50+ Lifestyles

Are Squats Bad for Knees?

By Logan Anderson, BA, CPT, CIFT
Owner of All Strong Fitness LLC

“My doctor told me I shouldn’t squat because it’s bad for my knees.” This is something that often gets said to me by many of the individuals that I work with. Unfortunately, this narrative often leads people to discontinue being physically active, and lead to worse problems in both knees, and potentially the rest of their body. Let’s look at this simple question, and try to break it down.

The first thing I want us to consider is why somebody would say squatting is bad for your knees. Usually, people say this, because “when I squat, it hurts my knees.” This absolutely could be true, but isn’t addressing the real issue. Squatting, in its nature, isn’t an inherently dangerous movement. In fact, think about every time you get up out of a chair and sit back down. That is squatting. It’s a movement we need to do every single day in our daily lives. The main problem with squatting, is that when people start to do it, they usually do it all too wrong. They may go into the gym on their first day and do a bunch of squats on day one, even though they may have been sedentary for a long time. This is a recipe for disaster when it comes to pain, simply because your body isn’t fully adapted to the movement pattern. Easing yourself into any type of exercise routine is perhaps one of the only ways to truly mitigate any potential injury that may occur.

Another reason, squatting usually causes knee pain, is because people are trying to do squats that aren’t at their current fitness level. For example, some of the seniors that I work with are able to do a full squat without any support, plus an added weight held across the chest. I would never then have somebody who can barely get out of a chair and try to do the same squatting movement. It’s too much for them at that time, and could lead to some issues when addressing pain. As we can see, the movement and self usually isn’t an issue, but rather the way we apply the movement into our daily lives and routines.

If you are just starting a fitness routine for the first time in years, and thinking about adding some squads, don’t be scared. Try some squats by simply starting with some sit to stands. Practice getting up out of a chair, and sitting back down slowly 10 times. Rest one minute, and repeat again. If this is easy, try to find a chair that is lower and if it’s too hard, add some pillows to the chair to boost yourself up. Don’t be afraid of squats! Be afraid of what not doing squats will do to your body.

Logan Anderson is the owner of All Strong Fitness LLC. For more information, please visit allstrongfitness.org.