The relationship between the deep squat movement and the hip, knee and ankle range of motion and muscle strength.
Yasuhiro Endo, Masashi Miura, Masaaki Sakamoto
PMID 32581431WHAT IT FOUND
In nine healthy men, deep squat depth correlated with joint range of motion but not with hip or knee muscle strength.
Limited ankle dorsiflexion on one side affected knee and hip angles on both sides.
Key findings
01Knee extension and hip flexion muscle strength showed no correlation with joint angles at maximum squat depth.
02Range of motion of ankle dorsiflexion and knee flexion correlated with contralateral joint angles during the squat.
03Average ankle dorsiflexion during the deep squat was 23.4 to 25.9 degrees, while hip and knee flexion averaged approximately 124 to 125 degrees.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was very small (n=9) and consisted only of healthy young males, limiting generalizability. Motion analysis was two-dimensional, so movements in the horizontal and frontal planes were not fully captured. Ankle dorsiflexor muscle strength was not measured, despite its known relevance to knee displacement. The study was cross-sectional and correlational, so it cannot establish causation between range of motion and squat depth.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest associated with this manuscript.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that strengthening hip or knee muscles will improve deep squat depth based on this paper. The study found no correlation between muscle strength and squat joint angles, suggesting mobility and mechanical coupling are the primary drivers of the movement pattern in this context.