWOD voodoo bands, I've been actively flossing both knees through a full unloaded range of motion. And I've been sitting in a bottom squat position for up to 5 minutes a day as well as lots of air squats using as strict of form as I can keeping the torso as vertical as I can without my tailbone rounding under.

Also worked on my hip strength too with a sling shot band doing side steps, walking and squatting with the band just above my knees. The bottom position stretching and pistols have really opened up my hip flexibility substantially. Still recovering a little from some moves but ready to switch training methods next week.

My knees feel so much better. I've also been using a supplement called wobenzym suggested by my chiropractor to help eat away the calcium deposits under the knee cap.

The next phase of my training is going to include compound movements and I really think I'm ready now.