Alternative to Squats??

[Saiyanech725]

I just got back from the doctor today and was asking him about my knee that just hasn't been right every since I twisted playing basketball when I was 16. After that its always been troublesome. I've seen 2 doctors and they always tell me to take it easy. The doctor I'm seeing right now pretty much just did X-rays and felt the knee. X-rays are fine. He says something about being to young to have an (20 now) MRI approved or something, so I'm not really sure what's wrong with my knee, but the doc says its either an overtrained injury or possibly partially torn cartillage. My knee was doing fine but last week I decided to squat 170lbs(I know its not much),and I was fine for 2 days but the week after that my knee was killing me. So what I really want to know is what are some alternatives to Squats?? I'm not suppose to do exercises that put a lot of pressure on my knee so heavy leg presses are out of the question. Same goes for heavy deadlifts. Doc recommend Leg curls. What do you guys think? I'm sorta (Not lifting heavy for legs) following that AST Max-OT program which focuses on lifting heavy for failure at the 6th rep or a weight where you can't do more than 6 reps I'm trying to get my bodyfat down. I'm 5'8 150lbs 16%. Any recommendations or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[diamonddiceclay]

hack squats with proper form should be good

 

[diamonddiceclay]

also, you CAN get an mri if you have insurance

 

[Drifter]

I would go see a sports doctor and see what they have to say. They are a lot more up to date with what works and what doesn't with these kinds of injuries.

 

[Cipo]

Thats really too bad because squats and leg presses are the foundation for any good leg program. Have you tried lowering the weight and doing like 3 sets of 40-60 reps. I promise your muscles will be burning like hell after that with a lot less pressure on your knees. Also you could do lunges.

Cipo

 

[Lord_Suston]

Skip lunges due to torsion strain of the knee be underneath your own body, try to get an MRI and I had my fisrt when I was 17 so don't worry about that if you have insurance. If that fails drop the weight like Cipo said and get wraps, if this bother you then I would suggest light leg presses and sprinting.

 

[Saiyanech725]

Alright thanks a lot for the tips. I'm going to try a lot less weight and more reps. I'll give it a month to see if it gets any better. If not then I will ask the doc for an MRI. Thanks again for the info guys I really appreciate it.

 

[fifteyfive91]

If the doctor you're seeing now isn't a specialist you may want to ask your general practitioner to refer you to one. Last year I fell at the house while doing some construction work. It hurt some but got steadily worse over the next few weeks. After almost a month I went to my family practitioner who looked at my knee and said I probably sprained it. I asked to go to a specialist and the orth. figuered out that it was actually a torn ACL...

 

[endpoint]

im with most the other people here.
I went to a general practitioner and he band me from all leg movements after 2 patella dislocations.(not weight lifting related)

I went to a specialist and he help me to having healthier knees through exercise. funny enough squats were amajor part of my developement and re-pre-hab

If i didnt get this help i would still be dislocating my caps.