By Anthony Mychal

http://anthonymychal.com

An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic

Knee Pain
This is a preview of An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain: Theories and
Solutions for Patellar Tendonitis, Jumpers Knee, and Patellar Tracking
Problems. Check out the full website and the full eBook at the link above.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 DISCLAIMER
The author will not be held responsible for any issue (be it
injuries, pains, aches, equipment misuse, animal fertilization, or
other) that results from reading this eBook. Its purpose is strictly
informational and legal action cannot be taken against the author
for any reason on account of this written work.
Although the author admittedly bases the medical industry,
understand that he is not legally authorized to replace your
physician as a clearance prior to engaging to physical activity. Be
sure to get clearance from the appropriate professional personnel
prior to becoming physically active or engaging in a rigorous
exercise regimen.
My name has been cleared.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 EXPECTATIONS
Greetings. As you probably know, my name is Anthony Mychal—
another one of those online writers and trainer guys. I know I’m just one in a
sea of qualified people, but I’m glad you somehow landed here. I asked a lot of
people to spread around this free report, because I wanted to help as many
people as possible. And being that not everyone knows me (yet), I had to make
some friends along the way. So want to thank everyone that helped me get the
word out.

Before I go on, I want to dismiss the perception that I was always

someone that knew how to fix chronic knee pain. That I am simply relaying
information in a textbook. In fact, not too long ago, I was on the other side of
this word document—the reading what others were kind enough to provide. I
still am that person a lot of times. I love learning and I can’t get enough of
health, fitness, and athletics.

But I want to talk specifically about knee pain. Back in 2008-2009, I was
a wreck. I was plagued with injuries—notably a lower back injury, a groin
injury, and a knee injury. Over time, my lower back and groin somehow fixed
themselves. My knee, on the other hand, didn’t have the same fortune.

It hurt when I squatted. It hurt when I jumped. It hurt when I power

cleaned. It hurt when I deadlifted. It hurt when I ran. It hurt when I walked
and down steps. It hurt when I got in and out of my car.

It hurt.

Looking back, calling myself a “wreck” is an understatement. But

perhaps more detrimental than the physical damage, was the emotional
damage. At the time, my friends and I did something called “tricking.” It’s
basically a barrage of acrobatics thrown together in an aesthetically pleasing
display of movement.

Now, my friends and I had been doing this since 2001. It was something
we were all passionate about. We texted each other move combinations and
we drew tricks on each other’s folders in high school.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 Yet here I was, at the age of 21-22, unable to trick because of chronic
knee pain. Tricking kept us young, and it formed a strong bond between me
and my friends.

I remember telling myself that this knee pain was more than not being
able to walk up steps—something that was also mentally taxing—but it was it
was also cutting into my social and personal life.

Of course, I eventually fixed my chronic knee pain. And I put it into a

neat eBook, which is precisely why we’re both here right now—as if you
couldn’t tell. But I want you to realize how chronic knee pain can interfere
with your life. So back to the story. I spent one year experimenting with
different rehabilitation protocols. You’ll see more of those adventures and my
feelings on them in the book, so I won’t go into much detail here.

But after those protocols failed, I built my own theory from the bottom
up. And after practicing and testing these method on myself, my students, and
my athletes, I started to work with clients online.

Time and time again, I get clients that come to me, wanting me to heal
their chronic knee pain. On the exterior, that’s all there is to it. But one of my
clients—after going through the rehabilitation process—sent me many
praises. None of them were about being able to barbell squat again. Sure, that
was one perk, and he enjoyed doing it. But Simon (his testimonial is on the
main website) was most excited when he was able to help a friend of his move
(which involved repeatedly walking up and down steps), and being able to
dance an entire night without knee pain.

Now, I’ve been without knee pain for a few years (except after I broke
my foot, more on that later). But what I pride myself in most isn’t being able to
squat or deadlift. It’s about being able to sit in a deep squat while looking for
food in the bottom of the refrigerator. It’s about running up and down steps
recklessly. It’s about acting and feeling like a kid again. It’s about playing
sports without regard for those aches and pains that used to haunt me in the
past.

