Why knees hurt when squats: causes and treatment

The knee joint is one of the most difficult joints. It is subject to a heavy load, so often uncomfortable sensations appear in it. Often knees hurt when squats. Causes and treatment are presented in the article.

Knee discomfort

Many patients, when consulting a doctor, are interested in why knees hurt when squats. Appearing discomfort is often associated with a strong load on the joint. Treatment should be chosen only after identifying the cause, otherwise the pain will still remain.

The main factor of discomfort can be improperly performed strength exercises. Knee hurts when squatting with long-standing joint injuries. But even with these factors, it is not necessary to exclude degenerative phenomena in them. They can answer the question of why your knees hurt when squats.

The knee joint is presented in the form of a complex joint, which is responsible for the functioning of the articulated mechanisms. When moving, he receives the main load. The main work when standing up, running, jumping, walking lies on one knee.

Why do knees hurt when squats? Over time, the joint wears out, first a crunch appears, then a pulling pain. In case of constant acute pain, consult a traumatologist. Severe discomfort is eliminated only with medication. It’s hard for a person to sit down, walk, work. As a result, the joint is destroyed. Disability may occur.

What to look for?

In order to prevent disability, you need to pay attention to the body and the symptoms that it gives. If your knees hurt, you need to do this:

1. Determine when this happens - with squats, after them, while walking or running.
2. Establish the nature of the syndrome. The pain can be pulling, stitching, throbbing.
3. Identify the duration. The pain appears a couple of seconds, minutes or lasts a long time.

If discomfort is associated with physical education, you should check:

• rules for performing exercises;
• staging and distribution of loads;
• the intensity of the load on the joint.

If the problem is not in technique, correct position, but in heavy loads, you need to choose a replacement for squats. And when discomfort is not associated with stress, you should visit a doctor. He will determine why knees hurt when squats.

Causes

The doctor will prescribe therapy after identifying the causes of discomfort. Why do knees hurt when squatting and standing up? This may be due to:

• injuries that were not noticed;
• pinched nerves;
• inflammation or destruction of the joints.

If discomfort is of a singular nature, it can be caused by harmless factors, which, with constant repetition, can lead to serious consequences. If the knee hurts when squatting, the reasons may be:

• hypothermia;
• high heels - more than 6 cm;
• overweight;
• lack of calcium and other valuable components;
• limb fixation in an uncomfortable position;
• crushing of blood vessels and numbness of the legs;
• fall;
• knee kick.

There may be other factors, if any, the site of pain localization should be determined. Why do squats hurt legs above the knee? The reason may be a sprain, deformation and destruction of the cartilage of the joint. Why, after squats, hurt legs above the knee? This is associated with inflammation of the knee tendons.

If your knees hurt when squatting and standing up, the reasons lie in sprains or torn ligaments. In the same way, a hernia of the ligament-tendon apparatus is manifested. If after squats the pain is sharp and prolonged, then it can be inflammation.

Joint deformation with flat feet

Flat feet is a dangerous ailment. With it, the foot does not correctly stand on the supporting surface. This negatively affects the entire skeleton. Flat feet leads to deformation of the big toes, knees, destruction of the hip joints, headache. If you ignore the problem, it destroys the knee cartilage.

A strong load on the knee due to improper position of the foot over time "kills" him. With a lack of joint-forming components, this process only accelerates. Therefore, a balanced diet is needed.

Flatfoot should be treated since childhood, during this period the skeletal system is actively growing and changing. For this, special gymnastics is needed. Teenagers are more difficult to cure the disease. To reduce the negative impact on the joints with flat feet, when squatting with a bar or barbell, you need to use special insoles. In adults, the disease can not be cured, but the condition of the feet can be improved.

