“My knees hurt if I squat too low….” Sound familiar to you? It is common to hear someone who does squats complaining about knee pain. Knee pain during exercise has varied causes, let’s have a good look at the reasons :

Why am I getting Knee pain during/after squatting?

knee pain

Knee Pain

There is a vital point that we need to consider when exercising, ESPECIALLY when we are doing weight resistance training…TECHNIQUE!

Squatting in itself rarely causes any injury but poor execution of the exercise is a different story. So what is the common mistake whilst doing squats? We are always expecting some forward movement of your knees during squats but don’t lift heels off the ground throughout the whole motion. When your heels are slightly lifting off from the ground, it means your knees are moving too far forward and that puts a lot of stress on your knees and over time…cause knee pain.

So what is the proper squat form then?

squat form, front squat, back squat, squats

You need to load up the barbell with a comfortable weight so you’re able to maintain control. As you squat down, try to imagine that we are sitting on a chair by poking the bottom out and squat down. IMPORTANT: Make sure that you keep most of your weight on your heels! (Loading onto the hip joints instead of the knee joints). Moreover, you have to keep your spine straight as you are squatting down, looking upwards as you go down might help to assist holding up your spine in good position.

As you stand from your squat, push through your hips and knees to bring yourself up. Do not let your knees point in or out throughout the whole movement. You should feel your knees are tightened up and you should be squeezing your bottom as you finished off the movement.

Fixing up your technique allows the joints in lower limbs transfer the load evenly and that can reduce your chances of getting injured, and overall enhancing your training outcomes.

If you are beginning an exercise routine or need a biomechanical assessment, make an appointment with our exercise physiologist. If your knee pain is persisting, an appointment with one of our physiotherapists can assist. Call our Browns Plains clinic on 07 3800 3417 for an appointment today!