Squat Help - Hips Shifting Laterally

[Nate097]

As you can see in the videos below (it's worse on heavier sets) my hips shift slightly to the left towards the bottom of the lift.

A little bit of background: I broke my left ankle about 4-5 years ago and haven't regained complete flexibility. I also had a bad fall which left a tennis ball sized lump on my right glute - a doctor has told me that it's scarring on the muscle. I have no feeling in the area.

I think it started out as a flexibility issue, but since I haven't addressed it, it's become a serious muscle imbalance. My right leg is noticeably larger than the left (although this is improving) and my left spinal erector is noticeably larger than the right.

Any fixes/suggestions about this problem would be more than appreciated. General critiques are also welcome.

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I'm fairly sure the bar is centered when I unrack, but I'm afraid it may have a tendency to shift mid-squat.

Thanks for your help!

[Mark Rippetoe]

They asymmetry is not that bad, and the hip injury adequately explains it. You'll need to get that addressed by a therapist. The angle is bad, but it sure looks like most of your squats are high. The injury may explain that too, but I prefer simpler explanations, such as your not squatting deep enough. Get your knees out more using a very slightly narrower stance, and bot problems may go away. But I doubt it, and you need to get your hip evaluated.

[Polynomial]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that in this case, squat shoes might be of particular importance.

[Nate097]

Thanks for the quick reply. I was planning to see a physiotherapist in the new year, and you just confimed the need.

When I saw the video I realized I am not getting as deep as I'd like, but I really do have a hard time getting any lower. A narrower stance does help with depth (although I feel like I lose some power from the hips) so I will give that a serious effort.

Thanks again for your advice and for your books which have been an invaluable resource.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The shoes would help, yes. But I get so damn tired of pointing it out that I just didn't this time, okay?

[Nate097]

I'm already on the shoes. That was one of the first things that jumped out at me when I saw the video.

[Kazzin]

To save making a new thread:

My left erector is also much larger than the right one. What might cause this, and beyond aesthetics should I be concerned?

I have significant leg length inequality, and have shimmed the shorter leg during squats as per your advice. However, the inequality stems from a shorter femur (and an inability to 'lock' one knee), and I feel like a shim is only an adequate solution when it is the tibia that is shorter.

Obviously then in response to my "what my cause this?" question, the LLI is the obvious answer in my case, but more specifically how would this play on equal load distributions between the erectors, and what else can I do to even the load?

[Mark Rippetoe]

A muscle size asymmetry is the normal response to a skeletal/structural asymmetry. The shim is all you can do, but a short femur will have some uncorrectable hip mechanics implications. Since there's nothing you can do about that, I'd just train with the shim.