Here’s a list of things about chronic knee pain that suck:

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

  Pain when squatting, running, and jumping
 Wasting time and money at medical professionals that turn out to be no
help
 Ineffective treatments, braces, and creams
 Not being able to play your sport
 Having pain during activities of daily living

And yes, those things do suck. But they are far from the real pain of chronic
knee pain such as:

 Being self conscious about your body imagine, and not being able to
exercise to fix it
 Never reaching your athletic pinnacle, potentially hindering
scholarships
 Missing out on camaraderie amongst friends during recreational sports
(I can attest to this)
 The thought of needing surgery and how this affects your life, job, and
everyone around you

Back in 2009, this all applied to me. I went to my general practitioner in

hopes of fixing my pain. I left poorer ($25 copay) and with painkillers. That
didn’t work well, so I went to a sports medicine specialist next. I left poorer
($30 copay) and with a knee brace (which proceeded to break in a matter of
minutes).

I was unhappy with how I looked, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I was
an athlete at heart, and was detraining to the point of, well, not training. I
couldn’t trick, which meant I was missing out on camaraderie among friends.
Worst of all, I thought I was destined for surgery. I didn’t know what to do.

So I did what any sensible person at the time would do—I searched and
asked online. I asked Mark Rippetoe numerous questions on his forum. I e-
mailed Kelly Baggett and Alex Vasquez. Everything I found and learned was
tested and finally compiled in a notebook. The same notebook that would
eventually become this eBook you’re reading about.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 I know you’re here for the free stuff. The goodies. The cha ching. We’ll
get to that, but I want to let you know that you can see more of my story up on
the main website. Oh yeah, you can find the eBook there to. It runs for about
half the price of a new video game, so it’s pretty affordable. Especially
considering that healthy knees are something you’ll probably need at some
point in your life.

 CLICK HERE TO GET TO MAIN WEBSITE 

When I was compiling this notebook, I was lost and confused. My Google
searches weren’t producing good results. Sure, I found information on patellar
tendonitis, patellar tracking problems, and jumper’s knee, but the

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

rehabilitation strategies were abstract. I was an athlete at heart, and none of
them resonated with me. Stretching my quads for 30 seconds and then doing a
set of leg extensions just wasn’t “enough,” especially because it never worked.

But things eventually started coming together. I promised myself that if

I somehow found a solid way to fix chronic knee pain, I would deliver it
cheap—less than half the price of competing products (that I didn’t feel like
paying for at the time, so I didn’t). I also wanted to deliver it without the
sleazy sales tactics. I don’t know about you, but I go to websites, I don’t want
to be bombarded with pop-up ads and other shenanigans, regardless of
whether or not I’m going to buy anything.

That’s one of the reasons why this report is available to you for free to
download at your convenience on the main website. Most “high tech
salesman” in today’s age would have you sign up for a newsletter to get access
to something like this because then they could e-mail you at their will,
convincing you to buy other things.

I pride myself in being an “everyday guy,” for the most part. Sure, I’m an
athlete (or, I tell myself I am), but I’m not here to convince you into buying
something you don’t need. Marketing gurus hold crazy sales with one million
percent off and other things to entice you to buy something you really don’t
want. Well, I’m holding myself to a different standard. My eBook is one price,
all the time. Always the same. Fully refundable. If you don't think you (or a
client or athlete) will experience, or have ever experienced, knee pain, then I
respect your decision.

Likewise, if you don’t know if this eBook is for you, e-mail me at

anthony.mychal@gmail.com . I’ll gladly see whether or not you can benefit
from it. If you can’t, I’ll refer you to something else that might be of help.

Ok, now that that part is over, it’s time for the free stuff.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE BOOK

This book isn’t laden with science that you can’t understand. It’s just me
telling it like it is. Just see the content below to get a better idea.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 We learn better if things are relatable. In the class movie, Road Trip, two
of the main characters—Josh Parker (played by Breckin Meyer) and Ruben
Meyer (played by Paulo Costanzo)—are trying to figure out how one of them
is going to pass a philosophy less than two days away.

The conversation goes like this:

Rubin: What class is that again?

Rubin: Ancient philosophy.
Rubin: Well I can teach you ancient philosophy in 46 hours.
Josh: Really?
Rubin: Yeah, I can teach Japanese to a monkey in 46 hours. They key is
just finding a way to relate to the material.

That was my goal in writing this.

You’re probably wondering why I keep bashing the medical profession.

I'm not, really. In fact, I advise everyone to meet with their doctor regularly,
especially when it comes to an issue like knee pain. Serious issues need
serious care. Read my disclaimer. They can do things that I can’t.

But what I'm saying is that if you want to know what it feels like to get
punched in the eye, you don't go and talk to someone that's never been in a
fight. I’ve lived through this and fought my way out. And I think that gives me
some “informal” credentials.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 How to Instantly Cure Knee Pain
This post originally appeared on Bret Contreras’s Blog as a guest blog post.

