Burning knees!

[myusername]

Hello folks,
Recently when doing any form of body weight squats (Deep, Hindu, Jumping etc) I have found that after a while my knees go weak and produce a burning sensation and I struggle to continue with the exercise. It is not my general leg muscles as they still feel strong and ready for more. Bizarrely, the sensation effects both knees simultaneously. In class we normally do Hindu Squats and it is around the 35-40th squat that this happens. I used to be able to lots more than that and I am finding this change a little unsettling.

The sensation is definately in the knee and not the leg muscles. The burn occurs in the front of the knee around and under the knee cap.

Has anyone any ideas as to what this may be? Has anyone experienced this before? Should I be worried about it?

 

[Jade Tigress]

It sounds like some sort of nerve damage. The exercises may be causing inflammation. Probably a good idea to see your doctor to rule out any underlying causes.

 

[ShelleyK]

Sounds to me like tendonitis...this is what I found on the Mayo Clinic website...

Tendon injuries (tendinitis). Tendinitis is irritation and inflammation of one or more tendons — the thick, fibrous cords that attach muscles to bones. Athletes, such as especially runners, skiers and cyclists, are prone to develop inflammation in the patellar tendon, which connects the quadriceps muscle on the front of the thigh to the larger lower leg bone (tibia). If your knee pain is caused by tendinitis, some of the signs and symptoms include:

• Pain, in one or both knees
• Swelling in the front of the knee or just below the kneecap
• Worsening pain when you jump, run, squat or climb stairs
• An inability to completely extend or straighten your knee

Patellar tendinitis is an injury that affects the tendon connecting your kneecap (patella) to your shinbone. The patellar tendon plays a pivotal role in the way you use your legs. It helps your muscles extend your lower leg so that you can kick a ball, push the pedals on your bicycle and jump up in the air.
Patellar tendinitis is most common in athletes whose sports involve frequent jumping — for instance, basketball, soccer and volleyball players. For this reason, patellar tendinitis is commonly known as jumper's knee. However, anyone can suffer from patellar tendinitis, whether a frequent jumper or not.
For most people, treatment of patellar tendinitis begins with conservative approaches.



Pain is the first symptom of patellar tendinitis. The pain usually is located in the section of your patellar tendon between your kneecap (patella) and the area where the tendon attaches to your shinbone (tibia). During physical activity, the pain may feel sharp — especially when running or jumping. After a workout or practice, the pain may persist as a dull ache.


Causes

By Mayo Clinic staff Patellar tendinitis is a common overuse injury. It occurs when you place repeated stress on your patellar tendon. The stress results in tiny tears in the tendon, which your body attempts to repair. But as the tears in the tendon become more numerous, your body can't keep up, causing the inflammation in your tendon to worsen.
A combination of factors may contribute to the development of patellar tendinitis, including:

• Intensity and frequency of physical activity. Repeated jumping is most commonly associated with patellar tendinitis. Sudden increases in the intensity of physical activity or increases in frequency of activity also put added stress on the tendon.
• Being overweight. Additionally, being overweight or obese increases the stress on the patellar tendon, and some research suggests that having a greater waist circumference or higher body mass index may increase the risk of patellar tendinitis.
• Tight leg muscles. Reduced flexibility in your thigh muscles (quadriceps) and your hamstrings, which run up the back of your thighs, could increase the strain on your patellar tendon.
• Malalignment of your leg bones. The way your leg bones line up could be off slightly, putting strain on your tendon.
• Raised kneecap (patella alta). Your kneecap may be positioned higher up on your knee joint, causing increased strain on the patellar tendon.
• Muscular imbalance. If some muscles in your legs are much stronger than others, the stronger muscles could pull harder on your patellar tendon. This uneven pull could cause tendinitis.

I recommend seeing an orthopedic surgeon to get X-rays or an MRI done to rule out anything more serious, Ive had this injury before and it doesnt take long to heal but you DO have to give your body a rest from certain activities.

I wish you the best!

 

[myusername]

Sounds to me like tendonitis...I wish you the best!

Thank you for the very useful post Shelley, it is looking pretty conclusive from your information. I don't like the sound of having to rest though! As I said, at the moment it isn't a problem until the 35th-40th squat so I don't think that I need to stop training yet but it is definitely a warning to me that something is different to how it used to be and could get worse.

I might have a chat with my instructor and bow out of squats for a while to give my knees a chance to heal.

 

[fireman00]

Been there done that.... Go to a doctor and explain to him what your symptoms are. The burning could be caused by any number of things, from muscular/ tendon issue, to an infection in the blood stream (form of arthritis) to high uric acid level in your blood (which can lead to gout).

About 1.5 years ago my knees would burn like someone filled them with boiling water, it was agony to walk, then a day later they would feel fine.

My Dr. did blood tests and found that I had high uric acid which causes crystals for form which can lead to kidney stones/ gout. He had me try an old folk remedy - 8 oz of cherry juice (it has to be organic cherry juice) every day which helps the body to break down and expel the excess uric acid, within a week I had no more symptoms.

Good luck!