You can also try some goblet squats. i warm up with those and I find it helps a lot with balance and depth. Focus on keeping knees pushed out while you're at the bottom an going up. Should feel glute activation.
I switched one day out of three with box Squats (at a lighter weight, only up to 275) instead of regular ones. Those are good for developing form as well. I might suggest quite low weight box Squats and see if there is any pain, and if not gradually work up.
Sorry, missed this. I am trying to stretch a bit better now (butterflies, mainly). It seems to help a bit. I will try regular squats again after the Christmas break, will see how it goes.
The pain was there even for zero weight, it just graduated from "localized uncomfortable feeling" all the way up to "piercing pain" depending on the weight. Some googling suggested that I am not stretching properly before and after the work out *shrugs*
Squat stretching is extremely important for me. Like I think I'd be injured without it. When I don't warm up and stretch properly (I mean before even going to empty bar), I get pain in hip socket, lower back, knees. Biggest things for me are:
1) Hip flexors
2) General hip mobility
3) IT band, hamstrings
First I warm up with foam roller for a few minutes.. hit IT bands, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and also right on the hip flexor (front of hip, above quad) itself. Then I do these two:
1) Start in plank (hands and toes only touching ground), bring one foot up to the same-side hand (outside of it) and lunge into the hip socket, while keeping the other leg straight back (knee off ground). There are a few variations here. One is to make it dynamic, just move foot up to hand, stretch, move back, move other foot up, stretch, repeat. Other is to hold there, and maybe move around slowly. You can also drop the opposite knee to the ground and move the other leg through a bigger range of motion.
2) Regular hip flexor stretch. Start with one knee on the ground, other leg in front of you, knee bent 90 degrees with foot on ground. In the leg that is on the ground, activate the glute and lean forward over your other knee (keep glute activated). Should feel the stretch in the hip flexor, lean more for more stretch. Hands can remain on the forward knee, and you can raise the arm on the side that is stretched to go deeper. Hold for quite a while.
Also just getting in a complete depth squat with no weight, either (a) holding on to an anchor to get all the way down, or (b) holding a kettle bell/weight in front of you (i.e., goblet squat), and just holding the position (while keeping knees out).
I also do single-leg deadlifts with a small weight (like under 40, though can probably go as low as 10 or so) in the opposite hand before doing squats. I think this helps isolate some muscles and works on imbalances between the legs. Just doing the work to keep your balance there makes me feel a little stronger and more stable.