Single Leg Squat Pain

[Asclepius]

Hey all,

Question: why when I do single leg squats do I get pain in my patellar tendon (or at least in the area directly below the patella)? It is a pretty sharp pain that happens sometimes when I am pressing up. Is this due to tight quads or something entirely different?

[Tarun Suri]

Has to do with your valgus. Don't buckle your knee. If it's ingrained in your motor patterns then relearn the pistol with proper form.

[Joshua Naterman]

Can be, and some foam rolling + ART on the quads can help if all that is wrong is too much tension.

You could also be feeling the IT band attachment stretching due to a tight TFL. Instead of trying to figure out what specifically is wrong, I'd just do soft tissue work to the entire upper thigh and hip area while making sure my movement pattern was correct. That should handle pretty much anything that is going on.

[Asclepius]

Has to do with your valgus. Don't buckle your knee. If it's ingrained in your motor patterns then relearn the pistol with proper form.

How would your knee even buckle on a SLS?

Can be, and some foam rolling + ART on the quads can help if all that is wrong is too much tension.

You could also be feeling the IT band attachment stretching due to a tight TFL. Instead of trying to figure out what specifically is wrong, I'd just do soft tissue work to the entire upper thigh and hip area while making sure my movement pattern was correct. That should handle pretty much anything that is going on.

Thanks slizzardman, I'll try that.

[Guest]

How would your knee even buckle on a SLS?

He's saying that your knee should not move laterally (inwards or outwards) while performing SLS.

[Asclepius]

How would your knee even buckle on a SLS?

He's saying that your knee should not move laterally (inwards or outwards) while performing SLS.

Oh, okay. That's what I thought he might be saying.

So in other words, I should make sure that the knee always tracks in line with the toes? This is what I've been trying to do, so I'm just making sure it is what I should be doing.

[Joshua Naterman]

Knee tracks in a nearly straight line from hip socket (NOT the outside of the hips) to big toe gap. Hips should be square at all times, not twisted or elevated. That is probably the hardest part.

I have recently found that doing SLS off of a box that puts the top of your thigh slightly below parallel are like 100% buttocks and will probably be a good way, along with SLSL DL and manual therapy to improve hip function so that this sort of thing doesn't happen.

Knees are amazingly stable, if they exhibit instability it is nearly always because of a hip and/or ankle dysfunction.

[Asclepius]

(NOT the outside of the hips)

What exactly do you mean by this? Do you mean how when people barbell squat they go down "in the hole"?

[Joshua Naterman]

Has nothing to do with that as far as I know. You have to know where your hip socket is. They are much closer to the center of the body than you think. Your heel should be pretty much directly underneath your crotch the entire time.

[kbryk]

They are much closer to the center of the body than you think. Your heel should be pretty much directly underneath your crotch the entire time.

Agreed, I would also work pistols with some kind of support (bands or post) the form can be difficult at first.

[Gerald Mangona]

Can be, and some foam rolling + ART on the quads can help if all that is wrong is too much tension.

Moving back to working on SLS after spending last 6 months on two-legged progressions. I'm having the same sub-patellar pain as well. I've watched my form, and my knees are not buckling, and my weight is centered directly over my foot with little forward/backward lean. I think the reality is that I just lack strength at the point of highest leverage against the joint. Is that possible?

If it is, then I'll just go real easy on volume/intensity, maybe doing only partial ROM, while working wall sits as an FSP to increase strength at the 90 degree point.

Could that work?