Knee rehab / prehab exercises?

Last week I was working out the beta on a steep route, and in desperation I tried a very deep drop knee. It involved stepping my foot really high (about my waist level) then twist and turn into a drop knee. I only tried that move twice because it felt like I was going to pop something if I keep trying it, but I didn't actually feel anything pop or pull while I was doing the move.

After I lowered off and rested a little, everything felt normal. Then I tried a different route that involved lots of heel hooking. As soon as I did a heel hook with my right leg, I felt a dull pain on the inside of my right knee. Looking at a diagram of a knee, I would say the pain is around the medial collateral ligament (MCL). On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being excruciating), the pain is around a 3.

After a few days of rest, the pain is pretty much gone now (maybe a 0.5). I've never lost the range of motion in that knee, and I only felt the pain when I'm pulling in my leg (like in a heelhook). Besides "go see a doctor" and "don't do a drop knee like that", which are all very good and sensible advice, are there any exercises or stretches I can do to keep my knee in good shape?

squats and deadlifts

aikibujin wrote:Besides ... "don't do a drop knee like that", which are all very good and sensible advice, are there any exercises or stretches I can do to keep my knee in good shape?

My non-expert theory is that there are no "forbidden" moves regarding strain on tendons and muscles. But if I'm going to try some awkward strenuous move in my peak climbing performances, I should first carefully progressively train that move -- with careful incremental increase (measured if possible) in both resistance-force intensity and Range-of-Motion length.

For drop-knee, my approach is to try to climb when indoors as many moves as possible using drop-knee when it's not at all necessary, especially in warmups on auto-belay, especially on easier routes with big handholds. And as I warm up, try drop-knees higher or more awkward footholds than necessary.

Training at home
for lots of years I've been doing an exercise which simultaneously trains drop-knee leg strength and mantle-press-up arm strength.
. (since I like to climb long easy routes solo outdoors, getting strong and confident on mantle moves is valuable for me, motivates me to train specifically for them).

I do my "mantle-press plus knee-extension" moves on a shelf in my kitchen which is 36 inches (90 cm) above the floor. Fingers pointed in toward each other, palms on a thin rubber mat (so they don't slip). Start each move with knees supported by old telephone-directory books, or thick boards to reduce Range-of-Motion while I'm warming up. With foam or towel padding for my knees. Each foot is inverted (plantar side facing upward) with the tops of my toes touching the floor (wearing running shoes for padding).

I press with my arms down on my palms for the mantle-press -- with assistance from my legs pushing down into the floor through the tops of my toes. I press up to nearly straight arms with elbows almost locked (but do not attempt to complete the "mantle" by stepping up onto the shelf with my foot).

As I get warmed up and stronger, I add resistance weights in a small backpack, and I remove telephone books or boards from under my knees, to increase RoM (until I can start with my knees resting on just a towel on the floor).

Ken

But seriously though, low bar squats and deadlifts will strengthen all the musculature that stabilizes your knee (quads, hamstrings, calves) as well as core, lats, erectors, traps etc. etc.

kenr wrote:I do my "mantle-press plus knee-extension" moves on a shelf in my kitchen which is 36 inches (90 cm) above the floor. Fingers pointed in toward each other, palms on a thin rubber mat (so they don't slip). Start each move with knees supported by old telephone-directory books, or thick boards to reduce Range-of-Motion while I'm warming up. With foam or towel padding for my knees. Each foot is inverted (plantar side facing upward) with the tops of my toes touching the floor (wearing running shoes for padding).

I'm having trouble picturing this exercise in my head. Are you starting from a seated kneeing position, with knees and feet together? And as you press with your arms, you straighten your legs and the top of your foot pressing into the floor?

Yes words can be tricky ...
these Photos should make it clearer:

starting position ... with
palms down on kitchen shelf with rubber sheet underneath, and
backpack holding added resistance weight, and
knees on top of two old phone books (to reduce range-of-motion):

mid-move position


finish position


I find that this feels like it's working my arms like a mantle move and at the same time, my legs like a back-step.

Ken