Common habits in Yoga that can make you vulnerable to knee injuries.
Here are a few habits you can look at to make sure your knees are safe when you practice Yoga asanas:
HYPER-EXTENSION OF THE KNEES IN THE STANDING POSTURES
It is really common to be told to straighten your knees in Yoga classes; but there is a difference between having a straight knee and a hyper-extended one. Hyper-extension of the knees in postures such as Trikonasana (Triangle pose) can overstretch the ligaments and joint capsule at the back of the knee (especially on the front leg) which will eventually make the knee joint unstable and more vulnerable to injury.
MISALIGNMENT OF THE KNEES IN THE STANDING POSTURES
A good general rule when practising the Standing postures is to make sure the arches of your feet are lifted and your knee caps align with the centre of your feet. This ensures that your ankle and knee joints are properly “stacked” and your knee joints are not laterally rotated. Lateral rotation is one of the most common ways to injure your knee in yoga.
The kneecap is aligned with the centre of the foot. This prevents excessive lateral rotation of the knee.
The kneecap is not aligned with the centre of the foot
NOT STRETCHING YOUR CALF MUSCLES ADEQUATELY
Having tight calf muscles (e.g. gastrocnemius, soleus and peroneal muscles) can really impact your knees. Even though not all of these muscles cross the knee, they are connected to the upper leg by fascia and so can impact the knee.
Whilst Adho mukha svanasana (Downward facing dog pose) is a good way to lengthen tight gastrocnemius muscles it is not really enough. Try practising Adho mukha Svanasana with the feet together for a really good stretch (don’t collapse the inner arches of your feet).
Prasarita padottanasana is a good way to lengthen the peroneal muscles (muscles on the outside of the shin). Again, don’t collapse the inner arches of your feet as you do this posture or you will miss out on the stretch. Squats (feet together) are also good.
The gastrocnemius, soleus and peroneal muscles can affect your knees when they are tight.
Adho mukha svanasana will lengthen your gastrocnemius muscles. Try it with the feet together to get a full stretch.
Prasarita padottanasana will lengthen the peroneal muscles on the side of the shin.
Utkatasana
FORCING THE KNEES INTO HALF OR FULL LOTUS
If your muscles are not yet supple enough, trying to get into half or full lotus can really damage the knee. I have written about muscular imbalances and tightness in a previous post.
TOLERATING DISCOMFORT IN YOUR KNEES DURING PRACTICE
If you feel pain or discomfort in your knees in a posture. It is best to come out of that posture. Even just a little bit of discomfort can lead to an injury or perpetuate a current injury. Sometimes we just have a sore knee and we don’t know how it happened. If that is the case, just avoid any poses that hurt and wait until it’s better (and seek professional guidance if you are concerned or it is not improving).
The human body is incredible in its capacity to heal itself. Injuries take time to heal though, and often we are impatient. Being impatient and practising certain postures when you are not ready can slow down the healing process. Which means you could take six months to heal from an injury that would have healed in one month.
I also find that it is a common belief amongst yoga practitioners that it is okay to feel pain in postures. Phrases such as “find your edge” - when used to describe tolerating pain - don’t really help with that. For me personally, in my first few years of practice, I found that I was learning to override pain messages in my body. This lead me to a series of injuries. Once I decided that I needed to pay attention to the sensations I was feeling and not ignore pain, my practice improved immensely. I no longer got injured from practice and I improved in both flexibility and strength.
written by Jean Campbell
Interested in learning more about how anatomy relates to yoga practice?
Have a look at my Online Dynamic Yoga Anatomy Course.