Long story short, I have had knee pain for a while and probably due to poor squat form. After working on it for a long period of time I figured out (I think) that posterior chain weakness is the culprit and that my anterior side has had to overcompensate.

I've gone back to basics and started working on form and flexibility with light weights. I use primarily box squats. I also work on flexibility in my hamstrings and hip flexors so I can push my butt out on squat. I've done this for the past month and a half.

However, I'm still getting very sore knees after working out. Theyre sore right now and I'll i did was bike this morning. Also, they're sore even on days i dont workout and will hurt if i just stand up out of a chair.

Am I missing something? Or will getting my posterior chain stronger just take a little while longer?

Pain with going up or down stairs?
Pain with standing on one leg and twisting your body from side to side? (Google pivot-shift test)

Without looking at you I'd be concerned something more is at play.

JHUAggie said:

---

Pain with going up or down stairs?
Pain with standing on one leg and twisting your body from side to side? (Google pivot-shift test)

Without looking at you I'd be concerned something more is at play.

---

The pain is on the front of the knees. Tonight at church I could almost feel a little pain just from kneeling.

I get it when going up stairs not going down unless I worked out just before. No pain on twisting side to side.

Go see a sports med doc and/or a physical therapist. PT would probably be better. There's a lot to proper mechanics. You might be addressing one component of your mechanics that is flawed, and it might help, but there may be several at play that should probably be addressed together for the best results.

That being said, are you hitting your smaller hip muscles that do the smaller hip stability movements? Like the piriformis, the glute min/med, and a couple others in there. Also, sometimes we confuse a weak muscle that is spasmed and holding on for dear life with a tight muscle.

If you're not already doing it, add in monster walks into your rehab routine and what I've heart called "clock works" ( That is, until someone can really assess you to see where you need to focus.

bigtruckguy3500 said:

---

Go see a sports med doc and/or a physical therapist. PT would probably be better. There's a lot to proper mechanics. You might be addressing one component of your mechanics that is flawed, and it might help, but there may be several at play that should probably be addressed together for the best results.

That being said, are you hitting your smaller hip muscles that do the smaller hip stability movements? Like the piriformis, the glute min/med, and a couple others in there. Also, sometimes we confuse a weak muscle that is spasmed and holding on for dear life with a tight muscle.

If you're not already doing it, add in monster walks into your rehab routine and what I've heart called "clock works" ( That is, until someone can really assess you to see where you need to focus.

---

Yeah, will probably have to see a doc. I try to really focus on engaging the hams and glutes, which is why I do the box squats. I also do hip thrusts to targete the glutes.

It's frustrating because I have zero pain when actually doing the lift or exercise. It's when Im not doing it (i.e. normal daily activities) is where I feel the pain.

Strangely I have been dealing with the same issue but just with one leg. I played basketball for the first time in a while and felt a sharp pain. This was a couple months ago and now its a soreness that flairs up whenever I play bball or lift weights. I have been doing squats and it always hurts afterwards more so than during like yours. Front of the knee like yours as well. It does get better after a few days with little activity but still kind of constantly there. Right now I think I'm giving squats a break even though it messes with my stronglifts 5x5 I've been trying to do.

Front of the knee just below the knee cap could be patellar tendonitis.

What kind of cycling do you do?

88planoAg said:

---

What kind of cycling do you do?

---

Just a spin bike. I did pretty light resistance and focused on dragging my feet back like what you would do for running while trying not to press down with my knees quads.

Also, when Im in a sitting position and before I get up, I will mentally focus on my hams and butt doing the work. But every damn time i feel like my knees are still doing the work entirely, pain or not.

RyanAg08 said:

---

88planoAg said:

---

What kind of cycling do you do?

---

Just a spin bike. I did pretty light resistance and focused on dragging my feet back like what you would do for running while trying not to press down with my knees quads.

---

Do you use cycling shoes or tennis shoes? ie do you ride with your foot fixed to the pedal?

88planoAg said:

---

RyanAg08 said:

---

88planoAg said:

---

What kind of cycling do you do?

---

Just a spin bike. I did pretty light resistance and focused on dragging my feet back like what you would do for running while trying not to press down with my knees quads.

---

Do you use cycling shoes or tennis shoes? ie do you ride with your foot fixed to the pedal?

---

Just tennis shoes but with the little strap thing that keeps them "fixed".

