Knee Pain During Squats? Here's How We Can Help
You’re in the middle of a workout, feeling good, and then—bam. A sharp pain flares up in your knee during squats. It’s enough to make you stop, question what just happened, and wonder whether you should push through or call it a day.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Acute knee pain during squats is something we see all the time—and the good news? We know exactly how to help you move past it, fast.
At our clinic, we specialize in helping active people (yes, especially CrossFit athletes) get back to pain-free training. If squatting is suddenly causing pain, you don’t need to guess your way through it. Let’s walk you through how we help solve this problem.
First, What’s Actually Going On With Your Knee?
An acute flare-up of knee pain during squatting usually points to one of three things:
A movement breakdown in your squat mechanics
A mobility restriction (often in the ankles or hips)
A past injury that never fully resolved
Knee pain is often the symptom, not the source. That’s why our first job is to figure out why the pain is happening in the first place. Our detailed movement assessment looks at everything from joint mobility and muscle activation to squat depth, stance, and control. We’re not just treating a knee—we’re looking at the full picture.
Here’s How We Fix It
Step 1: Calm the Pain Down
The first thing we do is address the pain itself. That might mean hands-on work, mobility techniques, or specific exercises to reduce irritation and allow the knee to settle. If it’s inflamed, we’ll help bring that down and protect the area without shutting down your training entirely.
Step 2: Assess the Root Cause
We take a close look at your squat mechanics, mobility, and strength. Many times, a flare-up comes from:
Knees caving inward
Lack of ankle or hip mobility
Quad dominance and underactive glutes
Core instability
Once we find the weak link, we build your plan around correcting it.
Step 3: Build a Custom Game Plan
No cookie-cutter rehab here. Based on your assessment, we’ll design a plan tailored to your body and your training goals. That plan may include:
Joint-specific mobility drills
Strength work for the glutes, hips, and core
Controlled squat progressions
Modifications so you can stay active without aggravating your knee
And if you’re still training for something big? We’ll help you keep progressing without derailing your prep.
Step 4: Educate and Prevent
You’ll walk away understanding why this happened—and more importantly, how to prevent it from happening again. We’ll teach you how to warm up properly, modify movements when needed, and train smarter, not just harder.
Step 5: Support All the Way Through
We don’t disappear after one session. We’ll check in, adjust your plan as needed, and guide you back to full strength with confidence. Our goal isn’t just to fix your knee—it’s to help you move and train better than before.
Don’t "Wait and See"—Let’s Fix It Together
Knee pain during squats isn’t something you have to tough out or ignore. If your knee flared up mid-session, now’s the time to get it looked at. The earlier we address it, the faster you can get back to doing what you love—without second-guessing every rep.
