Question about a stress fracture/torn cartilage

[Cullen]

Hello Mr. Rippetoe,

I have been enjoying your book Starting Strength and your training videos. I have a question which I was hoping to get your advice on. In October 2013 I was I performed an interval workout (440s X 6) and the next day I went to do squats.
Throughout the workout I had pain in my left knee while preforming the squats. I have not been able to run again without significant pain since however I was able to resume performing squats/deadlifts after a few weeks of self-rest.

I am in the Air Force and with my current job I have to travel often so I was not able to get into the see Physical Therapy (PT) till the end of January 2014. My primary physician inquired in mid-February how my PT was going. I told her no significant change, so she ordered a MRI. It was found that I have torn cartilage and a stress fracture in my left knee. The Orthopedics PA, whom I saw, put me in knee brace and crutches for six weeks. She informed me she did not want me to do any lower body weight bearing exercises till being evaluated
in mid-April. I am continuing to perform bench press and some other
(modified) upper body strength exercises without engaging my left knee.

Sorry for the long history of my injury but saw it necessary to set up the question.

Would you have an estimate from your experience of when I could resume doing squats and deadlift with the type of injury I have?


Thank you for your time and have a good day.

Respectfully,

Cullen Cullen

[Mark Rippetoe]

Running under circumstances of inadequate recovery can produce stress fractures and cartilage dame, so this is not entirely surprising. It is also not very surprising that a doctor would immobilize such an injury, since they don't seem to receive any training in the mechanism by which these things heal. Use the search function to familiarize yourself with our approach to injuries, and then decide what to do. It is your knee and your career, not ours and certainly not the doctors.

[Cullen]

Thanks and I will do some further reading. - CC