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anita514
Gym climber
Great White North
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 28, 2017 - 04:18pm PT
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Anyone have it? Any tips?
My knee has been hurting for a bit and I always thought it was because I favored it more than my gimpy leg when lifting weights, squatting, jump rope, etc. Turns out I have patellofemoral syndrome and my doctor said my quads are too tight and I need to stretch daily.
I also need to learn to favor my R leg more, which is hard because I've been leaning on the L for the last 30 years.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Jun 28, 2017 - 04:33pm PT
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The Wiki page is quite informative
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anita514
Gym climber
Great White North
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 28, 2017 - 04:43pm PT
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Got any tips on how to deal, or just the obvious answer? (already read the Wiki though, thanks).
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Jun 28, 2017 - 05:14pm PT
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Someties the cause of patellar mis tracking is a weak vmo muscle.
A good exercise is to use a Pilates Refomer or a leg press machine with light weight. Hold and squeez a 8 to 10" ball btween your ankles as you do the presses. This will recruit the VMO just ahead of the rest of the quads, the way it should be fof a stable patella.
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Jun 28, 2017 - 05:37pm PT
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Huh, most people are more wimpy on the left. Are you left handed like me? If you wanna build strength in the right to become more evenly balanced. Easy peasy. Jus do squats, with gallon jugs of water in each hand(or whatever). Stand up straight and twist ur left toe out. Using it only for balance, do 75 squats with 75% of the work devoted to your right leg. Jus use the left for balance. Then do it visa-versa, 75% of the work devoted to ur left leg, but for only 25 reps. Try to do that 4-10 times a day every other day. Results will be oblivious in 4-6 weeks. Then confine the same regime, but change over to Lunges. When your feeling strongly balanced, start workin toward a 50/50 routine. In a year I'd bet a cheeseburger your vertical leap will improve 2inches🙂
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Jun 28, 2017 - 10:31pm PT
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hey there say, anita... email, or let me know here... but, i know
professional osteopaths, in england, and over their career, they have helped so many, from all kinds of stuff... if you would like to talk with them, let me know...
they can call you...
you don't have to do anything that they suggest, but:
you can see if it matches any info that you have found, etc...
and thus, decide better which things to do...
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Jun 29, 2017 - 03:02am PT
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Anita, I love it when you say "patellofemoral."
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Mr. Rogers
climber
The Land of Make-Believe
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Jun 29, 2017 - 08:09am PT
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I had a bad case of it about 8-9 years ago. It was caused by launching into a multi-week climbing/mountaineering trip with minimal prep. Pulled the plug on the trip when I couldn't really walk anymore. A bunch of rest, Dr., and PT visits got rid of the pain, but it would return when I got active again. Lame.
Eventually stretching resolved it. Lots and lots of stretching. It took a while to figure out what combination of movements worked for me, your experience will probably be different. In my case, my go-to is a sequence of 1) Prisoner Stretch (may be called "Prisoner Lunge"), (2) Samson Stretch, (3) Instep Stretch, (4) Pigeon stretch.
Nowadays, if I don't stretch, it can come back, especially after big days. As a result, I spend a lot of time stretching in parking lots next to my car.
EDIT TO ADD: As KSolem said, a strong(er) VMO could also help. When I cracked my tibia skiing a few years back, given my knee history my PT was a big, big fan of anything to strengthen my VMO. Wall-sits with a ball between my knees, which then progressed to one-legged wall-sits with a ball between my knees, were one of his favorite tools.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Jun 29, 2017 - 09:32am PT
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Thanks for posting, and thanks to everyone for the tips I have similar symptoms in both knees. I had started doing squats with a kettlebell at gym last year. I saw major improvements in leg strength so of course I dialed it up, more sets and reps. I get some tenderness/pain on both sides of my knee cap when I bend my knee tightly, like doing a high step. I found my knees feel better after climbing in the gym. I am going to do a stretching routine, something I have never done in the past.
