Finding the Best Squat Stance for Performance, Hip and Lower Back Health

Proper squatting forms the basis of any performance system and is essential to meaningful function as an athlete and human.  This includes all populations including the elderly (might need to scale though, bro).  As an athlete and as a practitioner who treats fellow CrossFitters frequently, one of the things I love is the emphasis on the squat pattern. But with high squatting volume in any performance system we need to ensure it’s reproducible and leading to potential injury.

I understand and share the pride that comes with the ability to squat deep while lifting some serious weight.  However, many athletes are unable to squat deep with load due to hip or low back pain.  Femoral-acetabular impingement is often the culprit here, where the neck of the femur is literally jamming into the acetabulum of the pelvis. Dan goes into much greater detail in one of his prior posts on FAI. These same biomechanics also cause butt winking where there is a reversal of the lumbar spine causing a loss of segmental control.  This spinal shear under load is dangerous and never okay – a butt wink is an immediate fault and nobody gets a pass.  Altering squat width is a strong start to fixing these train wrecks.

So how do we determine best squat width for depth and performance (and to help prevent hip pain and butt winking)?  “Shoulder width” is often used however that differs for each individual.  Many times we just start with a random width and that becomes the default.  However, factors such as motor control of the entire system (particularly the over-extended spine), hip and ankle mobility, and individual structural differences in acetabulum and femur alignment all influence squat width and depth.

The sooner the femur runs into the pelvis, the less depth you’ll achieve …read more

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