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Kettlebell Knee pain during Swings.

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NormanOsborn

NormanOsborn

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Tonight started like a normal training session. I warmed up by Swinging the 16kg and 24kg before starting work sets with the 32kg. Everything was fine until the fourth set, when I felt a fairly sharp pain on the inside of my right knee. I finished the set and rested for a few minutes. The pain eased off a little, but flared up again as soon as I started Swinging. I called it a night after set 5.

This is the first time I've had to stop a training session in nearly three months of Kettlebell training. To say I'm not pleased would be an understatement.:mad::confused:

Has anyone else experienced knee pain from Swings, and if so, how did you deal with it?
 
Anna C said:
Good call to stop for the day. Hopefully it's a minor thing.

Maybe check your foot position. Feet pointed slightly out, then knees tracking toes is what is generally recommended.
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Thanks for the tip. I'll check that next time I Swing.

Yeah, I learned that the hard way. I was out jogging many years ago and felt a pain in my knee. Being a Blue Flame Special at that time of my life, I figured I'd just tough it out. About a mile down the road I could hardly walk, never mind run; it was a Stress Fracture.
 
NormanOsborn said:
Tonight started like a normal training session. I warmed up by Swinging the 16kg and 24kg before starting work sets with the 32kg. Everything was fine until the fourth set, when I felt a fairly sharp pain on the inside of my right knee. I finished the set and rested for a few minutes. The pain eased off a little, but flared up again as soon as I started Swinging. I called it a night after set 5.

This is the first time I've had to stop a training session in nearly three months of Kettlebell training. To say I'm not pleased would be an understatement.:mad::confused:

Has anyone else experienced knee pain from Swings, and if so, how did you deal with it?
Click to expand...
Happens to me with two hand swings, but I have horrible arthritis so I get it.
 
Sore is one thing but sharp pain should not be trifled with. If you experience it again please do not finish the set, just put the bell down safely and evaluate. Continuing the set would likely lead to compensating around pain and more risk of injury because your form will degrade. As @Anna C said make sure your foot placement knee angle are correct. Have you done any coaching with a SFG 1 or 2 yet? They would be a great choice for fixes. Also, if it the pain persists, please get it properly diagnosed.
 
I've experienced a similar issue years ago when was getting ready for SFG 1 cert.
In my case the issue was foot positioning, bad timing of the swing and lack of glute/hamstring activation. Plus tight IT bands from long distance running.

There are a few suggestions:
1. RICE first (rest, ice, compression, elevation). Be sure that pain is not present when you restart the training.
2. Before your next session run a few sets of frog strerches amd foam roll your quads/hip flexors and IT bands.
3. After that spend some time on posterior chain activations, in my case I've found Cook bridges (FMS corrective) extremely useful.
4. Check your swing technique with an SFG instructor (if it is not an option, film your swings from different angles and check the form by yourself).
5. If it doesn't work, look for a help of a professional. Pain is an indicator that something is wrong with your movement.

Hope it helps! Stay strong and injury free!?
 
John Spezzano said:
Sore is one thing but sharp pain should not be trifled with. If you experience it again please do not finish the set, just put the bell down safely and evaluate. Continuing the set would likely lead to compensating around pain and more risk of injury because your form will degrade. As @Anna C said make sure your foot placement knee angle are correct. Have you done any coaching with a SFG 1 or 2 yet? They would be a great choice for fixes. Also, if it the pain persists, please get it properly diagnosed.
Click to expand...

I've had no formal coaching. I read the S & S book and I've watched videos by Pavel and certified coaches.

Agree about stopping immediately. I was probably too stubborn for my own good last night. I'm going to rest my knee completely for the next few days. If the pain recurrs, I'll contact my doctor.
 
Andrey Zyurin said:
I've experienced a similar issue years ago when was getting ready for SFG 1 cert.
In my case the issue was foot positioning, bad timing of the swing and lack of glute/hamstring activation. Plus tight IT bands from long distance running.

There are a few suggestions:
1. RICE first (rest, ice, compression, elevation). Be sure that pain is not present when you restart the training.
2. Before your next session run a few sets of frog strerches amd foam roll your quads/hip flexors and IT bands.
3. After that spend some time on posterior chain activations, in my case I've found Cook bridges (FMS corrective) extremely useful.
4. Check your swing technique with an SFG instructor (if it is not an option, film your swings from different angles and check the form by yourself).
5. If it doesn't work, look for a help of a professional. Pain is an indicator that something is wrong with your movement.

Hope it helps! Stay strong and injury free!?
Click to expand...

Good advice, thank you.

As I stated in a previous reply, I'm taking the next few days off from training. While I always warm up before starting work sets, I'll be even more careful when I get back into training.

It's possible this might be some kind of RSI, since I've been training S & S for almost three months now, 5 - 6 days per week.
 
