Good afternoon,
I’ve posted about my knee pain before, but here I am again! I’m a 21-year-old male with 5.5 years of lifting experience - only 2-ish quality years of lifting (BBM / Adam Thrall programming). I weigh 109kg, and I have a 37-inch waist (per Dr. JF’s video on how to measure it). Acute, stabbing pain occurs in my knees after the following activities: standing longer than 10 minutes, squatting, leg pressing, lunges, using stairs, walking up hills, walking quickly, running, sprinting, deadlifting, performing leg drive for the bench, and a few other activities. The pain occurs around a 2-4cm circle around my knee cap, often on the pi /2pi loci. My hamstrings also experience aching pain in sitting positions. A disgusting crunching sound (like grinding coffee beans or nuts or something) occurs whenever I purposefully lengthen/contract my quadriceps. I can sometimes hear it when I squat. I cannot contract my left quadriceps from a standing position or at the top of a squat/deadlift. Doctor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville said there are bone spurs all around my knee cap, though not intrusive ones. Next, a physical examination revealed “intense mobility issues” in my left leg around the hip joint. My right leg seemed fine to her. The knee pain is definitely more intense in my left knee, though both knees hurt nonetheless. I work at Lowe’s, where fantastic smooth-finish concrete flooring is the norm. I wear extremely supportive footwear (Hoka, Chippewa Boots, Adidas Adipower). The knee pain started when I transitioned from 1-2 thousand steps per day in the flat/mild hills of West Tennessee to walking 10-15 thousand steps of the stairs and inclines of UTK. It has been intensified ever since I started working at Lowe’s (08/18). I’ve been trying to find another job for about three months. My goals are weight loss (prefer the aesthetic and why not) and eliminating this knee pain. After work, I can barely get into my car from knee pain. Sometimes it takes me 30 minutes to get out of bed from knee pain. Training came to a standstill, but I cannot afford the Knee Rehab Template. Doctor recommended: high-bar squats, physical therapy via physical manipulation, change my gait from a “heel striker” to a more neutral step, and find a new job. I can’t get physical therapy here because it’s too expensive. I can’t afford UTK’s $1200 semester-long insurance. I am currently running Alan Thrall’s free program, and I will try to utilize the weeks of higher rep ranges and lower intensities. I am working on “fixing” my gait. She (Dr.) also said my low-bar squats are destroying my hips, and that I have the early signs of hip impingement (according to X-rays and her physical exam). Pain in my hips occurs when I leg press or perform pause squats. I shift towards my right side when I lift or perform bodyweight movements, and I am working to fix that. In the past, I’ve had three cortisone shots in my knees and one in my shoulder. I took an anti-inflammatory from 01/19-06/19 to no effect. I am currently asking the University to find it in their hearts to waive my PT fee or something because I really want to be pain-free.
Any advice, recommendations, analyses, and feedback would be greatly appreciated. I’m quickly running out of options, and my daily life is becoming extremely painful - even sitting and writing this post! I do remain optimistic that I’ll find a way eventually. Attached are some of my X-rays from 1/06/2020. I will provide the other X-rays and a photo of the exterior inflammation I’ve had for 4 years. I’m sorry to keep posting about this.
Thank you,
Austin