A Super Simple Way to Modify Squats, Lunges and Step ups When People Have Knee Pain

By djpope

February 3, 2019

Crossfit, injury, Knee, knee pain, lunges, modification, modify, olympic weightlifting, pain, patellafemoral pain syndrome, patellar tendinitis, powerlifting, squats, step-ups

Knee pain can really put a damper on training.  Knee pain is commonly cited as one of the 3 most common forms of injuries with recreational fitness enthusiasts.  It’s also very common in weightlifting, powerlifting and CrossFit (TM).  If you’ve ever dealt with knee pain you’ll know that exercises like squats, lunges and step-ups can be tricky.

We know in our medical literature that these conditions (patellofemoral pain syndrome) tend to sick around unless we do some form of strengthening for the hip and knee.  We also know that many forms of knee pain tend to stick around or get worse if we don’t do a good job of modifying our training.

How to Modify Squats, Lunges and Step-ups When Athletes Have Knee Pain

Fortunately for us, modifying training for knee pain isn’t very difficult when we start to understand basic principles that can either increase or decrease stress within the knee when training.  Check out the video below to get a better idea of what I’m talking about:

If you enjoyed this short clip then I wanted to let you know it’s part of a much longer webinar series included with subscription into my Fitness Pain Free Insiders Online Mentoring Program:

“Essential Coaches Series – What Every Coach Needs to Know About Pain and Injury”

I created this series because coaches and personal trainers everywhere are working with athletes in pain every day of the week.  This series will tell you exactly what to do (and what not to do) with these athletes so they can continue working towards their goals and prevent injuries in the long haul.

  • 7 Reasons Why Athletes Get Hurt in the Gym and What to do About It
  • Evidence Based Guide to Mobility Prescription
  • What is Pain and What You Need to Know When Dealing with Athletes in Pain
  • How to Modify Exercises for Athletes with Knee, Lower Back, Shoulder and Hip Pain
  • Plus 30+ hours of webinars about all things fitness and rehabilitation

Click HERE to Learn More About Fitness Pain Free Online Mentoring Program

Knee pain is pretty sweet,

Dan Pope DPT, OCS, CSCS, CF L1