Which cue helps prevent knee valgus during squats?

Which cue helps prevent knee valgus during squats?

• A. Keep knees caving inward toward each other.
• B. Focus on arching the back and lifting the chest.
• C. Keep heels off the ground during movement.
• D. Cue knees to track over toes gently and push knees outward in line with toes.

Answer: (D)

Preventing knee valgus comes from cues that reinforce how the knee should move in relation to the foot and hip. Stating that the knees should track over the toes while you gently push them outward in line with the toes keeps the knee in a safe, stable path throughout the squat. This cue encourages the glutes and hip abductors to activate to resist inward collapse, helping maintain proper alignment from the ankle up through the knee to the hip. It also helps the knee move in the same plane as the toes, which distributes load more evenly and reduces valgus stress on the knee. Other cues don’t address knee alignment as effectively. Focusing on arching the back and lifting the chest targets spinal and thoracic position more than knee tracking, which can miss the knee’s inward collapse issue. Keeping the heels off the ground destabilizes the setup and can worsen knee and ankle alignment problems. Telling someone to let the knees cave inward describes the problem rather than preventing it.

Preventing knee valgus comes from cues that reinforce how the knee should move in relation to the foot and hip. Stating that the knees should track over the toes while you gently push them outward in line with the toes keeps the knee in a safe, stable path throughout the squat. This cue encourages the glutes and hip abductors to activate to resist inward collapse, helping maintain proper alignment from the ankle up through the knee to the hip. It also helps the knee move in the same plane as the toes, which distributes load more evenly and reduces valgus stress on the knee.

Other cues don’t address knee alignment as effectively. Focusing on arching the back and lifting the chest targets spinal and thoracic position more than knee tracking, which can miss the knee’s inward collapse issue. Keeping the heels off the ground destabilizes the setup and can worsen knee and ankle alignment problems. Telling someone to let the knees cave inward describes the problem rather than preventing it.