The squat…
Love it or hate it you are going to have to do it on a daily basis. Whether it’s part of your workout routine, getting into your car or sitting up from the dinner table the squat is truly a functional movement.
What if the way you were squatting on a daily basis was contributing to nagging low back, hip or even knee pain? Most patients enter our office with the goal of getting out of pain. But when there is no clear mechanism of injury to cause their symptoms, we have to start looking at the way they move to perform everyday tasks. This is why an exam that includes assessing functional movement is so important. If we can identify limitations that are contributing to altered movement patterns, we can then design a program to enhance the way someone moves thus reducing pain.
When you perform movement evaluations as often as our doctors do you start to notice common patterns. Based on the most common faults or limitations we see with the squat pattern we wanted to share our top 3 exercises to help our readers feel better and move better!
Ankle Mobility
Our first exercise is to improve the range of motion at the ankle, specifically dorsiflexion. This exercise is great because all you really need is a wall. Place the foot about 4-5 inches away from the wall, keep the foot flat and try and bring the knee toward the wall. You shouldn’t experience any pain in the front part of the ankle. Hold for 1-2 seconds and perform 10 repetitions.
2. Hip Control
Our second exercise is to improve the ability of our hips to control our pelvis. A common fault in the squat is when the knees start to cave in. This can be problematic because it can not only irritate the hips and knees but it can also be a predictor of knee injuries in the future. To perform, grab a band and wrap it around the legs as shown below. Once the band is situated step side to side with the toes forward. Make sure you control the band. Try 2 sets of 10 in each direction.
3. Leg Torque
Our third exercise is all about creating tension at our feet and hips to allow our joints line up appropriately. Imagine digging your feet into the sand without actually rotating the feet out. Creating this torque, you should feel the arch at the bottom of the foot start to engage, the knees rotate out and the muscles in the hip working. Try and hold for 2-5 seconds and repeat 10 times.
For more information, including videos on how to perform the exercises mentioned above, head over to our YouTube video by clicking the hyperlink.