Worried about my knees..

[fluxx345]

Hi MedHelp!

I have a question about exercising and my knees.

I'm male, 20 years of age, about 5'5-5'6 and 125 lbs maybe.

During my (still ongoing) month long vacation, I started exercising every other day, and on some occasions, on a daily basis.

Now here's my concern. Sometimes during or after the exercise, I feel something on the upper part of my knee when I put my weight on that knee. It's not on my kneecap specifically, I'm not sure if it's my quadriceps either, but it's somewhere in between those.

I can't describe it as pain, I can't even call it a discomfort. It's really very mild, I'm not sure if this is normal and has been happening to me before as well, but I only noticed it now. It's more of a "tickle" inside, I really can't describe it.


I don't feel anything when my legs are relaxed, and I can stretch and bend it back anytime with no problems at all. The only time that I feel it is when I intentionally put pressure on the knees.

The feeling went away this morning too, it seems that it only lasts a day or a few hours when it happens, AND ONLY WHEN I PUT WEIGHT ON THE KNEE. (usually the day after the exercise)

When should I be worried? What could this be? Normal strain? I'm just afraid that I might be doing damage to my knees that could be adding up, and being completely unaware of it. What kind of pain would I be feeling if it was an injury?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just really concerned about my knees because I want to keep on exercising too.

[philnoir]

Generally, lack of pain or inflammation means no injury. However, repetitive stress injuries come on slowly over time, and are difficult to detect. The pain comes after injury.  So the trick is to avoid injury.

This is why it is important to learn proper technique in the gym. Serious weight lifters (and athletes of all kinds) know the importance of proper warm up and cool down, as well as maintaining proper form while exercising.

Again, seek help from the trainers that are available at any gym these days, and if this is a subject that interests you, there's plenty of information available in print and online.

[fluxx345]

I see. I think that might be the case.

I'm just worried that I might be damaging my knees unknowingly, which may result to surgery in the future.

The "feeling" that's present when I put weight on my knees the day after exercising is so mild that I can't even categorize it as pain. It feels kind of "funny" too.

It goes away after a day or maybe even just a few hours too. I did the workout again and didn't feel anything wrong, even after the workout. The feeling seems to be gone completely. Maybe it's just that my body is still getting used to exercising regularly?

Also, is it safe to assume that for as long as I don't feel any pain/discomfort, no swelling or inflammation, and I can freely move and bend and stretch my legs, there is nothing to worry about?

Thanks!

[philnoir]

I imagine that you are not taking the time to warm up and stretch before using weights. Without stretching, you're pulling too hard on the tendons instead of the muscles. When one lifts weights, they wish to condition the muscle, not the tendon. Tendons do not stretch, and you're feeling the strain.

Ask a trainer to show you how to stretch your leg muscles, and especially how to stretch the muscles that control the knee. Do your warm-up and cool-down stretches, and you'll achieve better results as well as doing less harm to your body.