an update on my knee and some advice for the future please

[seamus1979]

i saw a doctor last week and had a physio tonight in regards to my current knee problem
the doctor took some x rays and he told me my knee cap was coming out on the outer side of the joint
he said the physio would help me strengthen my ligaments and bring my knee back into position and hopefully i would not need keyhole surgery to correct things
ok
so i saw the physio tonight (who was fucking hot! but anyway)
she told me my problem was firstly i had over developed my outer thighs without working my inside thigh enough, thus my outer thigh is pulling me knee cap to the side
she also said my hips and hamstrings are way to tight
so ive been told to work my inner thighs more and to also concentrate on stretching more
she told me i stand in the squatting position with my toes pointing out and i need to try and bring my feet in more. she also said i walk flat footed
so help me cut through all this shit please
what can i do to balance out my thigh muscles and improve my suppleness
cheers fellas

 

[Monger]

Were you doing any thing in particular that caused an imbalance to begin with?

 

[seamus1979]

well ive spent the last 12 years squatting and deadlifting
she said squatting develops the outer thigh but i need to concentrate on my inner thigh
i was finding alot of problems when i was driving. when my leg was in the bent position operating the clutch my leg would start to seize up after a while causing pain and i would have to stop my car and walk it off.

 

[takeahnase]

She told you to strengthen the inner thigh, but had no advice on how to strengthen it?

 

[Fedoraba]

Inner thigh huh?

Time to get bussey!

 

[Lusst]

She told you to strengthen the inner thigh, but had no advice on how to strengthen it?

I would have told her to get to work...

 

[takeahnase]

I would have told her to get to work...

Thrusting motions strengthen the glutes rather than the inner thigh. Only if you on the receiving end do you...well, whatever, I'm sure you know what you're talking about.

 

[seamus1979]

dude im seriously not considering the adductor machine

 

[JPC]

She didn't mean the inner thigh. The inner thigh has nothing to do with patela tracking. She meant the inner quad, the vastus medialis. That teardrop shaped muscle on the inside just above your knee. Its a common problem. I've heard of light leg extensions recommended. Front squats would hit that area hard too. But don't take my word for it as i'm not a medical professional, get exercises from her to do.

 

[oyaji poi]

What about the Bulgarian Split Squat? Usually when it it mentioned it is for correcting imbalances, and is often promoted as hitting the "inner thigh" or whatever vastus medialis.

Find out what it is and ask your hot hot HOT physio chick/dude...whatever...

 

[seamus1979]

yeah the tear drop muscle is what i meant
shes given me some stretches to perform which im gonna do
i was considering leg extensions and close stance front squats as a way of starting work on my inner quads
so maybe i shoul drop standard squats for a few months and replace them with front squats

 

[oyaji poi]

maybe you should do Bulgarian Split Squats too.

 

[Chris Beeby]

I'd say try v-ups, with ankle weights.

 

[mr8du]

If you put your legs together during squats and only work in the firsy 30% of the range it works your vastus mediallis. I'm going throw knee rehab aswell. If you squeeze a towel or something between your knees when doing the squat it helps.

 

[JRT6]

Patella subluxation is actually a common condition particualy in tall people and athletes. I had it in both knees and after dong PT it hasn't progressed all in 10 years.

 

[seamus1979]

cheers for all the help guys
so some close stane squats concentrating on squeezing my knees together is a start at reversing the damage?
i really dont wanna be in a position where i have to give up squats and deadlifts

 

[JRT6]

I actually corrected mine through bio-feedback and muscle cordination exercises. Your PT should show you how to place a finger on your VMO and a finger on ypur IT Band and have you flex your leg and practice getting the VMO to flex before the IT band area. You use your eyes to see the action and your fingers to feel it. In PT they hooked me up to a machine that would light up with red lights or green lights depending how well I was doing. I only had to stop squating for a few weeks while in rehab.

 

[JRT6]

Were you doing any thing in particular that caused an imbalance to begin with?

Running caused mine.

 

[juanlawnmower]

This is what happened to me also.

My VMO was partially torn. We had a long list of stuff that basically consisted of the last 10-20 degrees of extension of the knee.

Wide-stance squats aren't great at developing this muscle, so if you're going to be lifting, try doing some closer-stance ATG stuff. Go high rep, low weight. No need to reinjure it.

Mine is still weak as hell even though I'm 2.5-3 months separated from the injury.

Speaking of stretching, anyone got a good article on dynamic stretching? I can't find the one that used to be on brianmac.demon.whateveritwas.

 

[juanlawnmower]

Oh, if you have access to an exercise bike, spend a bunch of time on it. Great for your knees.