you are so full of shit. No one - and i mean no one - does it right all the time. especially people who are lifting heavy and making gains, especially people who lift to failure. Eventually something gives, not to mention all the factors you can't account for.
These two posts sum it up greatly:
I don't usually post on reddit but I felt the need to reading the replies to this thread. For those who care I'm a d1 coach with a phd in biomechanics (although that by no means makes me automatically correct).
Everyone seems to be throwing vitriol at the doctor and saying things like "all exercises are dangerous using bad form". Which is absolute nonsense. The risk of squats are not even in the same realm as those of say, a chin up. The worst I've seen with chin ups is some mild tendonitis. On the other hand, I've seen a great deal of herniated/bulged discs from squats, more than any other exercise actually. And in guys in their 20s. Many who honestly just wanted to look better on the beach to impress girls but got pressured into doing squats.
The term good form itself is such an amorphous term and honestly it doesn't mean what most of you think it does. No one constantly keeps "good form". Powerlifters who live and breath the squat still constantly get injured doing light weights despite knowing damn well what "good form" is. It's just a part of the sport, any sport really. And that's fine if you're a powerlifter/olifter. It's your sport and you have to squat. No question there. But when it comes to the average noob on /r/fitness[1] who wants to not be skinny, that concept changes.
The thing that people are overlooking is that squats require a good deal of mobility. Something that many beginners and just people in general in the western world lack. I'm not even talking about stuff like mild dorsiflexion issues, I'm talking full blown postural issues that require time to fix (and don't get me started on the variations required in the squat from anthropomorphic differences you see among people). And the vast majority don't bother.
So is your doctor right? Well sort of. Squats can be done with minimal risk in perfect conditions. But those perfect conditions don't exist in the real world. There is always a risk doing squats and that risk is far greater than most other exercises. It's up to you for whether that risk is worth it. If you have good proportions, mobility, and you compete, then obviously yes you should squat. If you're an athlete looking to improve your performance, then yeah you probably should, squats are a fantastic movement. If you're an average gym goer whose goals are to look like brad pitt from whatever that fucking movie is people always talk about, then honestly I would say you don't need to squat.
and the follow-up to it:
I took biomechanics and biomechanical analysis in college. We used everything from video taping at all angles to force place testing and it's damn near impossible for there not to be some sort of off-set when doing something like a squat.
Shorter leg on one side? Damn right it's going to cause issues.
Misaligned hips? Damn right it's going to cause issues.
Kyphosis to a small degree? (I have this one) Tell me with a straight face it's easy to keep your shoulders back and spine aligned when squatting. It takes almost 100% effort just to concentrate on keeping my shoulders back far enough.
Hyperlordosis. Same thing, hitting the bottom of a squat usually involves some sort of rocking motion because of spinal alignment.
I see this all the time in /r/fitness and all the time in real life with personal trainers, group trainers, crossfitters, you name it. "Hey, keep your spine aligned!" Well jackass, as you can see, the person you're talking to has X, Y and Z and it's not a muscle issue, it's a bone, vertebrae, etc issue. It's not possible to just align something like that.
I've had people check my form, i've installed mirrors in my gym to keep an eye on my own - and you know what? i end up walking around with numb fingers and toes, probably from slipping a disc, and i've had horrible shooting pains through my kneecaps warning me that something is about to go horribly wrong.
All you morons making everyone out to be a pussy or someone who "just doesn't have form down right" are full of bro-science bullshit.
nevermind this is the type of subreddit that gives people 1000+ up votes for benching 135 for the first time and 500 to a guy who documented his progress to deadlifting 500. This place is a bunch of college aged amateurs circlejerking amongst yourself. Piss off.