Primary Media Contact: Bernadette Rensing(443) 440.1995Secondary Media Contact: Erin Meadows(404) 803-2857USING A MIRROR FOR SQUAT EXERCISES: IS THERE A BENEFIT?New study suggests using a mirror has no effect on preferential loading

Newswise — SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — Despite being common practice, performing squat exercises in front of a mirror has no effect on preferential loading, according to a pilot study presented this week at the Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Meeting in Sacramento, Calif.

The double-legged squat is regularly used in exercise and rehabilitation, and it is common to perform these squats in front of a mirror to receive visual feedback on form and positioning. Many people also suggest using a mirror to discourage preferential loading – putting more weight on one leg over the other – during the exercise, but the benefit of this practice is debatable. To address the question of whether or not it is beneficial to perform squats in front of a mirror, researchers from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago recently examined how preferential loading is affected when performing the exercise both with and without a mirror.

“When you speak to personal trainers, bodybuilders, or look on weight lifting websites, there are mixed messages about performing squats in front of a mirror,” says Lead Investigator in the study, Monica Rho, MD; director of Women’s Sports Medicine at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Sports and Spine Rehabilitation Center and assistant professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “The goal of most people who perform double leg squats as part of their exercise routine is to make sure their weight is evenly distributed on each leg. Everyone tries to achieve symmetry because they want to work out each leg equally during the squat. However, there is no data out there that demonstrates whether or not a mirror helps the loading symmetry of a squat, and this study was designed to answer that question.”

Dr. Rho’s team studied five healthy males and five healthy females without a history of hip or pelvic fracture or surgery, current low back or hip pain, hip osteoarthritis, or impaired balance due to a neurologic condition such as stroke or traumatic brain injury. The participants were between the ages of 18 and 50; all were English-speaking and none of the females were pregnant.

Participants were asked to stand with their feet on two different force plates. This tool allowed the researchers to calculate the amount of force a person put on each leg during the squats. They were asked to conduct a series of double legged squats: five in ‘fixed’ position with their feet forward at a fixed distance; five in ‘mixed’ position with their feet at a fixed distance but in a self-selected position; and five in ‘self-selected’ position with their feet at a self-selected distance and position.

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USING A MIRROR FOR SQUAT EXERCISES: IS THERE A BENEFIT? 2

The participants performed squats to a standard chair height of 68.6 centimeters and were able to perform them at their own pace. Half of the participants started by using the mirror and the other half started without the mirror, and then they switched.

Dr. Rho’s team found, when participants were forced to stand with their feet forward at a fixed distance and asked to squat with a mirror in front of them, they tended to shift .56 percent more of their body weight to their dominant leg. When they were asked do the same squat without the mirror, they shifted one percent more of their body weight to their dominant leg. “Comparing the two, essentially showed no difference between squatting with or without a mirror in terms of how evenly participants distributed their weight during the squat,” explains Dr. Rho.

When the participants were allowed to choose their own starting foot position to squat, they tended to shift .82 percent of their body weight towards their non-dominant leg with a mirror and .74 percent without a mirror. But essentially again, this was not considered a statistically significant difference, therefore the presence or absence of a mirror did not seem to alter a person’s ability to distribute their weight evenly during a squat.

“Our findings indicate that, when it comes to equal weight distribution and symmetry of loading each leg during a squat, the mirror doesn’t seem to make a difference,” explains Dr. Rho. “However, this study did not address whether performing squats in front of a mirror facilitates proper form so people don’t hurt their back or knees while squatting. To that end, it is still possible that squatting in front of a mirror is better for people who have difficulty in maintaining good form during their squat.”

As for next steps, Dr. Rho suggests it would be beneficial to expand this to a larger population to see if the use of a mirror would affect the ideal squatting form of the knees remaining over the ankles (not in front of them) during the exercise.

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The Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP) is the only academic association dedicated to the specialty of physiatry in the world. AAP is an organization of leading physicians, researchers, in-training physiatrists, and others involved or interested in mentorship, leadership, and discovery in physiatry. AAP holds an Annual Meeting, produces a leading medical journal in rehabilitation, AJPM&R, and leads a variety of programs and activities that support and enhance academic physiatry. To learn more about the Association and the field of physiatry, visit our site at physiatry.org and follow us on Twitter using @AAPhysiatrists. To learn more about the 2016 AAP Annual Meeting, visit http://www.physiatry.org/AAP2016.

Abstract The Effect of a Mirror on Preferential Loading of the Lower Extremities during a Double Legged Squat: A Pilot StudyMonica Rho, MD; Franz Nigl, MS; Steven Makovitch, DOObjectives: The double legged squat is a regularly used exercise and rehabilitation tool. Although common practice is to perform squat exercises in front of a mirror for feedback on form and positioning, some believe this has detrimental effects. There are no studies that evaluate performance of a squat based on mirror use. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a mirror on preferential loading of the lower extremities during a double legged squat exercise in multiple foot positions (fixed, mixed, self-selected) and during a deep squat.Design: Ten healthy subjects (5 male, 5 female) performed 5 squats to the fixed height of a chair in 3 different foot positions and 5 deep squats both with and without a mirror. Mean preferential load shift to the dominant leg along with maximum knee and hip flexion angles during deep squat were analyzed (α = 0.003).Results: There was no significant difference in mean preferential load shift between the mirror versus no mirror conditions in any of the squat types. Comparison between the fixed and mixed foot positions in the no mirror condition demonstrated a statistical difference (p = 0.001), whereas in the mirror condition no difference was found (p = 0.247). All maximum knee and hip flexion angle comparisons were non-significant.Conclusions: The presence of a mirror during a double legged squat exercise did not change preferential loading of the lower extremities. Athletes should self-select a comfortable foot position during a squat exercise for equal loading.

Meeting Link: AAP Annual Meeting - Feb-2016

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AAP Annual Meeting - Feb-2016; American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Feb-2016