I’ve battled chronic knee issues just about as much as anyone could in
life. If you don’t believe me just check out the video I posted on YouTube back
in 2009.
Through a lot of troubles and experimentation, I managed to fix my Rice
Krispies knees—a miracle in itself. All was well in the world.
That was until January 28, 2011, when I broke my right foot in five
places. I was on crutches for eight weeks. This meant my left leg—the one
prone to chronic issues—was the only useable leg I had. Welcome home,
chronic knee pain.
After getting off crutches and going through another six weeks of
relearning how to walk (I had a severe limp), I got back into training. But a
combination of built up stress (from the crutching) and huge imbalances
between my legs (both strength-wise and mobility-wise) forced me to make a
tough decision.
I stopped caring about back squatting.
I’m a meathead at heart, and I’ve squatted for years. But I have to admit,
I prospered without them. I felt great. I felt healthy.
But this backed me into a corner. Previously, I branded myself as a knee
guru. After all, I had spent the past few years researching and writing about
knee pain, boiling my experiences and knowledge into an eight week
corrective system dedicated to reprogram the body in a more “knee friendly”
way. And yet here I was, ignoring the squat because of chronic knee pain. I
was a hypocrite. It was my job to squat once again.
But instead of following my tested eight week program, I thought I’d see
if there was an easier way, or—at the least—a quicker way. I wanted
something that provided immediate results.
My theory of knee pain goes like this: feet + hips = knees. So I—like Bret
Contreras—am a proponent of getting the glutes more involved on lower body
lifts. But where I differed from Bret was that I preferred doing this from a
standing position, meaning I wasn’t a big fan of hip thrusts.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 Yet after a few discussions with Bret, I gave the hip thrust another
shot—specifically high rep hip thrusts after reading this blog post. Why?
Because the hips are one piece of my equation, and I thought that high rep hip
thrusts to the point of a crazy pump—one that has the muscles so engorged
with blood that you almost cry—would provide immediate sensory and
proprioceptive feedback.
I have to give credit to Kelly Baggett of Higher Faster Sports for instilling
this philosophy in me. He claims that in the presence of a glute pump, you’ll
feel a lot more “up” on your forefoot (the second part of the equation). But I
never tried it because I didn’t have an exercise that “did it” for me. Traditional
“activation exercises” don’t really activate the muscles too well from a peak
voluntary contraction standpoint.
THE METHOD
It’s simple. Load the bar and do “as many” hip thrust repetitions as you
can before you cry. The goal is to hit 20 reps, but don’t stop until your body is
refusing the movement. It’s difficult. Yes. It’s metabolically taxing. Yes. It’s
mentally exhausting. Yes. But go until you can go no more.
I haven’t done hip thrusts that much, but I used 225 pounds for this the
first time around and surpassed 20 repetitions, albeit in agony. If you can hip
thrust 315+, go with 225. If not, try 135 or 185.
As you reach your lactic threshold, every rep is grueling. After you finish
the set, your heart rate is jacked through the roof. But the true magic happens
when you get up to walk. Just as Kelly promised, your glutes are so pumped
and engorged with blood that you feel them with every stride. And, of course,
you feel like you’re walking on your tippy toes.
This is the way you want your body to function at all hours of the day—
relying on your glutes and forefoot. If you can do that, not only will your knee
pain decrease, but you’ll notice some other strange feats of athleticism going
on.
As Bret has mentioned a few times in his writings, higher class athletes
know how to use their hip muscles better than lower class athletes. So while
you have this pump, do some bodyweight squats and deadlifts and just feel
how differently your body is moving. Feel how much your glutes are working.
Go sprint and see why high class runners get something called “glute lock.”

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 While this method is great for immediate feedback, the downside is that
it ends as soon as your pump does. And while it feels great when it lasts, it’s
not a long term solution. It’s just a learning tool. If you want your body to
function like this regularly, you have to reprogram it. That’s why my regular
program is eight weeks long.
But for those of you seeking immediate relief, follow the circuit cocktail
below:
1) Soft Tissue high and low on the quadriceps with a lax ball or PVC pipe.
2) Hip Thrusts (high reps).
3) Movement – unweighted squatting, deadlifting, running, jumping, walking
Repeat the circuit three times; noting how your body changes when
your glutes are “on” and your soft tissue restrictions are alleviated.
So while it may not be comprehensive, and it may not be a long term
solution, it’s worth the ten or fifteen minutes it takes to do it. Who knows,
maybe it will be “just enough” for you.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 12 TIPS FOR THOSE SUFFERING FROM
CHRONIC KNEE PAIN

Knee Tip #1: The Doctor Visit

Swallow your pride and make sure your pain isn’t a serious medical problem.
Check with your insurance company and make sure this won’t cost more than
a co-pay. You also want to be wary of anything the doctor tries to give you,
like a brace. These are considered luxuries, not covered under insurance.

