I am a 49 year old fit and active female, 60 kgs and 5 foot 2. I have run recreationally (20-40 kms a week) and weight trained for years (10 consistently for running, 20 for weights). My problem is a sharp pain when I try to squat, lunge or otherwise weight bear on my right knee past about 30 degrees of flexion. This started about 9 months ago. It was, I suppose, slow onset in that I could keep doing some leg stuff OK and I had good days and bad days. Possibly associated with incorporating one-legged stuff (ie one legged squats, leg presses) into my routine but I’m not totally sure. By way of further background I also have a left SI joint which is problematic – I don’t do free standing squats any more, only Smith squats. It gets very upset with some running drills eg knee highs. At the moment, once down in a squatting position ie on my haunches, I have no pain at all and can get up again with no pain (bodyweight only).
I have had two MRI’s now (which showed nothing but “normal” degenerative changes (ie patchy cartilage on the back of my knee cap) and an arthroscopy (May 28) to clean up my cartilage. The surgeon found nothing at all wrong on the lateral side but cleaned up my medial and patellar cartilage. Meniscii OK. Since the operation the lateral pain has not changed one iota. The surgeon keeps telling me its my kneecap ie referred pain and I should just not squat any more but I can’t understand this. I have had physio for my VMO/core etc and that is going fine. I am doing about 80% strength hammie work (I can’t go full out on hammies or it starts to aggravate it), abductors and adductors and straight legged pulleys. I am back running, running is not a problem. I get no aching at all, I can sit with my knee bent and it doesn’t ever ache. I can kneel and its not sore (as it was when it was still recovering from the op). My other knee is getting kneecap pain because its been carrying the other one for so long (I have not been able to even sit on the toilet without taking weight off it). And THAT knee will hurt and ache if I run too much/too long or sit with it bent. But not my right one. The crosstrainer/elliptical trainer upsets my right knee. I lasted 6 minutes on it last week. Somehow or other that motion, perhaps with bodyweight on the knee throughout all of the motion was a no-no. I can cycle (stationary bike) OK but I get the impression it makes the pain on squatting worse (last time I went to the surgeon and demonstrated the pain it was the worst it had been and that was after being on the stationary bike three times that week). I do get some sort of clicking on the lateral side beside my knee cap sometimes – sort of between my knee cap and my femur. If I really dig into that dent I can believe it’s a bit sore. Also sometimes at the back/ lateral side of my knee – but on the inside if you can understand I can palpate a sore spot. But I don’t know if that’s connected.
The one thing I haven’t had/done is continuous anti-inflammatories or cortisone injections. Is this a route I should try? I just don’t like to mask things without knowing for sure. What about lateral plica syndrome??? I don’t really have swelling or any obvious symptoms. But also bear in mind I have been trying to be really good to my knee for months now, I have been trying to not do anything which does bring about that sudden excruciating pain on squatting.
I’m really at a loss. I cannot believe its kneecap stuff because I know my left knee is and its just behaving so differently. I cannot believe that I just can’t do any squatting, bodyweight or otherwise, also no aerobics classes and the stress on my (what was) my good knee is a concern.
Sorry about the epic! Hoping you have some suggestions.
