Tip Prevent Knee Injuries With Proper Tracking Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip Prevent Knee Injuries With Proper Tracking For squats and lunges pay attention to your pinky toe Really Here' s why by Dr John Rusin April 29, 2016April 5, 2021 Tags It Hurts Fix It, Tips, Training Most lifters assume the knee is highly injurious. There is some truth to this joint being more vulnerable than others due to its anatomical properties and orientation relative to the ankle and hip complexes. But there's more to the story. First, the structure of the knee joint is very immobile by nature. It's a hinge joint with only two true degrees of freedom, meaning it only moves into flexion and extension. Less relative motion from the knee in combination with poor gross movement through joints that are supposed to be highly mobile put undue stress over non-contractile tissues like ligaments and cartilage. This kink in the kinetic chain is most notable for lifters in quad-dominant movements like squat and lunge variations. While global instability of the knee joint may be a chicken-or-the-egg argument with the co-morbid factors like stiff and immobile joints above and below the level of the knee, many chronic natured injuries also become symptomatic over the front side of the knee at the patella. Increased tone and tightness through the quads can increase compressional and shear forces through the kneecap, causing increased rates of patella-femoral friction and irritation. Functionally shortened and stiff quads in combination with poor patellar movement is exacerbated with poor squat mechanics such as anteriorly drifting knees and valgus drop, and also in lunge-type movements when the knee joint is forced into terminal flexion. If this sounds like a pretty big problem that most lifters need to address, it is. Pay attention, this simple cue below can clean up your movement and give those pissed-off knees just enough of a break to recover for good. Prevent It Pay attention to knee tracking. There are loads of different lower body movements that involve both the squat and lunge variations. Though each movement is unique and has many important factors to execute crisp, clean reps, starting off with an appreciation for where your knee should be positioned relative to your foot can clean up even the most pitiful form pretty quickly. When reaching the bottom position for both the squat and lunge, the patella should be tracking over the lateral aspect of the foot. Some coaches teach these movements with the knee directly over the midline of the foot, but I've seen this cue fall apart in terms of mechanics of motion. By targeting the midline of your kneecap to track directly over your pinkie toe, the glutes and hamstrings are able to be targeted with just enough torque and spiral tension loading that the unwanted valgus collapse and anterior knee translation is minimized almost automatically. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training The Best Workout for YOUR Body Are you a non-responder or a super-responder to training? Act like a scientist and build workouts unique to your physiology. Here's how. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting & Strength, Training Dean Graddon December 29 Training Bustin Ass 101 If you think you're way beyond this basic advice, think again. Warning: Not for snowflakes. Motivation, Powerlifting & Strength, Training Dave Tate November 21 Training Tip Neural Charge Barbell Exercises Due to its unique explosive loading methods, Neural Charge Training impacts all levels of neuromuscular function. Here's are 6 examples using a bar. Athletic Performance, Exercise Coaching, Powerlifting & Strength, Tips Christian Thibaudeau May 21 Training The Two Best Exercises You ve Never Tried These brand new exercises will hit your lats, strengthen your shoulder girdle, and give you a great set of abs. Abs, Back, Shoulders, Training Max Shank August 14