Help me bros, it's my knee....

[MOD]

Ever since training legs last week and going the heaviest I've ever went on squats for sets, my left knee has been making a 'crunching' sound when I squat down ( under bodyweight ) but not when I extend it. it sounds kinda like cracking knuckles, but it's a 'softer' sound. it doesn't feel like there's anything retricting the movement of my knee... and it doesn't hurt one bit when it 'crunches', which scares me cause I don't know if I'm doing more damage to it... do any of you guys know what this could be? or have experienced it before? Leg day is tomorrow and I have been waiting all week for it, but I'm also afraid I'll be doing more damage to my knee. what do you guys think? thanks a lot.

 

[slobberknocker]

Just some random thoughts from me:

most knee problems in squatting, from what I've seen, seem to come from:

1. strength imbalance, hams too weak

2. not going deep enough

3. not sitting back (instead of down)

Don't suppose you have any pics or vids of your squat form, do you?

That's all I can offer man. Sorry. Hope it won't be a problem for you.

 

[Thaibox]

I have this in both of my knees pretty bad. I had athroscopic surgery on my right knee, and its a little louder than my left.
Its a condition called crepitus. It is the sound of a potentially destructive grinding of the femur on the undersurface of the patella.

Can't say if this is what you have or not.
It could also be loose fragments of cartilage under your knee cap. Both of these things are relatively common, especially the second.

As long as there's no pain related, it shouldn't be a problem man.

 

[RusPA81]

I have this in my elbow and it is caused by a tendon rubbing against my elbow. If you have something similar it is harmless. I would have it checked out just in case. You really can't make a diagonis without having a doctor checking you out. There can be many causes for something with similar symptoms and all of the info you get here will be just people guessing.

 

[MOD]

thanks for the help bros.

no, I don't have any pics or vids. sorry.

it doesn't sound like bone rubbing against bone. although I have noticed that my left patella is looser than the right. it does sound a bit like caratlidge crunching. I extended my leg a few times under no load and payed close attention and i noticed that it feels as though there is a little bit of cartalidge there that my bone 'hops' over [ I feel it on the inside sides of my knee, not under my patella ].

another thing I noticed, the 'crunching' starts at the lowest position of my squat ( parallel ).

so I have a few more questions bros:

should I train through the crunching tomorrow?

or should I squat above where it starts to crunch?

lastly, is this something that will take care of itself [ the something being lose bits of cartalidge ] ? or should I start looking for a doc?

 

[RusPA81]

thanks for the help bros.

no, I don't have any pics or vids. sorry.

it doesn't sound like bone rubbing against bone. although I have noticed that my left patella is looser than the right. it does sound a bit like caratlidge crunching. I extended my leg a few times under no load and payed close attention and i noticed that it feels as though there is a little bit of cartalidge there that my bone 'hops' over [ I feel it on the inside sides of my knee, not under my patella ].

another thing I noticed, the 'crunching' starts at the lowest position of my squat ( parallel ).

so I have a few more questions bros:

should I train through the crunching tomorrow?

or should I squat above where it starts to crunch?

lastly, is this something that will take care of itself [ the something being lose bits of cartalidge ] ? or should I start looking for a doc?

Look for a doc. Its the only way to make sure. You dont want to mess around with knee problems. Once your knees go, they are very hard to fix and not being able to walk doesnt sound too fun.

 

[Thaibox]

RusPa is right. I've had a couple knee surgeries already. Chances ae decent that what you have is what I described and won't be a problem for you, but your best bet is to have a doctor tell you I'm full of shit rather than a loaded bar.

 

[slobberknocker]

See if you can get a doctor that works specifically with athletes.