Knee Tip #2: Your Outlook

As a general rule, internal damage will require heavy medical assistance.

Other small problems like patellar tendonitis/jumpers knee and patellar
tracking problems can be fixed without tremendous intervention.

Knee Tip #3: Clear Your Mind

Everything you know is wrong, including the ‘dominant’ movements theory.

Doing hip dominant movements in favor of quad dominant movements will do
nothing because it’s more about exercise execution and not exercise selection.

Knee Tip #4: Macho, or Stupid?

Training through pain is a surefire way to always have pain.

Knee Tip #5: Guilty as Quads

Don’t blame your quadriceps, they are not the problem.

Knee Tip #6: Physical Physics

Physics and force can explain the cause of your pain if you have the ability
conceptualize it.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 Knee Tip #7: Strength isn’t the Answer

Your knee pain is caused by lack of voluntary control over the hip, not a lack of
strength of the hip.

Knee Tip #8: Brace Yourself

Braces have their place, but are not to be used as a permanent fixture. Use
them like a nicotine addict would use nicotine gum; with an end in sight.

Knee Tip # 9: Sleepy Time

Bed rest will only appear to cure your knee pain.

Knee Tip #10: Get the Kid a Happy Meal

As silly as it sounds, your knee is kind of like a crying child. You MUST induce
positive feelings into it if you want it to heal. If it constantly feels pain, it won’t
know life without pain.

Knee Tip #11: Stay in Lane

The knee must track over the second toe.

Knee Tip #12: Infamous Footwear?

Almost all shoes will hinder your ankle function, and as a result, can cause
knee pain.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 PELVIC POSITION AND KNEE PAIN
Reach down and cradle your patellar tendons between your middle and
pointer finger. If you’re like most people, you’re lower back is going to be
rounded in this position. Your tendons will also be lax.

Keep your hands there and begin anteriorly rotating your pelvis. Note
the tightness of the tendon. The further you go, the tighter it gets.

Now do the same drill only squeeze your glutes at random intervals.
Note the tightness. The tighter the glute, the more lax the tendon gets.

Learn how to put that into practical use.

JUMP AS HIGH AS YOU CAN IN THE AIR

No one lands on their heels after doing a maximal vertical jump. I would
dare you to try it, but I don’t want to subject you to that kind of pain. The foot
helps us control the force throughout the lower body, specifically the forefoot.

If you take the vertical jump example, landing on your forefoot is the
natural way to cushion yourself from a jump.

Ninjas don’t land on their heels. They move on their tip toes because it
helps them cushion force. The more cushioned the force is at the foot, the less
the knee has to do.

Use your forefoot.

VIDEO DEMONSTRATION

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 HIPS + FEET = KNEES
From a movement standpoint, the knees are simple. They flex and
extend. Boring. Not much can go wrong there (aside from rotational forces
and things slamming into the side of your leg, but that’s a different story.) But
if you think of the leg as a chain, the hip and ankle are at both ends of the knee.
The hip has a host of responsibilities, as does the ankle. Not only do they flex
and extend, they internally rotate, externally rotate, adduct, and abduct.

In other words, the leg is like a seesaw and the knee is the middle
fulcrum. Ultimately, it’s the ends that determine the movement. And if it’s the
ends that are causing the problems, traditional rehabilitation methods that
focus on the quadriceps aren’t going to cut it.

Remember this equation.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 3 Little Known Facts About Knee Pain, and
The Key to Unlocking Your Athletic Potential

FACT #1:
GOOD FEET + GOOD HIPS = GOOD KNEES. The truth is that your knee isn’t
dysfunctional, but your hips and feet are. The knee is just the middle man,
caught between two faulty structures.

FACT #2:
By using rehabilitation strategies that focus on the knee, you’re only making
the problem worse. Don't succumb to leg extensions and hamstring curls to fix
the problem.

FACT #3:
Changing the way you move to put less stress on the knees requires total
motor reprogramming. And by reprogramming the body in a way to put less
pressure on the knees, there's a crazy side effect (see next page).

