5 Reasons Why Your Knees Hurt Squatting & How To INSTANTLY Fix Them
December 29, 2009 | Author Kevin Yates
If your knees hurt squatting it doesn’t mean that squats are a bad exercise.
In fact, squats and lunges have gotten such a bad reputation for causing knee, hip and lower back problems.
However, in most cases it’s not the squat that causes pain but rather how it’s performed.
If you’re just looking for some quick tips to instantly wipe out knee pain when squatting then scroll down to the video below where I share some highly effective tips to overcome knee pain during squats.
The truth is that the squat is a poorly understood exercise. Squats are an excellent exercise for strengthening the hips and knees but, unfortunately, most people do not perform them correctly even though think they do.
There are 5 common mistakes I have identified in individuals whose knees hurt squatting.
Just one of these mistakes is enough to feel knee pain during squats:
1. Weight on the toes: This happens a lot when using too much weight which tends to pull your body too far forward. Other times it’s simply a lack of awareness of how to distribute one’s body weight.
2. Knees moving forward while squatting: This is another common example of using too much weight. It can also be the result of the quadriceps (thigh muscles) overcompensating for weakness of the trunk stabilizers, hips and hamstrings.
3. Thighs and lower back muscles doing most of the work: This happens when the core, glutes and hamstrings are weak. When you lack proper core and hip strength muscle imbalances often result in the quadriceps and lower back over working. This is one of the main reasons for knee pain during squatting.
4. Abdominal stabilizers and hips are weak: These muscles need to be properly strengthened in order to eliminate knee and lower back pain.
5. Trunk collapsing too far forward: This is a sure-fire sign of weak core muscles and/or quadricep and lower back overcompensation. Typically, weakness in the abdominal and hip muscles are the problem.
After you watch the video leave me a comment and let me know what you think about knee pain and squats.
Why Your Knees Hurt Squatting & How To Correct It
If you’d like an exercise program to overcome your knee pain quickly then you might want to give The Knee Injury Solution a good look. It’s a solid program created by Rick Kaselj who is an absolute genius when it comes to rehabbing knee injuries through exercise.
5 Responses to “5 Reasons Why Your Knees Hurt Squatting & How To INSTANTLY Fix Them”
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I have watched this video yesterday, and it revolutionized the way I do squats. I have recently included squats in my work-out, and my knees were hurting even with very light weight. Watching your video helped me understand that it is not the quads that are the primary working muscles, but rather the glutes and hamstrings. The way you demonstrate the hips forward movement has helped a lot. Thank you!
@Janski
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad the video helped you out.
Brilliant blog but seriously the sheer amount of advertisements really make our experience much less.
hi Kevin
My problem with squats is that I am physically unable to come down very far at all if I keep my trunk almost upright. Reading point 5 above, I think my core is quite strong so I am guessing it is more to do with quads/lower back – are there any exercises/stretches I can do to improve this?
By the way, I have been watching your videos etc for a few months now and they are really helpful so thank you!
It’s not so much to do them completely upright with your trunk just not excessively forward…In your case if it’s quad and low back compensation then stretches will do very little if anything to correct it…instead it may be a case of your core and hips not being strong enough in the extended position so you’d need core strength in the role of stabilization with your trunk in more upright and extended position