Joint diseases

If knees hurt during squats, then the problem may be in pathological processes. In this case, self-medication is prohibited. Discomfort in the knee joint occurs when:

1. Arthritis rheumatoid - a chronic ailment in which at the initial stage there is aching pain during flexion of the joint.
2. Gout. With an ailment, salts in the joint are debugged, which causes severe pain.
3. Osteoarthrosis deformans. With it, metabolic deviations of the joint occur, in which severe pain appears during physical exertion.
4. Tendinitis. This is inflammation in the ligaments of the knee. Discomfort is observed under heavy loads.
5. Bursitis knee. This is inflammation of the periarticular bag. Pain occurs with active movements.
6. Ostechondropathy. Discomfort is felt during active sports, and disappears during rest.
7. Arthrosis. This is a disease characterized by the destruction of cartilage. Without treatment, disability occurs. The pain occurs at rest.

If your knees hurt when squatting, treatment should be performed only by a doctor. Therapy is prescribed after identifying a disease that causes unpleasant symptoms.

In adolescents

For pain in the knee, there may be Osgood-Schlatter disease. With it, a painful bump appears under the patella on the tibia. Usually it is detected in adolescents 11-15 years old who are actively involved in sports.

The most common pain is squatting. During movement, discomfort is explained by the proximity of the bump to the knee. This disease goes away on its own. The bump usually disappears even if untreated, so usually no therapy is given.

Diagnostics

What to do if knees hurt when squats? You should consult a doctor. A specialist will examine the patient. The primary technique consists of:

• interviewing a patient;
• viewing a medical record;
• visual inspection;
• palpation;
• issuing directions for analysis and research.

When diagnosing a patient, it is important to follow the doctor's recommendations. With the help of tests and studies, the veracity of the diagnosis and the fidelity of treatment tactics are guaranteed. The diagnosis is made after:

• blood test;
• urinalysis;
• X-ray examination;
• MRI
• CT
• Ultrasound
• arthroscopy of the knee joint.

The latter test procedure is considered invasive. It is prescribed for the impotence of other methods and suspicions of a serious ailment of the knee joint.

How to relieve pain?

Research and analysis usually takes some time. If your knees hurt when squatting, how to treat? This can only be determined by a doctor. And before the appointment of therapy, the joint should be protected, the load on it should be reduced. It is best to fix the joint with an elastic bandage. And if possible, provide him with peace.

To reduce pain, medicines and traditional medicine can be used:

• compresses and bandages on the knee;
• local anesthetics;
• warming ointments;
• massages (very carefully);
• relaxing baths with salts, esters, herbs.

For people who can’t even temporarily give up sports, it is advisable to choose swimming. It does not give a strong load on the joint, but uses the muscles.

Treatment

If your knees hurt when squatting, how to treat? The method of therapy is prescribed by the doctor after determining the cause. In addition to the main treatment, it is important to adhere to several recommendations:

1. When establishing an injury, the knee joint does not need to be strained. Sports and heavy traffic are prohibited. This is required to prevent consequences and complications.
2. If arthritis has been identified, then non-steroidal drugs are prescribed.
3. With gout, you need to adjust the diet, remove products with a large number of purine bases from it.
4. If there is no deformation and degradation of the cartilage, neoplasms in the joint, exercise therapy is prescribed.

All these measures can not be assigned to yourself, since some of them may have the opposite effect. After exercise therapy, you need rest. If pain occurs during some exercise, it should be completely abandoned.

Best drugs

The list of medicines and the duration of treatment are determined by the disease. Often, doctors prescribe the following remedies:

1. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They eliminate active inflammation, in which other drugs can be ineffective. In medicine, NSAIDs are used with acetylsalicylic acid, phenylbutazone, etodolac, indomethacin, diclofenac. Although drugs have a strong anti-inflammatory effect, they cannot be used for a long time.
2. Corticosteroids. They are used when past drugs did not have the desired effect.
3. Non-narcotic and narcotic analgesics. Their main task is to eliminate the main symptom - pain. Non-narcotic drugs ("Paracetamol", "Analgin", "Metindol") do not violate respiratory function, do not lead to addiction compared to narcotic analgesics (opiates, codeins). Such drugs have a less pronounced analgesic effect and are sometimes useless with severe pain. Narcotic analgesics also help with severe discomfort, but are rarely used.
4. Muscle relaxants. These are medications that relax the muscles around the knee joint. It often happens that muscle spasm is considered an additional cause of pain. Of the muscle relaxants, the best are "Myokain", "Sibazon", "Midokalm".
5. Chondroprotectors. Drugs nourish the joint with glucosamine and chondroitin. These components are important for structural integrity and joint health. They are in the joint tissue and intraarticular fluid. They take such drugs for a long time - from 1 month to 3 years.

