Knee injuries are common, even if you’re not the athletic type.
Simple overuse, repetitive strain or a twist when you fall can hurt your knees. Plus, your knockers are prone to cartilage damage and loss of joint space.
“It’s also worth looking at two troublesome habits: hyperextension and perpetuation of muscle imbalances,” says Virginia-based yoga therapist Mary Richards, who co-hosts Experiential Anatomy and travels throughout the United States teaching anatomy, physiology and kinesiology.
Many of us hyperextend, or “lock,” our knees without knowing we do, Richards notes. To counteract the tendency and get a sense for healthful “straight” knees: Stand, and then press back through one of your knees (momentarily locking it). Now engage the calf muscles of that leg, as if you’re pushing them into your shin bone. What happens to the other muscles of that leg? They engage. This is what you want. The action trains your muscles correctly, Richards says.
To protect your knees and counteract muscle imbalances, try these yoga-based exercises from Richards. “I do them several times a week myself,” she says.
Locust Pose
How to
Rest on your front body, with a blanket padding from your ribs to your hips (you may also want a rolled towel to support the front of your ankles). Place your legs hip-width apart, arms alongside your body. As you inhale, lift both legs from the buttocks through feet, as well as your head, chest and arms, drawing your shoulder blades toward the midline of your body and reaching your fingertips toward your heels. Look at a spot on the floor in front of you, without straining your neck. Hold for 1 to 3 rounds of breath then exhale as you lower. Repeat as you like.
Why it works
Strengthens your back body’s muscles and cultivates a functional activation pattern and rhythm. The pose can easily be modified: Lift only one leg, followed by the other, and then add lifting your head, chest and/or arms.
Hip Rotators
How to
Rest on your side body, knees bent, with your top hip slightly forward of your bottom hip. Support your head and neck. Rest your top hand on the floor in front of you for support. As you inhale, extend your top leg then lift it slightly higher and behind your top hip, without arching your lower back or rolling your top hip backward. Press through your heel. As you exhale, turn the front of your top thigh toward the floor, initiating from where it connects with your pelvis. As you inhale, turn the front of your top thigh toward the ceiling. Repeat until fatigued.
Next, bend your top knee and rest it on the floor behind your bottom leg. If needed, pad the floor behind you by stacking blankets, or placing a yoga block, bolster or pillow under your knee. Hold for 4 to 6 slow, relaxed rounds of breath. Repeat on other side.
Why it works
Strengthens the muscles that turn your thigh bone inwardly/medially (adductor longus and magnus, gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, tensor fasciae latae; plus pectineus, iliopsoas, adductor brevis and semitendinosus, depending on position) and outwardly/laterally (piriformis, superior and inferior gemellus, obturator internus and externus, quadratus femoris; plus the iliopsoas, sartorius, adductor brevis and biceps femoris, depending on position). The bent-leg resting position stretches the iliotibial band, which helps stabilize the knee during activities such as running.
Knee Tracker
How to
Rest on your back body, knees bent, soles down. As you inhale, extend one leg on the floor, turn your toes out, and then press through your heel. Stay on the center of your sacrum. As you exhale, lift your straight leg to the height of your opposite thigh and pause with your toes turned out for a count of 5. Repeat until you fatigue, up to 30 reps, at which point you can hold a hand weight on your thigh above your knee or wear a light ankle weight (under 7 pounds). Repeat with other leg.
Why it works
Strengthens the vastus medialis (located toward your inner thigh), which keeps your kneecap gliding and tracking correctly in its groove, compensating against its burly cousin, the vastus lateralis (which runs along your outer thigh). If an imbalance between the two muscles endures, it can lead to tracking problems accompanied by kneecap pain.
Plus, here are 6 general tips from Richards to help prevent knee injuries:
1. Wear shoes that fit well to help with balance and foot control.
2. Practice standing on one leg. Build your skill by using a wall or chair for support.
3. When you bend your knee, be sure it tracks toward the middle of your corresponding foot.
4. Stretch your hip flexors by working on opening the front of your thighs.
5. Stretch your calves.
6. Strengthen your gluteal muscles.
Mitra Malek is a Yoga Journal contributing editor and has taught yoga regularly since 2006.