knee braces, pain when squatting

[rsm688]

i have had knee pain and discomfort the past year or so from all the running i do (cross country, soccer, track) and squats make my knees hurt. would wearing those elastic knee braces help protect my knees when squatting? any other tips to help keep the pain away. oh and btw i do ass to grass squats (all the way to the floor) so its not from stupidity stopping at parallel


thanks,
spencer

[djnorris]

Knee wraps are the way to go. I like the redline wraps. They've lasted me 2yrs. Remember to wrap them outwards.

[Khryz]

9 times out of 10, even if you are squatting ATG, your form is still incorrect. Even if you think it's perfect, it's not if you have joint issues. Find articles about the techniques, find videos, and compare. If you can't, post your squatting technique and I'll see if there's anything wrong. For example, wide or narrow stance? Feet pointed straight forward or out? Do you sit back as far as possible while descending or just drop straight down? Is your weight shifted mostly on your heels? Do your glutes and hamstrings get sore after squatting or just/mostly your quads? Do your knees buckle inward when heavy squatting? Etc ..

[crawford62]

If you have pain when squatting, don't squat. But, if you are dead set on squatting, I've heard a lot of good things about rehbands.
You can get them here: http://www.jackalsgym.com/aspx/str_rehband.aspx

[Tomos]

i have had knee pain and discomfort the past year or so from all the running i do (cross country, soccer, track) and squats make my knees hurt. would wearing those elastic knee braces help protect my knees when squatting? any other tips to help keep the pain away. oh and btw i do ass to grass squats (all the way to the floor) so its not from stupidity stopping at parallel


thanks,
spencer

They will but also keep in mind that going ATG is not the end of a proper squat and many people will cripple themselves by going down to fast and or bouncing their hams off of their calves and dislocating the knee on each rep.

Repetition of this bouncing and dislocating of the knee on each rep will eventualy lead to long term injury.

[djnorris]

If you have pain when squatting, don't squat. But, if you are dead set on squatting, I've heard a lot of good things about rehbands.
You can get them here: http://www.jackalsgym.com/aspx/str_rehband.aspx

Are you kidding? You couldn't ever get those tight enough to save your knees while squatting. Those look like they are only good for recovery.

[Khryz]

Are you kidding? You couldn't ever get those tight enough to save your knees while squatting. Those look like they are only good for recovery.

Those are fine when squatting. You shouldn't need anything tighter than a compression sleeve if you want to keep your knees warm while squatting. Wrapping them to the point where they cut off circulation is going to help you with the squat, acting as the same mechanism as a squat suit. If a weight can't be squatting without wraps, it's too heavy. Something like a compression sleeve will aid in the stability of the knee, maintaining warmth, etc.

Wraps aren't going to save his knees, correct form will.

[djnorris]

Those are fine when squatting. You shouldn't need anything tighter than a compression sleeve if you want to keep your knees warm while squatting. Wrapping them to the point where they cut off circulation is going to help you with the squat, acting as the same mechanism as a squat suit. If a weight can't be squatting without wraps, it's too heavy. Something like a compression sleeve will aid in the stability of the knee, maintaining warmth, etc.

Wraps aren't going to save his knees, correct form will.

Go ask someone at the gym (who squats 600+) if that little compression brace is a good idea. Now ask them why they wrap their knees. I can bet you their answer will be "so I don't f*** up my knees". Some people use them to help lift with an injury also. Btw, I'm not arguing about your correct form; that is always important.