Are deep squats really bad for your knees?

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Iya Zorina understands what happens inside the joint during such a strong load.

Often in the gym from coaches or "oldies" you can hear that you need to squat only to the parallel of the hips with the floor. It is believed that in a deep squat, the load on the knees is too high and such a performance is a sure way to damage the ligaments and erase cartilage.

At the same time, scientific data and the example of weightlifters getting up from a deep squat with unrealistic overhead weights suggest the opposite. Let's figure it out.

Do deep squats harm your ligaments

Scientists tested the strength of the knee ligaments in athletes who squatted deep, and those who did this exercise before the hips were parallel to the floor, and found no difference.

What's more, powerlifters have much more stable knees after a hard workout than runners after 10 km and basketball players after an hour's workout.

Competitive strength athletes have stronger ligaments and better joint support than those who have never squatted.

Let's figure out why this is happening. In the depth squat article, Dr. Aaron Horschig, a physical therapist and weightlifting coach, explains what happens inside the knee joint when we squat.

The knee is the junction of two bones: the tibia (lower leg) and the femur (thigh). To prevent their excessive shift relative to each other, the joint has small and very strong ligaments - anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).

If the bones of the thigh and lower leg move strongly and sharply in relation to each other, this can damage the cruciate ligaments.

But while squatting on the knee, other forces also act - compression. First, the femur presses on the tibia, and between them is a cartilaginous lining (meniscus), which reduces bone friction.

Second, the patella or patella is in contact with the femur and presses against it. The more you bend your leg, the more pressure.

These two forces - shear and compression - are inversely proportional to each other. The more you bend your knees in the squat, the higher the pressure and less shift: the tight-fitting kneecap prevents the bones from moving too much relative to each other.

The deep squat protects the knee from excessive shear and cruciate ligament damage.

Research confirms this. The anterior cruciate ligament experiences maximum stress during the first 10 cm of the squat. But the deeper you go, the less load falls on the PKS - at the bottom point it is minimal.

We figured out the shift, but the pressure remained. Could it be bad for the knee joint?

Do deep squats damage cartilage

It is logical to assume that excessive pressure on the knee joint wears out the meniscus and cartilage behind the patella. However, elite weightlifters and powerlifters are no more likely to suffer from osteoarthritis than non-athletic people. But they train every day and lift the bar, many times the weight of their body.

Whether your cartilage will be damaged depends on many factors: genetics, nutritional quality, quantity and type of physical activity.

Exercises performed in the full range, that is, when you bend the limbs as much as possible, on the contrary, helps to protect the joints, and strength training is indicated even for osteoarthritis. They help strengthen muscles, reduce pain and restore mobility.

So, deep squatting has no negative effect on the knee joints. But does it make sense to squat like this if you, of course, do not do weightlifting?

Do deep squats help you build muscle better?

It is difficult to say what depth of the squat puts more stress on the muscles of the hips and buttocks, since science does not give an exact answer.

In two studies, incomplete squats put more stress on the glutes, hamstrings, and calf muscles than deep squats. In another, they did not see any difference between muscle activation in squats at different depths.

Another study showed that when you squat deeply, your glutes are engaged more during the lift than if you do the exercise to the parallel of your hips or higher.

That being said, deep squats actually help build strength and thickness on the front of the thigh faster than doing half the range.

There are two possible explanations for this:

1. Muscles are under stress for longer. More mechanical stress, growth stimulus, strength and hypertrophy.
2. When a muscle is loaded in a stretched position, mechanical stress and growth increases. The deeper you sit, the more the medial and lateral heads of the quadriceps and gluteal muscles will stretch, which means that training will be more effective and muscle growth will be faster.

However, this does not mean that each person needs to squat as deep as the knees are bent. The ideal depth of the squat is different for everyone, and it depends primarily on the ability to follow the correct technique.

How to choose your squat depth

It's simple - squat as deep as you can maintain the correct technique, namely:

• keep your back straight at any point in the exercise and not round your lower back;
• press the heels to the floor and do not tear them off at the bottom of the squat;
• while lifting, do not wrap the knees inward and do not pull them out by the toes.

You can safely squat to any depth as long as these principles are followed. But as soon as the lower back begins to round, and the heels begin to come off the floor, it's time to stop.