What are the causes of knee pain during squats?

[Tony Soprano]

I am a novice and have not been squatting for long or using heavy weights. I'm still getting knee pain after squatting.

The pain is on the inner part of the knee, on both the right and left leg, just below the kneecap.

I see there are many threads on this subject, so it must be a common problem.

Without seeing my form, you wouldn't be able to correct my mistake. But it would be helpful if you could list some of the common causes of this problem.

What typically causes squat knee pain?

[fmerges]

You have to separate the chronic pains from the ones induced by flexibility, form, etc. Could be an interesting thread.

PS: I do suffer from knee pain too, but it's chronic.

[Tony Soprano]

You have to separate the chronic pains from the ones induced by flexibility, form, etc. Could be an interesting thread.

PS: I do suffer from knee pain too, but it's chronic.

Its not chronic pain... I only get this pain when I squat, and it goes away when I take a break from squatting..

I assume there are many common mistakes that lead to pressure on knee... right?

[Carlos Daniel]

You could be shoving your knees out too much, it would make sense biomechanically.

[Grumpypeon]

Knees too far forward + your weight too far forward could do it.

[Tony Soprano]

That's where your medial collateral ligaments are, and they get strained when the knees shift medially (together) when the knees are bent (ie. during squats). There are a bunch of other things that it could be, but that is what would be a sensible starting point

So you think my knees might be too far inwards? Someone else said I might be shoving my knees outwards too much...

Could inner knee pain be caused by either of these?

[aron]

Although my knee pain is chronic, (possible torn muscle, haven't had it checked) I found that it stops hurting whilst squatting if I really focus on sitting back on my hamstrings, making sure my knees don't travel too far forward, and using a pretty wide stance with my knees and hips shoved out wide. It has reduced my flexibility, but it has also stopped knee pain during squats. I also wear a neoprene knee sleeve on the affected knee, to keep it warm and give it a tiny bit of extra rebound.

[RobCor]

Some squat-related causes of knee pain:

Knees too wide
Knees too narrow
Knees too forward
Knee travel during squats
Excessive depth (A2G)

This list can be condensed to one thing: bad form. Happens to all of us.

OP, your knees are likely either too wide or too narrow, as others have suggested. When you squat, make sure that your knees track directly over your foot. When you drive out of the hole, make sure that they do not squeeze inward, as some have a tendency to do.

[Carnivroar]

Poor ankle flexibility for me, which prevents the knees from traveling forward enough. This applies to high bar squats which unfortunately I'll never be able to do because it really fucks with my knees.

[Tony Soprano]

Some squat-related causes of knee pain:

Knees too wide
Knees too narrow
Knees too forward
Knee travel during squats
Excessive depth (A2G)

This list can be condensed to one thing: bad form. Happens to all of us.

OP, your knees are likely either too wide or too narrow, as others have suggested. When you squat, make sure that your knees track directly over your foot. When you drive out of the hole, make sure that they do not squeeze inward, as some have a tendency to do.

Thanks, this was helpful..