A player lands or squats and the knee moves inward. We add a band or say “knees out.” The next repetition looks cleaner.

But has anything actually improved?

An inward-moving knee is an observation, not a complete explanation. The foot, ankle, hip, quadriceps and VMO, pelvis and trunk may each matter. For a hockey player, we must also ask whether the limitation carries over to skating.

A 2025 experimental study found longer ground contacts and lower reactive strength when participants deliberately increased knee valgus during a single-leg depth jump. It did *not* establish that natural valgus always reduces jump height or predicts injury.

I've published a deeper article with 27 references on movement assessment, speed, jumping, shoulder–pelvis alignment, and the evidence in women's hockey and soccer.

The useful question for the next training session: **What would you test to establish whether changing this player's knee position would improve performance?**

Full article: https://magnusagren.com/knee-valgus-speed-power-player-health.html

Magnus Ågren

People. Purpose. Performance.