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 THE KEY TO UNLOCKING
YOUR ATHLETIC
POTENTIAL
This might seem too good to be true, but using these methods to fix chronic
knee pain has a pleasant after effect. By reprogramming your body to drive
movements from the hip and use the larger muscles, you become much more
athletic. Take these still shots below, for example.

Both are from the amortization (fancy word for transition from down to up)
phase of a vertical jump. The guy on the left touts a 30” vertical jump (even
though that's probably stretching it), but notice how UPRIGHT his torso is.
This means he’s using mostly his quadriceps and thighs to lift him in the air,
with little contribution from the hip.

Now take the guy on the right. He touts a near 50” vertical jump (I'm saying
40" to prevent from internet inflation as 50" is huge). Look at how his torso is
almost parallel to the floor. This means he is using his hips and posterior
musculature considerably more!

A 10-20” difference in vertical jump is huge, and the differences between

these two guy’s muscular recruitment patterns are obvious.

An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain teaches you to “use” and “tap” into
your hip muscles so that your knees work less. A huge side effect is that you
become way more athletic.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 BRACE YOURSELF
The first line of defense against pain is wearing a brace. But which
work, and which should you use? Regardless of your decision, decide what
brace to wear after your warm up. You will learn how to judge the health of
your knee before expecting and planning for a pain threshold that may not be
there. When the spring season is around the corner, you peek your head out
of the window to feel for the weather before deciding what to wear.

PATELLAR TRACKING BRACE

They are large and cumbersome. Unconsciously, it pulls your knee cap
in the direction of mis-tracking—a very weird sensation. Wearing one feels
like your kneecap is in a tug-of-war battle. Develop proper tracking yourself,
and not with strange assistance. It’s a temporary mask for a permanent
problem.

GENERAL KNEE BRACE

Some are bulky and stable, others are small and mobile. The difference
is the mental stability they provide. It’s not about what can be done in them,
it’s about what can’t be done. The bigger ones restrict movement and serve as
a reminder of your injury. Let the severity of your pain be your guide.
Ultimately, a crutch.

PATELLAR TENDONITIS STRAPS

It’s a small strap with an elevated, half cylindrical foam piece that
pressures the patellar tendon. The bonus? It works.

Don’t let it become your newest body part, because it becomes very
psychologically comforting. Mental addictions are harder to break than
physical problems. Only use when you have to. Decide after the warm up.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 BOOK PREVIEW
PREFACE

THE SPAWNING
My written experience with knee pain started when I made a
fitness blog. I was a lifetime sufferer, and after rehab my
confidence was climbing alongside my health.
“The Bee’s Knees” was finalized in five articles, detailing
easy ways for athletes to stop knee pain. But my blog wasn’t
popular, so the information just sat in cyberspace. School work
forced me to neglect my blog, and I forgot I had ever written the
articles. Life went on.
A few loose thank you e-mails trickled to my inbox from “The
Bee’s Knees,” months later. This was encouraging enough for
me to want to read the originals.
I was embarrassed at what I found.
Perhaps it was my novice writing style or how much I had
grown since then, but my only chance for redemption was to
rewrite them, the way they deserved to be written. I’m wondering
if I’ll say the same about this eBook in a year’s time.
IS IT FOR ME?
Ignorance rules the fitness industry. One side of the bridge
houses Ph.D.’s with no experience outside of a Petri dish athletic

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

environment. The other side, personal trainers that found their
credentials after an eight hour weekend workshop.
It’s best to look at people that have done what you want to
do. Don’t search the weak to find strength. Don’t listen to the
small to get big. Experience is better than science because the
two highways haven’t merged. As Timothy Ferriss alluded to in
his newest book, The Four Hour Body, doctors could learn about
steroids if they chatted with bodybuilders.
This text isn’t about shoulder health, how to cut hair, or
giving a woman a fifteen minute orgasm (with the success of The
Four Hour Body I should reconsider). It’s for people that live
feeling twenty years older than their age. It’s for athletes with
tendonitis and tracking problems. It’s for people with knees that
make more noise than the rocking chair in the corner of the living
room. It’s for the athlete that looks to the sky for a semblance of
health. It’s for you.
Experts say you need medicine, surgery, or expensive
physical therapy. I hate medicine, I don’t like cutting flesh, and
I’m poor. I looked for another way.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 CHAPTER ONE – AUTOBIOGRAPHY