RyanAg08 said:

---

88planoAg said:

---

RyanAg08 said:

---

88planoAg said:

---

What kind of cycling do you do?

---

Just a spin bike. I did pretty light resistance and focused on dragging my feet back like what you would do for running while trying not to press down with my knees quads.

---

Do you use cycling shoes or tennis shoes? ie do you ride with your foot fixed to the pedal?

---

Just tennis shoes but with the little strap thing that keeps them "fixed".

---

I know your knee issues didn't start with the bike, but improper fit of spin or regular bike can cause or aggravate knee issues. If you are in a class ask the instructor to check seat height and seat position (forward/back). For forward/back, you shouldn't sit too far over the pedals. You can use a piece of string with a paperclip or other weight, have your pedals parallel to the floor (at 9 and 3) then hold the string at your knee and let it hang. The string should be right over the ball of your foot.

88planoAg said:

---

RyanAg08 said:

---

88planoAg said:

---

RyanAg08 said:

---

88planoAg said:

---

What kind of cycling do you do?

---

Just a spin bike. I did pretty light resistance and focused on dragging my feet back like what you would do for running while trying not to press down with my knees quads.

---

Do you use cycling shoes or tennis shoes? ie do you ride with your foot fixed to the pedal?

---

Just tennis shoes but with the little strap thing that keeps them "fixed".

---

I know your knee issues didn't start with the bike, but improper fit of spin or regular bike can cause or aggravate knee issues. If you are in a class ask the instructor to check seat height and seat position (forward/back). For forward/back, you shouldn't sit too far over the pedals. You can use a piece of string with a paperclip or other weight, have your pedals parallel to the floor (at 9 and 3) then hold the string at your knee and let it hang. The string should be right over the ball of your foot.

---

This is good advice and makes sense. Thank you.

I have a spin bike I use at home, but the heel position I think is actually off on my setup.

Ulrich said:

---

Front of the knee just below the knee cap could be patellar tendonitis.

---

That's what I thought too...

OP,

Do you have pain to the touch below knees on shin? If so, are they small knots that are somewhat noticeable? If so, likely jumpers knee... RICE and some prednisone to fix.

I had this issues years ago and found out it was my squat form... knees were going over the toes and I wasn't driving with my heels like I should have been. No issues since.

Had it a few years ago, partly due to a bike fit being off. Believe I did 4 weeks of no leg workouts and then another 4 weeks of rehab at a PT. Tendonitis sucks but unless you rest it it will keep hanging around

It's probably a knee tracking issue from squatting if I had to guess

Update:

Applying research I did on proper pectoral activation for bench press, I tried to focus my mental focus on box (back) squatting with my hams and glutes. Not necessarily driving heels into the ground, etc., but mentally forcing them to be completely in charge of the lift rather than my quads. I also warmed up with glute/ham specific exercises to ensure proper flexibility and ability to push my butt out.

It seems to have helped as my current knee soreness is well below average. This may indicate that it's an imbalance between the two sides (front and back) whereby the quads and unfortunately the knees are doing the lifting and compensating for the inactive and/or weak hams and glutes. This may also explain why I get knee pain even though that particular part of my form is okay.

I'll keep you posted.

Quote:

---

Tonight at church I could almost feel a little pain just from kneeling.

---

There's your problem. Time to go Baptist - we never kneel.

I do a cycling class a couple of times a week. When I began using cycling shoes I noticed that there was less strain in my knees. My hamstrings get used much more and my knees don't hurt.

aggiebrad94 said:

---

Quote:

---

Tonight at church I could almost feel a little pain just from kneeling.

---

There's your problem. Time to go Baptist - we never kneel.

---

true dat. I visited a catholic church one time and when the priest told us to kneel, I Spartan kicked him.

Stop biking. Just learn to squat. It fixes everything.

I figured it out. It was a significant anterior pelvic tilt.

Going through squat/knee pain now. Seeing a PT since I've hit my deductible on my health plan. It's been very interesting learning about more detailed anatomy and how your lower half all works together. I think I probably have a similar pelvic tilt in addition to some ankle mobility issues on my right side and a really tight IT band.

I just bought an extra firm roller and OMG it hurts so good. Spent a good amount of time on my tibialis anterior last night and that was painful.

Thanks for the update. Helps us learn from each other.