female athletes Archives - Physio Room

Knee Pain During Squats? Here’s Why (and How to Fix It)

Taylor Aglio — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 03:40:43 +0000

Knee Pain During Squats? Here’s Why (and How to Fix It)

Are you sick of dealing with knee pain every time you squat?
Maybe you’ve started avoiding squats altogether… or you keep the weight below a certain number, hoping you can “save your knees” for the long term?

Whether you’ve been told to steer clear of squats because of arthritis or you’re an athlete who needs to fix this to stay competitive — this one’s for you. Let’s break down what’s really going on and what immediate, actionable steps you can take today.

Where People Usually Feel Knee Pain

Front of the knee — around or below the kneecap
On top of the knee — at the bottom of the quads
Inside or deep within the joint — near the meniscus or tendon attachments

Short-term rest or reducing load can help calm irritated tissues — that’s valid. But avoiding load for too long stalls progress. Your knees need load to adapt and stay strong. When tissues are challenged, they remodel, strengthen, and become more resilient.
Avoiding load entirely tells your body it no longer needs to maintain that strength — making you more sensitive over time. The key? Finding the right dose of load and movement your knees can handle, then building from there.

The Problem Isn’t the Squat

Here’s the truth:
The squat isn’t bad. Your knees aren’t broken.

All bodies are designed to squat — it’s one of the most fundamental human movements. Pain usually isn’t about a “bad” squat; it’s about how your body manages force through the movement. That can be influenced by:

Your movement patterns
Load management and programming
Coordination and control throughout the lift

And no — this isn’t just about “fixing your form.” The goal is to match the movement to the athlete, not the other way around.

4 Key Factors to Look At

1⃣ Body Positioning

Foot width, weight distribution, lat engagement, and hand placement all change how force travels.
→ Think “balanced tripod foot” and “stay connected to the floor” rather than “knees out” or “sit back.”

2⃣ Bar Placement

A lower bar shifts your center of mass backward, engaging the hips more.
A high bar or front squat loads the quads, increasing knee stress but improving upright mechanics.
→ The “best” setup depends on your anatomy and goal.

3⃣ Descent Pattern

Instead of “sit back,” think “sit down.”
Let the knees travel forward naturally — it keeps tension balanced front to back and helps maintain control.

4⃣ Tension Control

Do you drop to the bottom of the squat?
Does your speed change throughout the rep?
Managing tempo and breathing helps muscles absorb force instead of dumping it into the joints.

Regional Influences to Consider

Hips:
Limited hip flexion or rotation can cause compensations down the chain. Sometimes mobility drills help, but often adjusting your bar position or stance makes the biggest difference.

Ankles:
The ankle isn’t just a hinge — it’s designed to pronate slightly during a squat. Without that motion (or with too much), stress shifts toward the knees.
Try a slight heel lift, maintain midfoot pressure, and keep your big toe grounded for balance.

How to Start Restoring Squat Tolerance

Set up your stance and bar position for your anatomy — not what you saw online.
Find a range of motion and load that’s challenging but tolerable. Mild discomfort is fine; sharp pain is not.
Gradually build range, load, and tempo as symptoms improve.

Takeaway

Knee pain doesn’t mean you have to stop squatting — it just means something in the system needs attention.

By addressing your hips, ankles, and movement control, you can restore load tolerance, reduce pain, and rebuild confidence under the bar.

Strong knees don’t come from avoiding squats — they come from learning to move with your body, not against it.

Written By Dr. Jessie Czarnecki, DPT, OCS, CSCS, USAW-L1, CF-L2 | Physio Room

The post Knee Pain During Squats? Here’s Why (and How to Fix It) appeared first on Physio Room.

Strength & Performance Training for Young Female Athletes

Taylor Aglio — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 21:05:58 +0000

Strength & Performance Training for Young Female Athletes

Picture this: it’s mid-cross-country season, and your young runners are logging miles, tackling hills, and racing hard week after week. Many assume that running alone is enough to keep improving. But as Dr. Stacy Sims highlights in her Next Gen course, strength and performance training isn’t optional—it’s essential. Not only does it boost resilience and power, but it also supports athletes through the natural ups and downs of adolescence.

