Twinge in back knee during lunges

[Jessie]

Hi Cathe (and everyone else),
I have a question. While doing lunges (and also static lunges), my front knee is fine (I always make sure not to go over the toe), but I get a slight pain in the BACK knee. Does that mean that I just have to strengthen my quads more?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Jessica

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Jessica!

There really is no way of knowing this without a one on one evaluation. But since this is not possible, here are some things to check on: 1) Is your back knee extended back to far(beyond your comfortable range of motion)? You only need to keep the back knee at a 90 degree angle when you are at the bottom of your lunge. 2) Are you possibly taking your back knee too close to the floor? 3) Is your body in a nice straight upright position as you decend into your lunge?

Also, additional strengthening and stretching for the quads is a great way to avoid many knee problems. Therefore, whether or not it directly applies to this situation, you could only benefit from a little extra stretching and strengthening(that is only if the knee pain is not a tear and/or actual other injury). Good Luck!

 

[Jane P]

I had this same problem.

I also have pain in the back knee during lunges. I found that my quads needed to be stretched more. They tended to contract during the lunging movements. Take the time to really stretch them before and after your lunging workouts and it should get better over time. Stop the tape in order to do this if you have to because it's important.