CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 218Lower Extremity Biomechanics and PathologiesKnee injuries and reconstruction techniquesMuscle activation and electromyography studies

A biomechanical comparison of back and front squats in healthy trained individuals

Gullett, Jonathan C, Tillman, Mark D, Gutierrez, Gregory M, Chow, John W·2009·Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
DOI 10.1519/jsc.0b013e31818546bb
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

The strength and stability of the knee plays an integral role in athletics and activities of daily living. A better understanding of knee joint biomechanics while performing variations of the squat would be useful in rehabilitation and exercise prescription. We quantified and compared tibiofemoral joint kinetics as well as muscle activity while executing front and back squats. Because of the inherent change in the position of the center of mass of the bar between the front and back squat lifts, we hypothesized that the back squat would result in increased loads on the knee joint and that the front squat would result in increased knee extensor and decreased back extensor muscle activity. A crossover study design was used. To assess the net force and torque placed on the knee and muscle activation levels, a combination of video and force data, as well as surface electromyographic data, were collected from 15 healthy trained individuals. The back squat resulted in significantly higher compressive forces and knee extensor moments than the front squat. Shear forces at the knee were small in magnitude, posteriorly directed, and did not vary between the squat variations. Although bar position did not influence muscle activity, muscle activation during the ascending phase was significantly greater than during the descending phase. The front squat was as effective as the back squat in terms of overall muscle recruitment, with significantly less compressive forces and extensor moments. The results suggest that front squats may be advantageous compared with back squats for individuals with knee problems such as meniscus tears, and for long-term joint health.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1519/jsc.0b013e31818546bb

Cites

21 of 21 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Gullett, J. C., Tillman, M. D., Gutierrez, G. M., & Chow, J. W.
Affiliations
University of Florida (US)
Corresponding author
Tillman, Mark D
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2009-01
Volume
23
Issue
1
Pages
284-292
ISSN
1064-8011 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1519/jsc.0b013e31818546bb
OpenAlex
W2017063581
Cited by
218
References
21
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 10
FWCI
7.41
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Lower Extremity Biomechanics and Pathologies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Knee injuries and reconstruction techniques
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Muscle activation and electromyography studies
Keywords
front squat, back squat, squat variations, knee biomechanics, knee extensor moment, shear force, muscle activation, muscle recruitment, meniscal tears, joint health
MeSH terms
Adult, Biomechanical Phenomena, Electromyography, Female, Humans, Knee Joint, Male, Muscle Contraction, Posture, Probability, Sensitivity and Specificity, Weight Lifting, Multivariate Analysis, Weight-Bearing, Muscle, Skeletal, Muscle Strength, Resistance Training, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review