This is something that we commonly see at Move Strong Physical Therapy inside of Cressey Sports Performance in Hudson, MA. We typically see this acutely after an injury as the body’s way of unloading the injured side and decreasing the amount of weight going through an injured limb.

We also see it sub-acutely or chronically. If an athlete or client didn’t fully complete their rehab after an injury from months or years prior, their body still has a memory and remembers that previous injury. So when someone goes to do a dynamic movement like a squat, this movement program is still in the brain and they can subconsciously shift their weight to one side.

This is something we definitely want to address because typically, once an athlete adds load to a squat, this hip shift will continue and will be magnified once loading is involved.

For the brevity of this blog post, athletes and clients will also shift their weight if they have mobility limitations at the ankles or hips as another way to compensate, but for today, we will just discuss ways to address a hip shift with no mobility limitations.

Hip shifts can occur at the very start of the squat or it can be seen the lower an athlete goes into the squatting movement.

So the million-dollar question is, what do we do? What we don’t do is just load up the squat and hope for the best.

There are various drills that any client or athlete can perform in their warm-up or superset into their workout to address any types of weight shifts.

Squats with Lateral RNT

Squats with Lateral RNT consist of a bodyweight squat with a band around the weight as shown in the video. The band should be positioned so it is pulling the athlete towards the side that the shift occurs to. This may see counter-intuitive in that the band is going to reinforce the athlete shifting their weight.

On the contrary. We instruct the athlete or client who is squatting to consciously think of not allowing the band to pull them towards that side. In turn, they keep their weight more evenly distributed vs on the side that they are shifting away from.

This movement can be performed with just bodyweight if there is a hip shift when just doing a bodyweight squat or it can be performed with a kettlebell or dumbbell if a shift is seen once loaded. We do not perform it once an athlete is performing with working sets. We’d advise to keep this in a warm-up or between squat sets as a filler.

Squat with Offset Tennis Ball

Another option that we like to utilize when we see a weight shift is placing a tennis ball under the side that the client is shifting towards. This has a similar effect as the Lateral RNT squat in that it forces the athlete to keep more weight on the side they are shifting away from.

We instruct the athlete to not crush the tennis ball. If they do, they will get immediate feedback to keep more weight through the non-tennis ball side and in turn, help address the hip shift during squats.

Squat with Band Around Knees

This option is commonly seen in the physical therapy world when someone has knee pain with squats. A circular resistance band is placed around the knees to try to promote increased glute activation. For a hip shift with squatting, we have seen this be effective with some clients to help clean up a shift from one side back to a more even position.

Squat with Offset Weight Plate

If you click the arrow to the right on the previous video, there is also an option to perform with your foot on a weight plate or bumper plate. This is a similar technique to the previously mentioned drill with the tennis ball except the weight plate isn’t as pliable as the tennis ball and doesn’t provide as much feedback when shifting one’s weight. The weight plate does shift the body and force more weight to go through the side that isn’t on the weight plate.

If you are having difficulty addressing a weight shift in your squats, try performing the:

• Squats with Lateral RNT

• Squat with Offset Tennis Ball

• Squat with Band Around Knees

• Squat with Offset Weight Plate

Try to see if that helps to improve your weight shift.

If you have more questions about hip shifts during squats, our Massachusetts physical therapists are here to help.

We work with athletes and clients from all sports as well as active adults. If you are dealing with some type of injury or ache/pain, we are here to help. Take that first step to taking control of your body and health, click HERE.