Strengthlifting to Rehab Knee

[Andrea Maklari]

Rip,

I had arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus about 12 years ago and my knee healed really well after that. I then had to have a second surgery in the same knee about two years ago at the age of 45, but the results weren't as good this time, because the surgeon (a different one) may have fucked up the surgery and/or my natural recovery abilities are not as good as they were at the time of the first surgery. Due to a significant amount of pain after the second surgery, I was not as diligent with post-op physiotherapy, in that I did not push through the pain as much as I should have. Also, I did not have access to proper strength training and rehab techniques back then like I do now, after my husband bought BBT, PPST, and the BBT DVD, all within the last year.

I have since attempted to use the back squat to help me with my knee rehab, but I can only get down to about four inches above parallel without feeling a blinding pain in my knee that I'm not able to push past. I have a decent amount of hamstring and low back flexibility, so I do not believe this is a flexibility issue. I understand that squatting high would be counterproductive, so I am unsure where to go from here. I am able to deadlift without any pain, but I don't know if deadlifting alone would help me. Equipment-wise, I have access to an Olympic barbell set and a power rack.

Any advice that you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Make very sure that you are squatting correctly, i.e. that you are shoving your knees out to the side enough. Enough meaning as much as you can with a correct stance. This may be the only thing wrong; menisci are sensitive to this when they are tender. Deadlifts are important as well, to get the meniscus used to bearing weight, but the squat is the key to the full use of your knee again.

[Andrea Maklari]

Rip,

That's exactly what the problem was. I increased the angle of my feet and exaggerated the knees out cue, which then got me down to parallel.

Thanks a lot for your help.