Hello,
I know you folks get tired of all the joint pain threads, so I apologize in advance. I’m reaching out now because I have chronic knee pain that has got to the point where I might be considering a referral for imaging and/or surgery if required.
I’m 38yo, 5’9" 180lbs. Traditionally an endurance athlete, I took up strength training initially via Starting Strength about 2.5 years ago at a BW of 160lbs. On May 23, 2018, I was using a hack squat machine (following a relatively popular “powerbuilding” template) and at the bottom of the squat I felt something like a pop on the medial side of my left knee, followed by pain. At the time, I didn’t worry too much about it and continued training, albeit with less weight on the bar. A few months earlier I had set a squat PR of 400lbs and up until that day I was squatting sets of five in the mid 300s. After the injury I couldn’t squat anything more than about 225 without pain, so I just squatted less and added a bit more volume, trying to avoid any pain while letting things heal.
Long story short, it has never really healed properly and I still can’t LB Back squat much weight. Just as and example, I tried today and managed 6 reps of 225lbs but the pain started creeping in on the 3rd rep. I’ve had my form checked many times by SS coaches and there is nothing glaring obvious going on that would cause the pain. I can usually deadlift with no pain, but now and again I will feel a bit of discomfort. Sometimes it flairs up when doing Pendlay Rows but nothing major and I can easily work through it. Cycling does not hurt. I downhill skill at least once per week and that doesn’t hurt either. Also, I can almost always front squat pain free, regardless of intensity. I had posted a while ago for advice on whether or not I could run the Strength Template with front squats and Jordan figured it would be okay and hopefully get me out of this pain cycle I’m in. So I did the strength template with front squats, but I still can’t back squat.
I saw two different physiotherapists about 6-8 months ago. I wanted separate opinions. One suggested it was probably a minor meniscus tear or possibly a minor MCL injury. The other also thought meniscus related, but no tear. Neither of the physiotherapists could replicated the pain through physical examination. One took me to a squat rack and we loaded up all the weight he had (200lbs), but it wasn’t enough to cause any discomfort.
So, I’m not sure where to go from here. Basically, if I wasn’t trying to squat I’d just live my life and not even know something was going on with my knee. I’ve bought the knee rehab template and I am willing to try it, but from what I’ve read it doesn’t sound like it is really geared towards my situation. I am also willing to go back to a physiotherapist and see what they think and/or visit the sports medicine doc and get a referral for imaging… but depending on what the imaging reveals, I don’t really want someone to cut into my knee if the only thing it won’t do is back squat. Or, I guess I could just keep front squatting for life and pretend ignorance. I’ve been substituting front squats since the end of September.
Also, for what it is worth: I no longer train at a gym. I’m in the garage with standard garage gym equipment. So I don’t have access to equipment like a leg press (which does not seem to cause pain).
Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Let me know if any other information would be helpful.
Thanks for your help.