Are Squats Bad For Your Knees? Here’s The Science Behind It

Are squats bad for your knees? Squats have been shown to have a range of benefits if they are done properly and in good form. There are also other alternatives to squats if you experience regular knee pain caused by extraneous factors, such as your job.

What muscles do squats work? Squats primarily work the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. They additionally work the adductors, hip flexors, and core. These muscles are important for activities of daily living, such as balance, sitting down, walking, and lifting things.

This article explores the benefits of squats, how they impact the knees, and factors to consider when programming this exercise.

Are Squats Bad For Your Knees?

The idea that squats are bad for your knees is regularly misunderstood. If squats are programmed appropriately and done with good form, they can potentially minimize knee pain and injury risk.

There are many squats benefits for all individuals, including improvements in posture, balance, core, balance, bone density, and stability. They are also beneficial for multiple populations, including elite athletes, functional athletes, and elderly individuals.

Squats Build Strength

Squats can help build lower body muscles and strength, which can help with overall life and athletic performance. Furthermore, there are multiple types of squat variations. Each requires a different muscle pattern activation, which can alter which muscles benefit most. This allows for squat variation in exercise programming, getting many different benefits.

The muscle activation rate of the quadriceps during the barbell squat during the ascending (lifting) phase is 78%–110%. The activation rate for the glutes during the barbell squat is 55%. Therefore, performing the squat exercise is great for muscle development. This is important for anyone who wants to improve strength and hypertrophy in the quadriceps or glute muscles. 

Increasing strength has been shown to positively impact sprint performance for athletes. The squat is one of the most beneficial exercises for training and assessing overall lower body strength. Therefore, athletes should incorporate squats into their workout routine to help their general sports performance. 

Furthermore, squats are low-impact, so they can be feasible for various levels of individuals to help build strength. Many elderly or untrained individuals may perform bodyweight squats due to lower beginning levels of strength. 

Bodyweight exercises can enhance performance, especially with lower-body exercises, due to improvements in strength and agility. These exercises have also been shown to increase overall muscle strength in overweight and obese populations. Therefore, untrained and/or elderly individuals can still get large benefits from squats.

Squats Benefit Activities Of Daily Living

Many people who struggle with activities of daily living, or ADLs, have poor muscle mass, muscle strength, and daily functional performance. ADLs are motions that we do every day that are essential for self-sufficient living, such as sitting down or walking. Squats are an especially great exercise to enhance ADLs because they involve large muscle groups.

The first adaptations to any skeletal muscle exercise, such as resistance training, are strength gains through neuromuscular adaptations. Individuals who are new to exercise want to improve strength for everyday living, would benefit from these adaptations. 

Additionally, the primary way to improve ADLs is by improving motor skills, especially for children and people with developmental disabilities. This can be done through resistance training exercises. The motor skill changes also increase strength. Thus, incorporating weight-bearing exercises, such as squats, can be highly beneficial.

Squats Improve Balance And Stability 

Balance has been shown to improve with resistance exercise, and the squat is a resistance exercise. Many variations of squats have been shown to improve balance, mitigating fall risk for older adults. There are various reasons why balance improves, including improved gait ability and muscle strength. 

Squats are also weight-bearing and help to improve bone density. These facets are important in all age populations but become even more important as we age and become frail. Additionally, resistance training has been shown to have a moderate reduction in the fear of falling. This becomes vital for individuals who are at high fall risk and fear falling most, such as the elderly. 

Many elderly individuals will complete the squat exercise with assistance or body weight only. However, they are still performing weight-bearing, large muscle group exercises. Therefore, this does not hinder the positive impact that they get from utilizing the squat exercise.

Why Do My Knees Hurt When I Squat?

Some individuals are at higher risk of knee pain, while others already regularly experience knee pain during the squat exercise. This is due to various reasons.

Improper Form

Improper form is a common issue of knee pain during this exercise. Not only can it lead to knee pain, but it can also cause pain in other areas of the body, such as the lower back.

Additionally, those with lower back pain tend to have altered patterns of movement when doing squat exercises. This study suggests that individuals who experience chronic low back pain may use more hip and knee joint movement. 

This is compared to people who do not have lower back pain. Those individuals without chronic low back pain use more ankle dorsiflexion (bending of the ankle) in their squat form. Focus on form when performing the squat exercise. Push your glutes back towards the wall as if you are taking a seat. Lastly, attempt to keep your chest as upward as possible.

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

One common knee pain condition is patellofemoral pain syndrome. It tends to intensify during weight-bearing activities, such as squats. This can lead to decreased independence and ability to perform activities of daily living. The main treatments for this condition are rest, anti-inflammatories, and physical therapy. 

Additionally, individuals who have patellofemoral pain syndrome may be required to minimize squat activity. In these situations, the squat exercise would be contraindicated. This means you should not perform it unless instructed to by a physician or physical therapist.

Job-Related Knee Stress

One of the most common ways knee pain is caused is through specific job-related stress on the knees. These can be jobs that require high amounts of kneeling and squatting. 

Another type of job that puts high stress on the knees is any job that involves large amounts of walking. This could be factory workers, postal workers, house cleaners, or landscapers. 

Therefore, individuals who experience this should be cautious as to how often they program squats in their regular resistance training routine.

Squat Alternatives For Bad Knees

The goal of alternatives to squats for people with bad knees would be to minimize knee stress during the exercise. Additionally, you want to be able to focus on appropriate muscle engagement. Lastly, you want to ensure you have appropriate progression options to be able to improve and progressively overload over time. 

Two great squat alternatives are the leg press machine and the superset of leg extension and leg curl. 

The leg press exercise relieves pressure from the weight of the squat. The angle of the leg press machine also allows for better foot placement and knee joint angles. Additionally, it is easier to set up and maintain good form for new individuals to resistance training. 

Another squat alternative is performing a superset of hamstring curls and leg extensions. These exercises minimize knee strain by controlling the range of motion, making them great alternatives to the squat exercise if needed.

Conclusion

The myth that squats are bad for your knees is unfounded. There are many benefits to incorporating squats into your regular workout routine. Some of the most important benefits include improvements in independence and activities of daily living, athletic performance, balance, and stability. 

Squats benefit multiple populations, including elite athletes, functional athletes, and elderly individuals. Given their feasibility and high benefits, you can easily incorporate squats into your regular leg workouts.

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