Numbness in Knee cap

[Maki Riddington]

About 6 weeks ago I was doing a conditioning workout of jump squats, dumbbell deadlifts and cable wood chops for 5 minute rounds. On my second round at about the 4 minute mark I noticed my form was starting to give so I stopped the the round short.

The next day I woke up sore. Nothing abnormal. However the following night I noticed I couldn't sleep in certain positions as I had a really sharp pain in left glute max towards the upper area.

Fast forward to the present and I have numbness in my left knee cap which was coming on every 10 minutes. There is no loss of strength but I have stopped any squatting or deadlifting movements and have been pretty much doing simple unilateral movements.

I have been doing static stretches for the glutes and rolling on the foam roller and using a tennis ball. I have had one ART treatment so far which dramatically reduced how often the numbeness comes on. I only get it now every 3-4 hours.

My concern is that this is going to be a long term problem. I still partake in Judo and have limited myself to just groundwork with no bridging.

I think I may done something to my low back (felt a slight twinge in my low back during a light dealift session last week) although the pain (dull now) is in my left glute max. I am very tight and have to stretch daily.

Any extra info would be helpful in speeding up my recovery. This is my first training injury I have ever sustained in the gym.

[Jimmy Smith]

Maki,
You mentioned that you have been doing soft-tissue work but to where? I would advise against any soft-tissue work to the glute max or med. Have you tried rolling the side of your leg from the top of your hip to the top of your knee cap? The TFL-IT band area is always full of adhesions and performing some work here will help alot of areas.

Describing the pain in your left glute max to be "high" tells me that you may have an SI joint issue. This is a typical complaint when people point to their glutes and say that their back hurts. Which static stretches have you tried? I would recommend both a static and active hip flexor and hamstring stretch.

Try this then let me know how you feel. I'd also try to stay away from hip extension movements for the time being.

[Lisa~]

Jimmy,

Why would foam rolling the glutes be bad? Are you saying that it will be ineffective, but not injurous, or are you saying that it's contraindicated and will hinder recovery?

[Bill Hartman]

Maki,

What specific positions increase the lower back pain?

By numbness do you mean dead numbness or a pins/needles feeling?

Are you limping on the affected side?

Any pain with repeated hip movement in any direction or prolonged standing?

Can you bring your knee to your chest fully without pain?

Don't panic in regard to the long term.

Bill

P.S. There's not enough information to diagnose an SI dysfunction.

[Jimmy Smith]

Originally Posted by Lisa~

Jimmy,

Why would foam rolling the glutes be bad? Are you saying that it will be ineffective, but not injurous, or are you saying that it's contraindicated and will hinder recovery?

It wouldn't necessarily be bad per say, I just think that when you look at the glutes, they are often inhibited and lengthend, not tight. I don't think foam rolling would really contraindicate recovery but in my experience, I haven't really seen a need for rolling the glutes. There are times when you would need to, yes, but generally speaking that isn't often.

[Jimmy Smith]

Bill's right, there isn't enough info here to say if it SI related or not.

Maki- Can you lay on your back with the affected side hanging off the bed? Does this reproduce the pain?

[Maki Riddington]

You mentioned that you have been doing soft-tissue work but to where?

To my glutes and TFL. I have done some minor work to the IT band as well. And even to my shins as my left shin is sore from all the numbness. when I drive (standard) I noticed I get a bit of referring pain into my left shin. It only happens once in awhile. It's just sore right now.

Which static stretches have you tried?

Some hamstring stretches both standing and seated. My hip flexors seem fine as I have been doing some Bulgarian split squats and have emphasised dipping my back knee towards the ground to get a stretch.

[Maki Riddington]

What specific positions increase the lower back pain?

Nothing actually. I noticed that I got a slight twinge (left side) during my clean grip style deads when I pushed a bit harder.

By numbness do you mean dead numbness or a pins/needles feeling?

Pins and needles feeling at the start and turns to dead numbness.

Are you limping on the affected side?

No.

Any pain with repeated hip movement in any direction or prolonged standing?

Yes. I noticed during church yesterday that when I stand and hold my daughter my knee goes numb. I'm constantly trying to shift my weight onto my right leg.

Can you bring your knee to your chest fully without pain?

Yes.

[Maki Riddington]

Maki- Can you lay on your back with the affected side hanging off the bed? Does this reproduce the pain?

I haven't tried but a simliar movement that I noticed produced numbness in my knees was the bench press. When I drive my feet into the ground, arch my lower back and pull my heels behind my knees I get numbness almost right away. I have stopped bench pressing as a result in the last two weeks as it ruins my concentration.

[UConnJulie]

I would see a qualified physician ... JMO ... numbness is nothing to mess around with ...

[Victoria]

UConnJulie's right. Get it checked out! From my own personal experience with numbness, it ended up turning into something very bad. Numbness usually indicates a nerve issue of some sort, if I'm not mistaken, which I don't think is anything to take lightly. Hopefully, this won't be the case with you.

Better safe than sorry....as they say!

Regards,
V

[Maki Riddington]

Originally Posted by UConnJulie

I would see a qualified physician ... JMO ... numbness is nothing to mess around with ...

I know, I know. I hate going to the doctors.