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Cragar
climber
MSLA - MT
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Jun 29, 2017 - 09:42am PT
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Do you cycle, for fun or commute?
Cycling, when spinning correctly with proper fit will strengthen the vmo muscle that ksolem wrote about above. I have a 'compromised' right knee and have to focus on even pressure when I squat and spin. I also do exercises that require 1 limb lifting/pressing at a time, basically my only exception to this are squats. Good luck and being consistent and disciplined in your therapy will help hella(captain obvious here!)
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anita514
Gym climber
Great White North
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 30, 2017 - 04:08am PT
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Thanks for all the replies.
My surgeon said my quads are too strong and not flexible enough so I am putting a lot of pressure on my patella. So she wants me to stretch - basically lie on my stomach, bend knees and heels should touch my bum easily. They don't.
Background for Blueblocr: I'm not a lefty. I just have had many years of bone issues & surgery on my right leg so I've learned to favor the "strong" leg for like the last 20-30 years. My R leg is so fused up now that it's rock solid, but I am still afraid/unable to jump on it. Funny thing, the mind is!
Tami: I need one of those foam rollers. I'll look up what you recommended - thanks!! :)
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
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Jun 30, 2017 - 08:50am PT
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Foam roller - myofascial release...
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Jun 30, 2017 - 05:22pm PT
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I have trouble tell in' left from . . . What's right ( todo ?) should I post them? Here & there ?
or just there or here to? I need another beer like I need this bowling ball 'round above my waste.,
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chainsaw
Trad climber
CA
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Performing squats is very hard on the knees. Stop that excercise for a few weeks and see what happens.
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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YMMV
For me A lot of my issues are from impacts to my knees so my patella is rough and my knees grind when I flex them. Ortho said you can't fix that just keep it from getting worse so I try to stay off my knees and if I do get on them I have high quality knee pads.
There no correlation between handedness and footedness.
Lots of good advice above. Stretch quads, calves, IT bands, hamstrings. Foam roll them too but stretching is more important and should be done before and after rolling. Strengthen the the VMO the inner head of the quad, the tear drop shaped part just above the knee and inside (medial)
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Sep 21, 2017 - 11:36am PT
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Update: I went to a class for this issue (for free! yay Kaiser) and the latest physical therapy recommendations for this have changed (at least according to Kaiser).
I also have shoulder impingement syndrome and a couple years ago a good orthopedic surgeon showed me the latest PT and it worked way better than what a physical therapist had showed me about 10 years ago, it made a world of difference.
It looks like the same thing is already happening for me for my knee (much more improvement with the new PT).
Supposedly strengthening the VMO muscle doesn't work. You end up working the whole quad anyway. The new thinking is you need to strengthen the hip and quads to improve alignment.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Sep 21, 2017 - 12:03pm PT
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I have been stretching my leg muscles at the gym when I rest between climbs, and it has made a huge difference in my knee pain. I have resumed doing squats with weight and knees are fine, thanks to this thread.
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Cragar
climber
MSLA - MT
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Sep 21, 2017 - 12:27pm PT
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Yeah, thanks to this thread, for sure.
I found a nug or 2 that has helped in my general flexibility. As we know, flexibility = strength! I have only been in the gym the last 2 smoky months: climbing, stretching and lifting. I started my SkiKnee PT WO about 2 months early so I have been in the heavies zone for about 3 weeks and feel like I can add weight to my regimen sooner than the last couple years. I kinda think the overall body flexibility work and less cycling has helped, even though less cycling sucks!!
BTW Anita, have you had any success dealing/working/healing your patellofemoral syndrome via any tips or surgeon advise?
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couchmaster
climber
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Nov 30, 2018 - 01:23pm PT
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Anita, did you climb El Cap with this going on in yer knee? HoLeeFuk! You're tough. Does anyone have any successes with stretches or exercises? I'm following the PT, bought the wave thing Spectorman noted on the other page and I'm still hobbling around.
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