Knee Pain During Squats?

Do you experience knee pain with squats?

Knee pain is one of the most common complaints during exercises like squats and lunges.

In some cases, we've had patients completely avoid squatting because they are unable to perform the movement without significant aggravation of their knee pain.

While some exercises are ok to avoid, squatting is such a fundamental movement within our daily lives that we whole heartedly believe that addressing the root cause of pain can have a significant impact on someone's quality of life outside of the gym.

Think about it... How many times do you squat every day?

You perform a squat every time you get up from sitting, whenever you need ot pick something up off the ground, and even actions like walking up and down stairs are forms of single leg squats (commonly called "lunges"). 

Squats are near impossible to avoid!

What causes knee pain during squats?

While there are a lot of factors that can result in knee pain during squatting movements, the two most common patterns we see in our practice include:

1) Excessive knee “valgus” during a Squat

2) Quadriceps-dominant squats

What is “Knee Valgus”?

Knee Valgus is a movement pattern that involves one or both knees crashing inwards towards the midline of the body as an individual bends or extends their knees.

This movement pattern can place excessive stress on structures like the meniscus and other soft-tissue structures around the knee such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia.

Knee valgus also influences “patellar tracking”, which refers to the movement of the patella (kneecap) as the knee bends and extends.

The patella is supposed to stay centered within its groove during knee bending/extending, but the presence of knee valgus will often result in unnecessary side to side movement and can place additional stress on the soft tissue that attaches to the patella itself including the patellar tendons and ligaments.

What is a “Quadriceps-Dominant” Squat?

During a movement like the squat we have a wide variety of muscle groups working to accomplish the movement including the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteal muscles, and various other muscles of the trunk and lower extremities.

A Quadriceps-Dominant Squat refers to the quadriceps muscles being over-utilized during a squat motion rather than allowing the other muscle groups to sufficiently assist in the process.

The result is that there is an increase in tension within the quadriceps and the patellar tendon, which over time can begin to develop symptoms like pain and stiffness.

We know this may sound confusing or may be difficult to visualize so we filmed a quick video to help!

Check out the video below to better understand what Knee Valgus and Quadriceps-dominant squat patterns look like!

If you’re experiencing knee pain with squatting, we’re here to help!

Don’t let your knee pain get in the way of your active lifestyle for another minute. Book with our Bryn Mawr Chiropractic team today.