They can be. But, there are also ways and tools that we can use to help them not be harmful to our knee joints (or at least, as harmful.) Not to mention that there are exercises that we can do to improve the strength of the muscles surrounding our knee joints so that the exercises we do don’t have as much of an impact on them.
Here are links to articles that talks about this in more depth:
- https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19535854/squats-with-resistance-band/
- https://www.verywellfit.com/exercises-for-stronger-hips-and-knees-3120412
More in depth answer:
There has, for a long time, been a debate about the health benefits of squats. Certain people groups, like those with knee injuries or arthritis, can feel pain when they're doing squats. Other people, such as recovery and fitness experts, often brag on the benefits of doing the squat.
Squats have been said to strengthen the knees, which in turn, prevents and helps the recovery of certain knee injuries. Squats have also been said to help with cardiovascular health since they create lean muscle mass, and reduce fat.
Are squats bad for your knees?
It has been said that doing deep squats will place pressure on the knee joints, which will contribute to knee degeneration and pain - this isn't true.
A study on this topic found that doing deep squats doesn't contribute to damage or pain to the knee joints compared to other squat variations. This is due to the fact that the knee displaces the additional tension that the deep squat incurs, making sure that the weight is balanced on both the knee and it's surrounding tissues.
This study also stated that doing the squat would help the knees. When the squat is done correctly, the strengthen the knees. Practicing deep squats is also said to be great for not getting injured.
Benefits of doing squats
Performing the squat was, at one time, a very important part of being a human being. Hunter-gatherers often had to spend quite a bit of time in active resting positions such as the squat.
Sedentary lifestyles though, have a link to chronic illness such as heart disease, while performing active resting positions is linked to improving the mortality rate and cardiovascular health.
This is due to the fact that squats need light muscle contractions.