Theeck, do you have pain after doing squats when you don't run?
Sorry, my original post I mentioned that I get the pain when hiking but I neglected to mention it in the post about 4-7 miles.
I'll try my best to describe the situation. I was a runner until I was in a bad accident in my mid-20s. I ended up having three abdominal surgeries over the course of 5 years. I gave up running and bulked up. I am 6'1" and probably 210ish right now but usually 195 or so in summer (slacking off in the late fall). Ideally, I would be around 180-185. I am not built to be really skinny, I weighed about 175-180 when I graduated high school and was a competitive runner (400 meter through cross country 5ks). I was never a guy that would go out and run 10 miles but I was running 52 seconds in the 400 meter as a 10th grader. Some charts put my ideal weight in the 160s but that is not going to happen.
After being physically limited for several years, I got back into training about 7 years ago. I do some weight training (lame stuff in my basement) but don't get too intense. I started doing squats a few years ago (3.5 yrs or so) but not really pushing it like a power lifter would. I never exceeded 300 lbs and usually stayed around 250. I would do reps anywhere from 8 to 20 depending on weight. I don't do it religiously and even when I am on a schedule, it is only once per week. I am not doing it for cosmetic reasons or to put on mass but just to maintain strength in my back and lower body as I age. I just want to be able to drag deer and carry a heavy pack through the mountains. I never really feel knee pain while squatting. Sometimes I get a little bit of discomfort below my knee cap after or a day later. It subsides quickly and is no big deal.
What started to become a problem was the outside of my knees. About 3 years ago, I was tracking a shot bear through the woods along a steep mountain side. After covering at least 10 miles and side-hilling several of them over rock slide, I started to get serious pain in the outside of my knees. After a couple days of rest, it went away. I figured that it was the boots that I was wearing in combination with the uneven ground. I had never had pain of any kind in my knees before. Since then, I find that it comes back whenever I walk a fair distance in the woods. When grouse hunting, it seems to start anywhere from 4 to 7 miles and I have to wind things down over the next mile or so. I do notice that it starts earlier when I have recently done squats. As a result, I rarely if ever squat during hunting season. Given the timing of the first occurrence (about 6 months after starting to squat) I assume that the squatting is tightening something up that is putting strain on my knee. I have read about IT Band syndrome and the description seems to fit exactly with my symptoms. I recently started some home PT that was recommended online.
I am too cheap to go to a orthopedic doctor unless it is my last resort. I have a $1,000 annual deductible. My sister in law is an orthopedic surgeon and she gave me some suggestions but mostly said that I need x-rays.