Physiotherapy

Such procedures restore metabolism in the joint, which regulates regeneration and restores the joint. With joint pathologies, the patient helps sessions:

• massage and osteopathy;
• bathtubs;
• laser therapy, ultrasound, UVT, electrophoresis, heating;
• ozone.

Physiotherapy is often supplemented with other methods. But it should be borne in mind that only a doctor can direct procedures. In some diseases, heating and laser therapy are contraindicated.

Classes

Can I do squats if my knees hurt? On this issue, it is better to consult a doctor. Sometimes experts are allowed to practice, but it is important to follow a few simple rules:

1. It is important to establish when pain occurs when squatting. If an incomplete squat does not cause discomfort, then it can be done.
2. Leg press is also performed.
3. The knees should be fixed with elastic bandages. To wrap should not be very tight. It is important that this does not cause inconvenience.
4. It is necessary to warm up well, preferably on an exercise bike. With it, the maximum safe heating of the joints is ensured.
5. Warming ointments are suitable. But if the skin is sensitive, then the remedy will only harm.
6. Weights need to be increased gradually and slowly.
7. It is necessary to take chondroitin and glucosamine, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids.

It is necessary to be attentive to health. With acute pain and discomfort in the knee, you can not deal with weight. It is advisable to postpone the training until a doctor is consulted.

Exercise therapy

Physiotherapy exercises can go into treatment or prevention. Joint health requires a moderate load. Exercise strengthens muscles, accelerates blood. As a result, the framework that supports the joint gains tonus. The articulation is perfectly imbued with oxygen and valuable components.

Effective moderate exercise for the elderly. The list of exercises and the number of approaches depends on the violation. But there are activities that are useful for almost every person:

1. "Scissors".
2. "Bike".
3. Raise your legs while lying on your side or back.
4. Stretching the knees forward in a sitting position.

For joints, effective yoga, swimming. These sports provide moderate exercise and do not overload them. If your knees hurt, you need to be careful about running, exercising on simulators, and powerlifting. These exercises heavily load the joints, which can only strengthen the pathology.

Food

In the treatment of the joint, nutrition is of great importance. With discomfort, attention should be paid to products that restore the joint, saturate it with valuable components. To strengthen it, you need to eat products with:

1. Vitamin D. It is found in mushrooms, herbs, fish, chicken eggs, dairy products.
2. Vitamin A. They are rich in vegetable oils, for example, sea buckthorn, as well as carrots and pumpkins.

A valuable component for joints is calcium. It is found in drinking water, meat, dairy products, green vegetables, nuts. With joint problems in the diet should be foods rich in hyaluronic acid. It is present in soy, chill, rich broths.

It is important to remember about the drinking regimen. With a lack of fluid, metabolic processes are inhibited. To replenish the water balance, all people need to drink at least 2 liters of water per day.

Prevention

In order to prevent damage to the joints, to reduce the likelihood of inflammation, preventive measures must be taken. They are important to observe when playing sports. If the pain is intermittent, then the following recommendations will help:

1. Before exercise, you need a warm-up.
2. After them, rest is necessary.
3. Squats should be perfect.
4. When pain occurs, it is necessary to reduce the intensity of the exercise, which is to protect against injury and deformation of the joint.
5. Joint hypothermia is harmful.
6. Timely treatment of all diseases is required.
7. Food should be balanced.

Such measures will prevent pain in the joints. And if nevertheless the discomfort has appeared, do not ignore the problem, it is important to consult a doctor immediately.