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Knee pain during double kettlebell front squats

hambone213

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I've been doing DFW for a few months now - as of recently i've started to get some knee pain in the front middle of my left knee when doing the double kettlebell front squats.

It's like a flash of pain in the front middle of my left knee that instantly goes away - like a fraction of a second - no lingering pain AT ALL. I'm able to continue working out/mountain bike/play golf everything with zero pain. The pain doesn't occur every rep - most of the reps are completely pain free - even after this pain has occurred while doing a rep. It doesn't feel like nerve pain or anything but moreso like I'm really straining the ligament or something of that nature. The pain is specific to me doing these front squats - no pain when pressing, cleaning, really anything.

I'm convinced it's related to some type of form issue I have. Maybe it's when i'm more exhausted and end up leaning forward a little bit? Maybe a mobility issue? I was going to record the next session I do but am taking a break for a few days just to play it safe.

I've done some searching but nothing I saw really matches this specific scenario. Has anyone experienced something similar with front squats? Any feedback would be much appreciated.
 
The best thing to do is post a video so you can get feedback. Things like knee pain can sometimes be quite multifactorial.
 
hambone213 said:
I've been doing DFW for a few months now - as of recently i've started to get some knee pain in the front middle of my left knee when doing the double kettlebell front squats.

It's like a flash of pain in the front middle of my left knee that instantly goes away - like a fraction of a second - no lingering pain AT ALL. I'm able to continue working out/mountain bike/play golf everything with zero pain. The pain doesn't occur every rep - most of the reps are completely pain free - even after this pain has occurred while doing a rep. It doesn't feel like nerve pain or anything but moreso like I'm really straining the ligament or something of that nature. The pain is specific to me doing these front squats - no pain when pressing, cleaning, really anything.

I'm convinced it's related to some type of form issue I have. Maybe it's when i'm more exhausted and end up leaning forward a little bit? Maybe a mobility issue? I was going to record the next session I do but am taking a break for a few days just to play it safe.

I've done some searching but nothing I saw really matches this specific scenario. Has anyone experienced something similar with front squats? Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
No, not really. I have not experienced that.
If you have some knee sleeves lying around - you can try putting those on.
If you go very low - you can limit your front squat to just below parallel.
Then you have an option of playing with how wide your feet are positioned. And how good the knees track your feet.
That all is assuming your front squat is fine.
 
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If you widen your stance, Sumo, then your glutes will do more work and there should be less stress on the knee.
 
hambone213 said:
I've been doing DFW for a few months now - as of recently i've started to get some knee pain in the front middle of my left knee when doing the double kettlebell front squats.
Click to expand...
Of course, in person or a video would help, but the most common squat-and-knees issue is "valgus collapse" of the knee, both for me and my students. If you focus on pushing your knees out - work on this in your goblet squat by using your elbows to help - around the sticking point - don't let your feet come up, just push your knees out - it usually helps.

-S-
 
Based on the location of the pain that you stated above, the front center of the knee, this sounds like it is something to do with your Patellar Tendon. However, I am not at all qualified to give advice on these things. I study rocks not humans. Probably would good to talk to a physical therapist/physiotherapist
 
Yeah, could be a lot of things... Sometimes I find that "staying tight" a bit in the bottom of a loaded squat (as opposed to finding/using that small bit of relaxation at the bottom... mostly the quads, but also glutes, hamstrings, tibialis, adductors) is more favorable to my knees.
 
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