I've had an issue similar to that, too.
In my case my adductors were tight and as soon as the size of the bell -or worse if I used two- forced my legs a certain width, my knees began to hurt.
At that moment I realized that the prying goblet squats were in the S&S warm-up routine for a reason.
Taking care of my adductors solved the issue for me and that took about two weeks of a small daily dose of cossacksquats to a depth I'd get laughed at, if I did that in Russia ;-)

Anyway, I'll just throw that out there; maybe I can help someone
 
Good call on stopping the session @NormanOsborn. Before your next session try to work on the fundamentals. Breathing (diaphragmetically, good for spinal stabilization and motor patterning), foot positioning and bracing. Try a lighter bell first. Maybe do some OS rocking before and be mindful of your knees.

Foot position, as mentioned by @Anna C:


From this article by @Brett Jones :
www.strongfirst.com

Adjust Your Sails (and Your Stance) with the Lock and Rock | StrongFirst

Here's how to individualize foot position for symmetrical stance exercises like swings and squats using the lock and rock and some knowledge of our anatomy.
www.strongfirst.com

Also check this one from Brett Jones on the proper set up:
www.strongfirst.com

How to Get Properly Loaded in the Deadlift and Swing | StrongFirst

Since the deadlift begins with a concentric movement, our approach and set-up is what provides us with the opportunity to create an eccentric load.
www.strongfirst.com
 
Bauer said:
Good call on stopping the session @NormanOsborn. Before your next session try to work on the fundamentals. Breathing (diaphragmetically, good for spinal stabilization and motor patterning), foot positioning and bracing. Try a lighter bell first. Maybe do some OS rocking before and be mindful of your knees.

Foot position, as mentioned by @Anna C:


From this article by @Brett Jones :
www.strongfirst.com

Adjust Your Sails (and Your Stance) with the Lock and Rock | StrongFirst

Here's how to individualize foot position for symmetrical stance exercises like swings and squats using the lock and rock and some knowledge of our anatomy.
www.strongfirst.com

Also check this one from Brett Jones on the proper set up:
www.strongfirst.com

How to Get Properly Loaded in the Deadlift and Swing | StrongFirst

Since the deadlift begins with a concentric movement, our approach and set-up is what provides us with the opportunity to create an eccentric load.
www.strongfirst.com
Click to expand...


Thanks for the videos. Good information there.

Yeah, I was tempted to try and work through the pain, especially as I've never had to pull the pin on a S & S workout before. But I knew that discretion was the better part of valour in this case.
 
NormanOsborn said:
Question: what exactly is Timeless Simple and how does it differ from Simple & Sinister?

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Timeless Simple: 10x10 swings and 10 TGUs with a 32 kg (for males) without a time limit.

It is the first milestone in S&S 2.0.

S&S 2.0 (revised edition) is a great revision, much more clear, and with an added progression outline. There was a recent thread on it, praising the update (and I agree with the praise). Very well worth the purchase.

Kettlebell - The S&S 2.0 Book is VERY different from the first book

I finally got my S&S 2.0 copy (French edition) and read it all in two days. Some people assumed that with about 20 extra pages that there is simply 20 more pages of info added, but this isn't correct. A huge amount of material has been removed and rewritten - I'd say something like 90% of the...
www.strongfirst.com
 
NormanOsborn said:
Question: what exactly is Timeless Simple and how does it differ from Simple & Sinister?

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Timeless Simple is where you complete your 10 sets of 10 one-handed swings and 10 getups with a 32kg kettlebell at a pace dictated by the talk-test. In other words, when you can do a "normal" S&S daily workout using a 32kg kettlebell. This is not the timed test.
 
NormanOsborn said:
I've had no formal coaching. I read the S & S book and I've watched videos by Pavel and certified coaches.
Click to expand...

If you have a StrongFirst certified coach near you, I would recommend doing some sessions or maybe joining their gym if it works with your schedule and finances. Since you're focused on S&S you could conceivably limit your lessons to the swing and the get-up (which are the two lifts most people should focus on, by the way) and accelerate your technical learning curve and your return to training.

NormanOsborn said:
Agree about stopping immediately. I was probably too stubborn for my own good last night. I'm going to rest my knee completely for the next few days. If the pain recurrs, I'll contact my doctor.
Click to expand...

I think those are great ideas. I'm all for stubborn, trust me, I get it. And being stubborn is great...until it's not. ;-D
 
What do you guys think about splitting the program? I would train six days per week. Swings one day and Turkish Get Ups the next. This would reduce the volume and give my knees some time to recover, while still allowing me to train a version of Simple & Sinister.
 
The program is already designed to be pretty minimalist so breaking it up would not really be the program. This doesn't mean you can't do that. You could Grease The Groove with swings and get-ups on alternate days, but it wouldn't be "technically" S&S.

But the first thing to do (without sounding like a broken record) is get a solid diagnosis of your knees. Until you know what's wrong you will have no way of knowing if you're doing more damage unless the sharp pain returns. And I for one would like you to avoid that. ;-D
 
Right, I've had a few days off. Complete rest apart from walking(to work). I'll try again tonight. I'll make sure my warm up is on point, and I'll only do a 5 sets of Swings(normal sets of TGU's if there is no pain from the Swings). If everything goes OK, I will increase the volume by one set per day until I'm back to 10 x 10.

Thanks for the information and support. Wish me luck!:D
 
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