I work out regularly in the gym and my knee cap is really sore and grindy. Am I doing anything wrong?
A. Sometimes despite the right intentions patients may be overdoing their workouts. Remember the rule of 2sToo much, too often, too –. In other words training techniques may affect your symptoms. Overtraining, using too much weight, working out too frequently, or increasing your work out with too rapid an intensity all can contribute to patellar pain. More specifically open chain exercises, specifically the quad extension machine, results in a marked increase in compressive forces on your patella. In fact, the compressive forces on your patella are 10 times whatever the weight is on your ankle when you extend your knee. Although the quad extension machine is seen in all gyms, we do not advocate its use for quadriceps strengthening. Instead we recommend performing closed chain exercises—a closed chain exercise is one where your foot is against a pedal, the floor, or a platform—this results in simultaneous contractions of our quads, hamstrings and gluteal (buttock) muscles. Examples
