Lunges and knee pain

[lesliew]

Why is it that when I do a lunge I feel knee pain in the back leg. It feels like my quads are pulling at the ligaments surrounding the knee, which then causes pain. For this reason I usually keep my back leg straight when lunging, although Cathe recommends keeping the leg bent. Are my quads too tight? Should I spend more time stretching them after I run or do step?

TIA!

 

[NurseLRT]

Leslie, if you don't get an answer here, Coolrunning.com would probably help. They have great forums and have a lot of injury related Q&A. I know this isn't a running injury, but they would probably know. But you will probably get an answer here too. Good luck.

 

[WannaBeStrong]

I'm glad you asked this question as my knee has been hurting all week (well, around the kneecap...above and below). I think that I hurt my knee a few years ago when I began exercising. I didn't have proper form on lunges and I think I injured my knee then and it still gives me problems. So, I haven't been able to do any lower body exercise lately. (Except abs.) Sorry I couldn't answer your question.
I appreciate the running link.

Shirley

 

[bestoutwest]

Maybe it's just the week for knee pain!! I skipped my workout yesterday because my left knee felt "odd"; didn't really hurt, just felt different. Today I did body max and both of my knees creaked during the lunges and tonight are really tired and a little achy.

 

[Kit_]

Hi Lesilie,

I'd say your quads are too tight or your leg isn't in correct alignment, have you tried to do mini lunges or back lunges?

Let me explain how to do back lunges, and please hold onto the back of the chair the first two times you run threw this, after that, it's your choice to use a chair or not. Okay stand and get ready to go into a normal lunge position. Front leg, the knee should be at 90 degrees, knee should be in a prefect line right over the ankle. Back leg should be as far out as you can go, usually about 3 feet unless your tall, and if your taller you need to slide that back foot back a bit more until you front knee is at a contant 90 degree angle. Your hips should be square and facing forward they should also be a bit more over the back leg instead of the front leg so you should not be leaning either forward or back, your upper body should be straight. Now bend the back leg and go down as far as you can but do not let the knee touch the floor. Then come back up, Your front knee should never move. You can use your glute muscles to sqeeze and push yourself back to starting position.

The other ones, are called half lunges, these are the ones I use for people who have super tight quads.

Normal lunge position, keep the back leg bent just a little, and just go down an inch or two. If these still do not work for you, don't do them as having that back leg stright is bad form and you could possiblity lock that joint one day. That's not a fun experience. But do start doing a ton of hamgstring and quad stretches, as one will help the other.

How well can you stretch your quad? Can you stand in front of a chair and bring up your leg and grab your foot or ankle and stretch the front of the leg? Or do the same thing on the floor which ever is easier. Cathe does some good stretches for the quads and hamgstrings in her new StretchMax, if you are really tight start stretching those areas spedifically at least 3 times a week, when ever you get done working out stretch and hold those stretches for a good 5 seconds or better. The longer the more relaxed the muscle will get and will release all the tension. And keep your breathing even and slow, as that signals the brain to tell the muscle to relax.

Hope that helps,

Kit

 

[Bobbi]

I think alignment could be the problem also. I turn my feet out slightly and if I am not careful, I can get a tweak in the back of the knee. I try to deep my second toe pointed straight foreward. Other possible causes are micro tears in the cartiledge which heal normally with a (hopefully) short break, or a cyst. Do you experience swelling at the back of the knee? If it only occurs with lunging, a cyst is unlikely, particularly if running and stepping don't cause pain. Are your quads stronger than your hamstrings? That could be a muscle imbalance and strengthening the hamstrings might help.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Maturity is the ability to do a job whether or not you are supervised, to carry money without spending it, and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.

-Ann Landers

 

[bev43]

I get that pain too sometimes, just in my bad knee though, not the other one. When it starts happening, I just do reverse lunges instead of forward ones and then my knee is fine. And I either use light weights (no more than 10 lbs total) or no weights at all.