Foot Turnout and Knee Alignment Affect the Transverse Plane Hip Moment in Barbell Squats

Krylova, D, Edgar, PL, and Chiu, LZF. Foot turnout and knee alignment affect the transverse plane hip moment in barbell squats. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2026—Barbell squats require a hip lateral rotator net joint moment (NJM); however, the mechanism for this transverse plane moment has not been identified. Orthographic projections indicate that the ground reaction force (GRF) may have a moment arm for medially rotating the thigh, which would be opposed by a hip lateral rotator NJM. This moment arm appears to be dependent on foot turnout and knee alignment. To investigate how these factors affect the hip transverse plane NJM, men ( n = 12) and women ( n = 12) performed barbell squats with low and high foot turnout, using both neutral and medial knee alignments in a motion capture laboratory. Low foot turnout had a larger hip lateral rotator NJM than high foot turnout squats with neutral knee alignment ( p < 0.001). Medial knee alignment increased hip lateral rotator NJM, which was largest for high foot turnout squats with medial knee alignment ( p < 0.001). Transverse plane moment arm for the GRF was different between squat variations ( p < 0.006), with differences paralleling the hip lateral rotator NJM. The relative orientations of the foot and thigh affect hip lateral rotator NJM, which may be explained by the increase in the GRF moment arm relative to the hip joint in the transverse plane.