r/Kneesovertoes

I wish I felt the same long term recovery that I had when I was lifting heavier. On the bright side I’ll probably have fresher legs for biking. I’m only lifting with my legs about once a week or every other week. Not related, but I’m doing calves every other day or so.

I have very tight upper calves, but I can't seem to really loosen them up with any of the traditional exercises. The foam roll/lacrosse balls don't do much since they don't dig in deep enough on the calves. I feel the stair stretch and the runners calf stretch in my calf, but not as much as I would like. Is there any more aggressive/advanced calf stretches?

Been thinking about knee support a lot lately and wanted to hear from people who actually train and move.

It feels like there are two pretty different camps:
Some people love knee sleeves, patellar straps, or braces because it gives them more confidence under load or during runs. They feel more stable and less hesitant.

Others say external support just hides the real issue, and the real work should be about building strength, improving mobility, and cleaning up movement patterns. They worry that relying on a brace can make the knee weaker over time.
Honestly, I think both sides make sense. A brace or sleeve can be helpful in certain situations, but it shouldn't replace actually building stronger, more resilient knees.
At the same time, everyone's situation is different. Someone doing heavy squats, someone logging long miles, someone coming back from an old injury, or just someone trying to stay active – they probably all need different things.
So I'm curious:
· Do you personally use any kind of knee support?
· Do you think braces/sleeves actually help, or just cover up the problem?
· Should they be something you rely on regularly, or something to avoid?
· Would you ever try a "smarter" knee support that adapts to your movement, or do you prefer keeping it simple?

Not looking for medical advice – just want to hear personal experiences and what has or hasn't worked for you.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

I've been thinking about knee support lately and wanted to hear what people here actually think.

There seems to be two very different opinions:

Some people swear by knee sleeves, patellar straps, or braces because they help them train with more confidence.

Others say external support is just covering up the real issue, and the focus should always be strength, mobility, and better movement patterns.

I think both sides have a point.

A knee brace can provide support during certain activities, but it probably shouldn't replace building stronger and more capable knees.

At the same time, different people have different situations. Someone doing heavy squats, running long distances, recovering from previous issues, or simply trying to stay active may have different needs.

So I'm curious:

Do you guys personally use any type of knee support?

- Do you think knee braces actually help, or just hide the problem?

- Are knee braces something you should rely on, or avoid?

- Would you try a smarter knee support, or keep it simple?

Would love to hear everyone's experience.

was wondering if anyone has hoffa’s syndrome?

I started getting pain which seems to be a cause of hoffa’s syndrome in my knee’s fat pad and patella’s tendon – experienced osteopath confirmed this

I got proper basketball shoes, sports insoles, do proper foam rolling, stretching, warm up, use knee braces during games (every 2-3 days) – I consulted several doctors, they advised ice and some magnet therapies if pain doesn’t stop after few hours – problem, it hurts even stepping up on every 2^(nd) stair, sometimes walking up/down – takes me to recover after a game for nearly 3-4 days until I start to feel back to being myself. The very next day after basketball game I cant even squat or walk down the stairs comfortably. Clearly sign of big inflammation?

been having this for 4-5 years and taking a break from basketball. At the beginning it wasnt that severe, but now this seems to be permanent. Working with weights isnt that bad as playing basketball, I know which exercises hurt which ones dont.

I assume all of this isnt normal and I seek some advice as it takes way too long to recover and symptoms are unreal. I don’t think this is related to an actual joint as without doing any mechanical movement or bending my knees, just simply laying in bed and flexing my leg with toes up I can feel slight discomfort? Even doing peterson step ups isnt great and comfortable, or front lunges, recovery time is really really long

Any solutions that worked for you? Have you managed to make it disappear or this is permanent problem that you have to live with it and limit yourself?

thank you,

Now I know PT can be helpful for a lot of people. But sometimes I feel people make it sound as if PT is the only way to treat kneecap instability when in reality it’s much more complex.

There a certain ppl whose kneecaps are unstable because of weak muscles, and for them strengthening the quad muscles are helpful. But there also is a lot of people whose instability comes from structural issues (patella Alta, shallow trochlear groove, etc), and for these people PT isn’t as effective.

As someone with Patella Alta, I’ve tried doing all sorts of strengthen exercises. And although I still keep strengthening my quads, no amount of PT can fix the structural issues I have.

So I would say that PT is helpful, but I think we have to consider the fact that for a lot of ppl it isn’t the end all be all.

23 F I have been off the gym for almost 2 months and have also low physical activities. I'm overweight since I'm back at the gym my left knee hurts when i flex my quads and toes and pain increases whenever i lift my leg up been more than a week or so i manage to fix it by doing some knee exercises but pain always comes back after few minutes or hours

Do i have patellar tendonitis??

I'm not subscribed to the app but would like advice on how to get started. I've heard the zero program would be where to begin?

My concern is I don't have a gym membership. I do, however, have a tib bar at home I can use. Is there any way I can complete this program at home?

I was recently diagnosed with chondromalacia patella primarily due to being over weight (67 kgs 150 cm) and training heavy in gym.
I now feel totally lost because I can’t train legs. I wasn’t losing weight earlier and now I won’t be able to lose because I can’t go heavy on workout.
Can someone who actually lost weight while in pain suggest how did they do it?

I wanna try zero but not damage my foot further. Any thoughts?