This is very common to hear after someone has been dealing with knee pain or has had knee surgery. When we work with athletes and clients at Move Strong Physical Therapy inside of Cressey Sports Performance in Hudson, MA, we don’t just work on soft tissue, mobility, strength, etc, but also educating our people on good movement quality as well as proper positioning with various movements.

There is a big misconception in the public as well as in the physical therapy and strength and conditioning worlds that the knees shouldn’t be allowed to pass over the toes. Times are a changing, but it is still common to hear this.

There has been a fear impressed upon people that the knees shouldn’t go over the toes, whether in daily life, sport or in the gym.

Try walking down the stairs in your house without letting your knees go over your toes. Try being athletic and running, cutting, jumping, etc. without letting your knees go over your toes. Watch any sporting event like basketball, lacrosse, football and these athletes are having their knees go over their toes and they are able to perform their respective sport at a high level.

When exercising, try squatting without letting your knees go over your toes. You may be able to squat, but it may not look pretty.

Yes, Your Knees CAN Go Over Your Toes

The moral of this story is that it is perfectly fine to let your knees go over your toes. If anything, it is good for the health of your joints and your muscles to allow for this to happen. It is also imperative when producing and absorbing force when jumping, cutting and landing. Allowing the knee to go over the toes allows for the whole body to delegate that stress vs concentrating it on 1-2 areas.

Obviously, in certain circumstances, when someone is dealing with an injury or coming back from an injury and performing movements with the knees going over the toes AND this is intensifying their symptoms, then don’t try to force a square peg into a round hole and exacerbate it.

But, for the most part, daily life, movements in the gym, and athletic maneuvers can and should be performed with the knees going over the toes.These movements include:

• Single Leg Squats/Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats
• Forward Step Downs
• Jumping
• Acceleration and Deceleration
• Cutting/Change of Direction

Single Leg Squats/Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats

Forward Step Downs

Jumping

Acceleration and Deceleration

Cutting/Change of Direction

In Closing: Your Knees CAN Over Your Toes

The drills and movements mentioned above are just a few examples of having the knees go over the toes and why it is imperative for daily life functions as well as movements in the gym or on the court/field.

If you are recovering from or currently dealing with a knee injury or knee pain, we help countless clients and athletes get back to doing what they love. We are here to help. Click HERE to take that first step.