HISTORY = FUTURE
At 21 years old, I could have a conversation with my knee
and enjoy a beer at the same time. My problems started way
before that though. When I was a kid, my knees clicked on
command. My mother warned of permanent problems to frighten
me.
I grew, and my problems shrunk. But my left knee still
clicked, and after a season of basketball I ended up in the
doctor’s office with a broken finger and achy knees.
He did his special tests—twisting, bending, and turning—
waiting for me to wince. I didn’t. He asked for my activity history,
which was pretty loaded. I played basketball six days a week and
I was a closet acrobat. My problems weren’t shocking to him.
Telling your doctor that you do backflips in your backyard won’t
end well.
My knees were overused and my finger was beyond repair.
At least, that’s what he told me. I was given pills and told to rest.
Turns out he was right about my finger. My knees, not so much.
Years later, I fell in love with barbell weight training. Legs
were my strong point, and I squatted often (to stave off upper
body embarrassment) using what most call an olympic squat—
high bar position, close stance, and deep. My knees would hurt,
just like they did in high school. I didn’t think they could be fixed.
After all, they were just overused, right? What was I supposed to
do? Not walk?

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 I mingled around the fitness industry and became obsessed
with fitness, strength, and health. My favorite book was Starting
Strength by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore. After reading the
squat chapter, my high bar squat transformed into the low bar
squat described in the book.
An injury forced me to start back at the beginning, so I ran
the Starting Strength program as written. After work one day, I
prepared for my workout – three sets of five, at 335. During my
first work set, my right knee popped as instability radiated through
my leg. My knee always made noise, but it was never this audible
and the feeling wasn’t the same. Normally, when my knee felt
stiff I could make it click to relieve pressure. But I couldn’t. My
superhero clicking powers were gone. And that’s when I learned
the difference between a click and a pop.
I guessed that my meniscus was partially torn. I feared the
doctor because I feared surgery. No news was better than bad
news.
The healing process was a struggle. The pain was above
the tolerable level I seesawed with through my teens. I ended up
going to a sports medicine doctor. My hopes were low, but my
psyche was so unstable that I needed reassurance.
My appointment was more of the same that I encountered
four years back—x-rays, tests, and recollection. My knee
described my problem better than I could, because I had severe
crepitus.
Surprisingly, my meniscus was healthy, but I was diagnosed
with patellar tracking problems and patellar tendonitis. Instead of
going to physical therapy (he said I didn’t need to because my

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

quadriceps were well muscled), he gave me some exercises and
a knee brace.
My medical expenses were adding up fast. My insurance
didn’t cover the $50 brace, which broke when I tried to put it on.
Add the two $25 co-pays from my other visits, and that’s how you
blow $100 on knee pain.
Knee Tip #1
Swallow your pride and make sure your pain isn’t a serious
medical problem. Check with your insurance company and make
sure this won’t cost more than a co-pay. You also want to be
wary of anything the doctor tries to give you, like a brace. These
are considered luxuries, not covered under insurance.

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

 CHAPTER TWO – PAIN

MEDICAL BABBLE
You’ve read everything the internet has to offer. You know
the anatomy of the knee inside and out. You’re 100% confident in
saying you know what your problem is.
You’re wrong.
You need to see the inside. This requires a doctor
appointment, so schedule one. X-Rays are better than your
eyeball, but not as good as a MRI or CT-Scan. See what your
insurance covers so you don’t screw yourself financially. And
before you go, have a diagnosis ready for the doctor. Telling
them what you think is wrong will give them an idea of not only
where the pain is, but also what you’re going through.
INJURIES
Injuries can occur for many reasons. When it comes to knee
pain that can be fixed without surgery, you’re looking for an achy
pain that fades in and out with no origin. The pain is chronic,
meaning it has been occurring over a long time. Typical overuse
problems fall into this category. What starts as knee pain
becomes pain left of the knee cap, which becomes, “I need a
cane.” Although this sounds depressing, chronic injuries don’t
require the needles, knives, and Novocain.
But acute injuries surely do. They affect the deep structures
that stabilize the joint, are usually severe, and can be traced back
to one moment in time. Snapping or popping noises are signs,

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain

especially after one particular incident. Fall off of a ladder and
hear a pop? Yeah, you have problems far beyond my control…

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AN ATHLETE’S GUIDE TO
KNEE PAIN
Thanks for reading. Be sure to share this with as many people as you can!

-Anthony Mychal

© Anthony Mychal 2012 - http://anthonymychal.com An Athlete’s Guide to Chronic Knee Pain