Squat Check/Knee Advice

[JB1981]

Coach Rip,

First just wanted to extend my thanks for critiquing my first squat check video. Very much appreciated. I know there have been many questions asked on this forum about knees and knee issues and all that but I am having a problem w/ my left knee and I really feel that I am doing a pretty good job of keeping my knees in a stable, outward position on my squats. The video I have is a pretty light set (I'm going for 225 tomorrow). I would like to know if you see any glaring issues w/ my squat form that would cause the kind of issues I'm having with my knee. It's constantly snapping/popping and the anterior of the patella feels a little torn or something. The knee crunches when I bend down and it just doesn't feel right. I can still train and squat and the knee doesn't cause me a lot of pain really but as the weight gets heavier the symptoms seem to get worse (maybe my form is breaking down as well).

Or maybe I'm just a puss and a little knee soreness/discomfort is normal (but i don't think so). Could you kindly review this video and tell me what you think? I have a tendency to relax at the bottom, which I don't like, but my knees look OK (from my limited knowledge on the subject). One again thank you for your time and dedication.
Here is my video:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Beamber#play/all/uploads-all/2/QBl3XOGUY7E

[Mark Rippetoe]

Nothing horrible here, but if you have some patellar inflammation it would be better to get out of your knees a little by keeping the shins more vertical and leaning forward a little to balance this.

[kziwarrior]

It's constantly snapping/popping and the anterior of the patella feels a little torn or something. The knee crunches when I bend down and it just doesn't feel right. I can still train and squat and the knee doesn't cause me a lot of pain really but as the weight gets heavier the symptoms seem to get worse (maybe my form is breaking down as well).


Just my 2-cents but have you been to a good ortho specialists? Mine have "crunched" and popped when standing from a sitting or squat position for a few years now. Finally went to a good specialist a year or so ago and he said I have arthritis on the back of my patellas along with plenty of "floating cartilage". He said surgery could remove/repair the cartilage but wouldn't do anything for the arthritis (which was the cause of most of the pain).

The main reason I bring it up is he did warn me of potential problems with the damaged cartilage, it can (and likely will) end up working it's way to (into) someplace where it could cause problems. I've seen something similar first-hand. A few years ago one of my students was doing a roll-out from a throw and his knee "popped" but seemed okay. The next morning when he woke-up his knee was "locked" into place at about 45-degrees... according to the doctor that fixed it (via arthroscopic surgery) a piece of cartilage had worked it's way into the area and locked the knee out (sorry my memory is failing, I can't remember exactly where/how). Might be worth the appointment time just to check, if your insurance will cover it.

[Mark Rippetoe]

And I have at least 3 tears in my meniscii that cause absolutely no problems at all. If you want to run to the orthopod every time you hurt something, go ahead. This is how they stay in business; they have trained you to think this way. If your knee locks up, get it fixed, but running to the doctor every time you get hurt is something you'll need to grow out of if you want to keep training hard.

[kziwarrior]

I don't advocate "run[ning] to the orthopod every time you hurt something" especially when you know you have an underlying condition. I've trained through numerous injuries over the years, but if/when something concerns me, as the OP appears to be about his constant popping/cracking then that's different, there is something to be said about knowing when to go.

Preventive measures for diagnosed conditions can go a LONG way and they generally lead to less training disruption than injury-recovery would. And they will also let you know "when" to worry and when not to (as in the case with your meniscii tears). Besides, IMHO if he has insurance he should use it while he can (I haven't had it for two years so I'm glad I did in the past, even if it makes me appear soft/weak).