Knee pain caused by shoes?

Fabian said:

I hope it comes from the shoes, technique... well, it didn't really change didn't it? I played for many years before without ever having this problem. Since I changed the shoes, I would guess this is the cause. But I will see in a few days

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One thing to note: it isn't necessarily wrong technique that would cause knee problems. In TT good technique is simply hard on the knees because of the rotational force of the hips in a loop.

Think about how many WR top 50 TT players you have seen playing over the years with some form of knee support. Particularly that thin strap that goes right under the knee. There was one point in 2011 where there were four guys on CNT who were wearing those for knee conditions at the same time.

A few questions.

How long after you started using the new shoes did you start feeling the knee problem? Right away? Shortly after? Or more than 3 weeks after?

Did you start off not liking the shoes or liking them?

One more detail I want you to be prepared for:

Even if it was the shoes, it is possible that the knee recovering fully will take a while even if it is not bothering you right now. If there was some damage to your knee, regardless of the initial cause, the actions required, particularly for footwork and a TT FH stroke put a lot of stress on the knees. And it could take a while for the injury to fully heal.

I hope that is not the case. I hope you are back in action with footwear that better suits your needs ASAP. But I just think it is worth knowing that our knees don't really like the kind of torque that they are placed under in most racket sports. And in TT you are on an indoor surface and take many more strokes per minute or hour than in a sport like, say, tennis.


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Fabian said:

In general I started maybe like 1,5 months ago again and started to play more and longer 4 weeks ago maybe. And like 2-3 weeks ago it started with my knees. It could also be my knee itself but I hope it's maybe just the combination, that my knee/technique requires a bit more dampening and that it might be already resolved with other shoes if I take a short break first. That's what I am doing now. Rest a full week at least and then try with new shoes. If that does not help, it might be more complicated. At least season only starts again in fall only.

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Let me see if I understood your answer correctly. You started playing again 6 weeks ago. 2 weeks later (4 weeks ago) you increased the number of hours per week you were playing. And two weeks after that, and four weeks after you started (two weeks ago) your knees started hurting.

Is that the basic timeline.

6 weeks ago started
4 weeks ago increased hours of play
2 weeks ago hurt knee

If you were playing with the new shoes that whole time, it is hard to say, but it looks as likely that the increased hours of play could be the contributing factor as anything else.

It still could be the shoes. And I may have misinterpreted what you said because I am not sure you gave me an answer to the actual question I asked. Was that about the timeline. Or was it something else.


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shoes can be one of reason but not much i think. Stress of session (i.e: heavy top spins mostly), lack of body-warm up, gained weight (if first session for a while), wrong step unconsciously can be more likely reasons because your shoes looks like more than decent for tt. My humble suggestions are that for a while proper long warm-up and using knee bands.
I had faced that problem too two months ago, i thought my shoes are not gripping etc. but after a while i overcame it.

Well, no matter the cause, I hope your knee is better already. And if not already, I hope it is better soon.

If the shoes were not comfortable then, even if they weren't part of the problem, it is a good idea not to wear them anymore.


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Not saying the shoes are your problem but, I did had these shoes like the one you post in the thread.They almost have zero cushion(thats why they called adizero : ) ).

Played 2 times and dropped them.Then i did go and try some mizuno shoes these ones:
http://tt-store.eu/image/cache/data/clothes-shoes/mizuno-wave-drive-a2-red-600x600.jpg

and at the same time i try asics :
http://tt-store.eu/image/cache/data/clothes-shoes/Asics-Gel-Cyberspeed-II-white-600x600.jpg

Mizuno where lighter, looked better but had a plastic feel . Asics had better cushion, superior side support felt comfortable. robust and not like plastic.Especially the insole has some dome (on the sides) that felt strange in the begin but you appreciate it while playing doing side steps.Hands down asics and they were also cheaper .

Fabian said:

So doctor told me it could be a problem with my meniscus, so I had an MRI... Turns out my knee is not that bad, just swollen from the inside which will go away soon.
Still got Mizunos and will throw away the Adidas. Anyone want them for free? I won't risk it although I will never know if it was the shoes.

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Anyone want the shoes you hated and think gave you water on the knee? That should not be a. Option.

Burn them. Make them disappear. [emoji2]


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Or to make sure that your knee issues were shoe related, wait another minute until you have fully recovered, try them again then and as soon as the pain reappears burn 'em.
[Emoji6]

It can happen. Improper footwear can change the stress placed on your knee joints, maybe causes pain.

BTW, do Wave Drive shoes have any cushioning at all? I am using Asics Gel Rocket 7, that have a lot of cushioning, but I am thinking about moving to something lighter and thinner.