Performance Decline Is Normal

One of the most important lessons Sims shares is that a dip in performance is completely normal, especially for young female athletes. Growth spurts, hormonal shifts, and the stress of heavy mileage can all cause race times to plateau—or even slow temporarily.

This isn’t a sign that training isn’t working. Instead, it signals that the body is adapting and needs smart support. Rather than increasing mileage, it can be more beneficial for athletes, coaches, and support systems to focus on strength training. Building a solid strength foundation protects tissues, improves mechanics, and allows athletes to come back stronger once their bodies recalibrate (drstacysims.com).

Performance & Resilience Through Strength

Here’s how strength and performance training can help young athletes thrive:

Build Robust Muscles & Joints: Hip thrusts, split squats, planks, and deadlifts protect knees, hips, and the core under high running loads.
Develop Power & Agility: Plyometrics, medicine-ball throws, and Olympic lifts sharpen neuromuscular coordination for race surges and fast finishes.
Boost Confidence & Sustainability: Sims emphasizes celebrating strength over appearance, helping girls stay engaged and view training as empowering.

Quick Guidelines for Coaches & Athletes

Focus on movement quality first.
Train 2–3 times weekly.
Be flexible with hormonal cycles.
Normalize ups and downs in performance.

Strength and performance training for young female athletes isn’t just about improving race times—it’s about building resilient bodies, confident minds, and a lifelong love of sport. By giving these athletes the tools and guidance they need now, we set them up for stronger, healthier, and more sustainable performance both on and off the course.

Ready to Support Your Young Athlete?

If you want to give your runner a customized Strength and Conditioning program designed to build resilience, power, and confidence, schedule a session with Coach Cassie today!

Written By Cassie Santana – PTA, CSCS, NASM | Physio Room

The post Strength & Performance Training for Young Female Athletes appeared first on Physio Room.

181. Rehab & Training Through Injury and Pregnancy | Dr. Jessie Czarnecki

Andrew Fix — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:00:57 +0000

What if rehab wasn’t a step back but a smarter way forward, especially after injury, pregnancy, or both?

Dr. Andrew Fix sits down with Dr. Jessie Czarnecki, physical therapist, weightlifting coach, and fellow clinician at PhysioRoom, for a conversation about strength training through life’s most demanding seasons including injury recovery, pregnancy, and postpartum. Drawing from her own ACL injury and postpartum rehab experience, Jessie shares how her approach challenges outdated advice and fear-based restrictions around lifting, especially for women.

They discuss why strength training should be part of the rehab process, not something to avoid, and how Olympic lifting translates to everyday functional strength. Jessie also shares how she’s helping more clinicians and coaches integrate barbell movements into recovery plans through her Barbell Rehab Weightlifting Certification.

Quotes

“It’s not necessarily the training that is the bad thing. It’s what our bodies are prepared for versus what our bodies are not prepared for.” (12:15 | Dr. Jessie Czarnecki)
“Making sure that how they’re approaching this new changes to their body, that they’re doing it in a way that makes the most sense for their lifestyle, taking into account what their work is like, what their activity is like. Every single person is different, so there’s not one blanket recommendation you can make for nutrition across the board.” (23:50 | Dr. Jessie Czarnecki)
“It’s more than just talking to them and telling them what I know. It’s more about showing them how they can connect these changes to how they currently train and reconnecting with their body, feeling certain muscles in what they’re doing, feeling certain movement patterns and building ownership of their movement with their own body.” (28:42 | Dr. Jessie Czarnecki)
“Being pregnant or postpartum is hard, but being pregnant, postpartum and weak is harder.” (47:45 | Dr. Jessie Czarnecki)

Links

Connect with Dr. Jessie Czarnecki:

https://www.instagram.com/dr.jessie.dpt/?hl=en

https://barbellrehab.com/brw-certification/

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