I had my left knee scoped back in July of this year. I had some cartilage scraped out of it. I can "feel" that my knee is not 100 % since the surgery, due to minor occasional aches, pops, etc. Maybe this is as good as my knee is ever going to be post surgery. I started doing deadlifts and squats again about 2 months ago. I was getting a bit of pain around my knee area while squatting, so I started to wear an elastic wrap, and it seems to have helped quite a bit. Deadlifts seem to be okay as far as the knee goes. I have noticed though that after doing squats and deadlifts, my knee seems to ache a bit now and then for the next day or 2. I was worried that squatting and deadlifting would destroy my knee again, for all I know, that's what did it in the first place, as I don't know exactly how I injured my knee to begin with, although I think it may have been from judo. Anyway, a few guys told me that squats and deadlifts would be good for it, that it will get stronger because of those exercises. So, as I previously stated, I have started doing those exercises again, but I am still worried that i may be doing my knee more harm than good by doing squats/deadlifts. If I can't squat or deadlift ever again, I might as well put a bullet in my head. Any thoughts by anyone that has gone through the same thing would be much appreciated.