Knee troubles

[hamburgerfan]

Over the past few months, when I started squatting, I have had some on and off knee pain as a result of my knees sliding forward at the bottom of my squats. I had decent form otherwise, and with time I managed to correct this bad habit. But a couple weeks ago, when I bumped my squat weight up to 285, my form broke down and my knees slid forward again.

I have since reset the weight to 255, but since then my knees have been popping and cracking all the time. Not when I squat, but whenever I walk down stairs, and sometimes when I get up or sit down in a chair. I fear that I may have damaged my menisci in my knees. I'm not experiencing much pain, and there's no restriction of movement, but I don't want to make anything worse.

I know you aren't a medical professional, and can't diagnose me over the internet, but I thought with your experience you may have seen something like this with one of your trainees.

Does this sound like something that can be un-fucked through correct squatting alone? If not, what else would you recommend to fix it? Will it be necessary to take a break from squatting for my knees to heal (I hope not)?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I'm not experiencing much pain, and there's no restriction of movement

So what makes you think something is wrong? The noise?

[hamburgerfan]

Yes.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Lots of perfectly healthy knees are noisy. The synovial fluid gets viscous and makes things pop and grind that are not really injured. Perhaps you should try either hydrating or drinking more water, depending on which is cheaper in your area.

[hamburgerfan]

Well that's a relief. I guess I'll just keep an eye on both my squat form and my knees to make sure I don't fuck anything up.

[Tiburon]

Lots of perfectly healthy knees are noisy.

Yes. My 2-year old son's knees pop when he squats.