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I have been following a conditioning heavy fitness plan in order to cut some weight and lose some body fat over the last three weeks. I am exercising six days a week, and two sessions involve sprints (hill sprinting and normal). On these sessions it has got to the point where I can't finish them because my knees hurt quite a bit. When not doing anything my knees just sort of have a mild discomfort but sometimes when the leg completely straightens it is really painful and feels like the knee will just give way, and I often buckle when this happens, but it doesn't happen often maybe three times in the last few days. I am not sure if this is because I am actively preventing it from happening or not as I am being more careful in day to day activity because of the pain.

The pain feels like it is beneath the kneecap but in a sort of "U" shape around the kneecap. I am able to walk and do day to day things ok and I was able to perform a squatting session, with a mild weight for me without any discomfort, in fact normally I get a popping sound in my knee when I squat which was absent for this session.

I believe the pain has probably been caused by an overuse of the knees in activities they are not used too, as I stopped exercising around April and didn't really do anything until a few weeks ago. Last weekend I also completed the three peaks challenge with no extra training and it wasn't until after this I noticed the problem with straightening my legs, but the mild discomfort was present prior.

I am making good progress exercising and I would like some alternative exercise suggestions to sprinting as I do not wish to stop if at all possible. I tried swimming tonight and that doesn't seem to have aggravated my knees but it is expensive and commuting to the pool takes time therefore I couldn't afford to do it more than once a week. Advice on treating this type of knee pain as well would be appreciated if possible, additionally any insight into why my knees normally make a "clicking" sound when squatting would be helpful.

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    Have you tried using wraps or soft braces while running?
    – DMoore
    Jul 30, 2013 at 4:30
  • No I haven't, would a just a compression bandage suffice or a particular type?
    – Aesir
    Jul 30, 2013 at 7:29
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    It sounds like you are in good shape. Compression bandage would work as long as you can keep it on without it rubbing the back of your leg. You just want to transfer some of the knee ligament action to your larger muscle groups.
    – DMoore
    Jul 30, 2013 at 15:07

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Well, without seeing your squat form, anyone giving any recommendations would not be correct.

It seems like people think running is a great exercise; well it is not :) It can create problems, and many of us don't have any idea about running properly (not talking about you specifically)

HIIT is not a must in order to lose fat, or exercise. You can do both without implementing HIIT in your training.

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Try doing sprints on a bicycle or aqua jogging. Both are less impact and should eliminate the pain while in the exercise. I would change out one of the runs for one of these exercises until you can consult a doctor and figure out what exactly is causing the pain. If the pain subsides then you might consider slowly adding more intensity or running (split the day between running and biking, or add a little intensity to the run - maybe between a telephone pole and then two or more).

Definitely try to consult a physician, they will be able to better diagnose the issue.

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