I'm 40, I've had two knee surgeries, and have genetically terrible knees. Squatting incorrectly made them hurt, but I went to see a sports PT and he taught me how to squat correctly (I was overloading my quads and not using my posterior chain like...at all - a proper low-bar squat with the glutes engaged was a total gamechanger), and not only did it fix my knee pain in squats, it fixed my knee pain in general. I went from being functionally crippled in my 20s to competing as an amateur powerlifter and training Brazilian jiujitsu in my late 30s, and I absolutely attribute the foundation of that to squatting and deadlifting.
In my personal experience, as a now more seasoned lifter, most people have knee pain in squats because they load the quads and arrest the squat early with the quads rather than hitting full depth. Once your hip crease is below the top of your kneecap, your quads are no longer bearing the load! If you're stopping the lift prior to that, then you're applying a ton of torque to the knee directly with the quad, rather than letting the much more robust posterior chain absorb the energy of the descent.
If you haven't tried squatting low-bar, you might give it a go - it makes it much easier to move with the posterior chain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs_Ej32IYgo is my single favorite squat video on the internet. Lots of really good info in it.
But, if you don't see improvement, I highly recommend seeing someone who can diagnose and correct how you move.
How are you squatting? Technique is really important. I recommend watching some videos by Mark Rippetoe [1], and also filming your squats to review them. The low-bar back squat is a hip-dominant exercise, and when done properly should not put undue stress on the knees. [2]
I myself had _terrible_ knee pain from squatting. Then my knee started randomly buckling when I would walk.
So I started filming myself. I also used TUBOW [3] to figure out that my knees were drifting far too forward. I corrected my technique accordingly, and started engaging the hips properly. My knee pain went away and I've been pain-free ever since.
- [1] Learn to Squat, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhoikoUEI8U
- [2] Squats and Your Knees, https://startingstrength.com/article/squats-and-your-knees
- [3] Using the TUBOW with Mark Rippetoe, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P_w6dpDC2I
What sort of range of motion are you using? Obviously consulting a physio/exercise physiologist may be helpful, but you may have less pain if you squat to just below parallel. Or other squat variants may be better for you, e.g. front squats (or zombie squats), box squats. Slant board squats are also very good. You could also look at pin squats as it deloads the weight from your body at a very precise depth so no risk of going too deep with the weight and causing pain
Check out "knees over toes guy", he has a wealth of good free information on knee recovery.
I'm 30 and I squat pain free twice per week despite 3 knee dislocations. Good luck friend
There might be several reasons for this, poor technique and insufficient time for adaptation are probably the most common ones. Though previous injury is certainly another possibility. In general, squats are good for your knees, and will protect your knees from injury. Not only will they strengthen the structures of and around the knees, they will also (literally) lubricate the joints.
It takes time to develop a good squat. Many people seem to be limited by their range of motion, especially in the ankles, at least to start off with.
I'm 63 and have to stay completely away from cheese or the arthritis in my left knee gets so bad I cannot operate the clutch in an manual-transmission car without doing what feels like permanent damage to the knee.
I used Starting Strength to learn how to squat roughly 12 years ago, do squats regularly and have never injured myself even temporarily doing squats although I use much less weight than grandparent does.
Knee pain can be from a variety of causes, some of which have to do with the actual joint and some of which don't. For example, medial knee pain can be, to name two options, an MCL tear or just an inflammation of the bursal sac. I had the latter when getting back into exercise after a long break (I'm now 40), and was really worried I had busted my knees. In the end, switching to front squats for a bit and working on mobility as well as paying attention to posture when lifting helped with it.
Point being, if you don't know what's causing your knee pain, it's probably a good idea to figure it out first, then think about what could help.
I'm in my early 40s and have been squatting for ~20yrs. I've just started to notice a bit of a twinge in my knees when squatting, particularly if I'm getting close to my 1RM. Knee straps seem to alleviate it, though I'm not particularly keen on using them. I think I likely need to work a bit more on stability and flexibility, both of which are diminishing faster than raw strength.
This is why god invented physical therapists! Had minor knee pain a couple years ago, saw doctor for X-rays just as sanity check, and he referred me to a physical therapist. Got a knee strengthening routine, followed it, and all was good after a month or two.
My knee pain improves when I squat. For context, my legs are different lengths, and I've had a left medial meniscectomy in the shorter leg. I'm in my late twenties, and the pain is bilateral.
I had the same. In my late 30's even kneeling hurt.
That goes away once the muscles gain strength.
I've had a personal trainer for years now and in my early 40s I can squat merrily with no pain. Also my neck and back pain have vanished, along with headaches I used to get that would start around the back of my neck and move over my head.
Strength training really is amazing. My only regret is 20 years as an adult not doing it.
My wife taking every excuse to touch my leg muscles is just an added bonus!
How did you strengthen them in that scenario? We may be a little different as I've had surgery in both knees(ACL and MCL). I'm interested in doing leg work, but physically can't squat...at least yet.
I started by holding onto a stair bannister and squatting slooowly until I could actually get the full range of motion, then unsupported air squats, then I moved to an empty barbell. If you can't go straight to a barbell, or you have back/spine issues, belt squats are a great way to increase your workload as your capacity increases.
With those surgeries, starting under the supervision of a PT is a great idea, though. They'll know how to build you up safely.
In my personal experience, as a now more seasoned lifter, most people have knee pain in squats because they load the quads and arrest the squat early with the quads rather than hitting full depth. Once your hip crease is below the top of your kneecap, your quads are no longer bearing the load! If you're stopping the lift prior to that, then you're applying a ton of torque to the knee directly with the quad, rather than letting the much more robust posterior chain absorb the energy of the descent.
If you haven't tried squatting low-bar, you might give it a go - it makes it much easier to move with the posterior chain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs_Ej32IYgo is my single favorite squat video on the internet. Lots of really good info in it.
But, if you don't see improvement, I highly recommend seeing someone who can diagnose and correct how you move.