Leg tendon = no more squats

I've had this re-occuring problem with a tendon in my leg, went to the physio got it fixed and now it's back again.

It always happens at the bottom of a squat when I try to push back up again, it flares up.



It's located by the red line.

Anyway I'm going to try and stretch it our for a week and hopefully let it heal, does anyone know of some other exercises I can do in the mean time to hit the quads specifically? if not I can just try and find a machine.

Is it only back squats?
I have a similar problem atm.
I find either split squats or UDLs are a little less painful

Is it your quad, or your hip flexors?

go see an osteopath looks like hip flexors.



THis helps

The Hamburgler said:

Is it only back squats?
I have a similar problem atm.
I find either split squats or UDLs are a little less painful

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yeah only on back squats, oh really I'll check them out.

leachy said:

Is it your quad, or your hip flexors?

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yeah hip flexor sounds more accurate.

n00bs said:

go see an osteopath looks like hip flexors.

THis helps

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osteopath? I'll have to look one up! yeah I'm currently doing that stretch but it doesn't seem to be helping. mmmm

How wide do you set your footing when squatting? You might need to bring it in a bit, it could be too wide.

it's around shoulder width and feels pretty comfortable, although I have a feeling it's my flexibility that's letting me down

Sounds more and more like my problem.
if you sit down with you legs straight how far can you lean forward before your back starts to round?

One of your 4 quad muscles does both knee extension and hip flexion. It crosses both joints.

im taking this week off the gym, going to the physio and getting massages to try to fix the same problem that i have.

so far, nothing has worked and i start squatting again next friday. it even hurts when i sit down (as that is the equivalent to the bottom of the squat). not badly, but i can feel it.

let me know if you find a solution to your problem, as i think there are a few of us with VERY similar problems.

What is your occupation?

Are you sitting down or standing?

pistachio said:

im taking this week off the gym, going to the physio and getting massages to try to fix the same problem that i have.

so far, nothing has worked and i start squatting again next friday. it even hurts when i sit down (as that is the equivalent to the bottom of the squat). not badly, but i can feel it.

let me know if you find a solution to your problem, as i think there are a few of us with VERY similar problems.

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Yeah all of a sudden all of us are having hip issues lol
I just want to squat god dammit!

The Hamburgler said:

Sounds more and more like my problem.
if you sit down with you legs straight how far can you lean forward before your back starts to round?

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not too sure, but I know my back does round a little bit at the bottom of the squat. I don't think that's the problem however.

pistachio said:

im taking this week off the gym, going to the physio and getting massages to try to fix the same problem that i have.

so far, nothing has worked and i start squatting again next friday. it even hurts when i sit down (as that is the equivalent to the bottom of the squat). not badly, but i can feel it.

let me know if you find a solution to your problem, as i think there are a few of us with VERY similar problems.

Click to expand...

wow you too? Yours sounds a lot worse than mine, you sure it's not a hernia? I've taken a week off squats and am just doing hip flexor stretches each day, so far it's feeling better. will let you know how it progresses.

Silverback said:

What is your occupation?

Are you sitting down or standing?

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Desk job - no doubt part of the problem

The Hamburgler said:

Yeah all of a sudden all of us are having hip issues lol
I just want to squat god dammit!

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I know!! I just want to get big legs already :S

Jim_Junkie said:

wow you too? Yours sounds a lot worse than mine, you sure it's not a hernia? I've taken a week off squats and am just doing hip flexor stretches each day, so far it's feeling better. will let you know how it progresses.

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fucking hope not lol

i seriously doubt it tho, seeing as my heaviest squat has been 150kgs. hardly feels like an over-exertion injury. pretty sure its mobility/flexibility related. its probably just inflamed at the moment. got to get rid of the inflamation first and work on flexibility/mobility so it doesn't keep happening

How much walking and other activities do the ones with this issue do between your weight training?

T NATION | Yoga, Yes Yoga, For Big Bastards

Had the same thing, couldn't squat or sit down without pain. Done this twice a day for 2 weeks now and it's only a small amount of discomfort in the flexor and I can squat just fine. Hurts a bit when you first start doing it.

I put it down to mainly the Prayer Squat and a bit for the Hero Pose. The rest is kinda useful.

In short stretch your hip flexor and foam roll/stretch your glutes.

For SB: I do alot of walking about for my job and used to do more so in the form of a morning walk 6 days a week. I found the amount of walking did a number on my flexors/heel. Also hill sprints, though fun, would have me trouble walking after 3-4 sessions of 'em just due to the flexor.

I saw my physio again.
My problem stems from anterior pelvic tilt + tight lower back and hammies.
Gave me a couple of pelvic tilt exercises to do, and also recommended that I start squatting again - but only as low as I can go in 100% perfect form (which for me is about 70 degrees atm)

what sort of APT exercises has he/she got you doing?

I have videos of them in my log but basically one is lying on my back, tilting my pelvis to the posterior and pulling my femur back into my hips gently. The other I'm lying on my back, again tilting my pelvis then extend my legs out in the air as far as I can go before my back arches back to it's normal positions. These and anything that encourages glute-ham activation

the pain you are describing is tendonitis in your rectus femoris, which is actually part of your quad, although it also acts as a hip flexor). It is caused by inactive, inhibited or weak glutes & hammies. The glute/hams might be inhibited or weak from a structural point of view, which requires specific activation strategies, but usually it's a technique problem more than anything.

The technique problem I'm talking about is described by Rippetoe in Starting Strength. Basically it's caused by not sitting back in a back squat. If you let you knees shoot forward at the bottom of the squat to hit depth, basically your hamstring is relaxing and loses control of the angle of the pelvis (hamstring attaches to both the hip and the knee). The combined loss of control at the knee and the hip means your rec fem gets tugged from the ASIS causing bad tendonitis.

If this is the problem stretching your hip flexor could make it worse not better, so just be careful not to overstretch. Treat it like any soft tissue injury. Rest, Ice, anti-inflamms if it's too painful (but they will make it heal slower).

Definitely foam roll rec fem (quads), even better use PVC pipe. You lie face down with the pipe under the centre of your quad. pull your feet to your buttocks to itensify the hit on rec fem (as it will put it on stretch).

Then fix your squat. Use a vertical block of wood 1" in front of your toes when you squat, which will force you to sit back (otherwise your knees will knock over the wood).

The other possibility is you have an tight inhibited psoas. This is the muscle that should be keeping your hip stable throughout a squat. If it's inactivated, it will get overloaded and really tight. It will also force other muscles like TFL and rec fem to control the hip (which they are not designed to do).

Google psoas activation and you'll see some drills to turn on this muscle.

either way the long term strategy isn't to lengthen the rec fem (although stretch if it helps relieve symptoms) because it's not a flexility issue - it's a pelvic control issue. Your forcing rec fem to do a job it's not designed to do which is why it's hurting. Once you have good hip contorl, the glute/ham will get stronger from squatting and the rec fem will loosen through reciprocal inhibition.

Finding a good physio is hard, because many do not understand the mechanics of squatting, but there are good ones and they can help a lot with these issues.