Overview
Knee pain can be a limiting factor when choosing the type of physical activity in which to participate. Issues from tendon and ligament damage, cartilage wear and tear, arthritis, bursitis and general joint instability or pain can seriously affect not only your fitness regime, but also your everyday lifestyle.
When done correctly and with awareness of a knee injury or issue, yoga can help to reduce knee pain and serve as a type of therapy to help heal an injury.
Benefits
Certain yoga poses done with proper alignment will help strengthen the knee and create more flexibility. Yoga works to develop both the inner and outer quads–muscles that help to keep the kneecap in proper alignment–as well as the muscles around the joint.
Focusing on areas such as the hamstrings, calf muscles, ankles, core and back muscles will help to support a weak knee. Some yoga poses also increase blood flow to the knee, which will help injury recovery.
Alignment
Being aware of proper alignment is critical when dealing with a knee injury. Bringing awareness to alignment should start with the mountain pose, a pose that seems simple but will make you aware of how you’re standing and allow you to make necessary corrections that will serve as a foundation for other poses. Make sure your feet are together, kneecaps are pointing forward and knees are slightly bent.
In lunge positions, it’s easy let you knee extend too far. Make sure your knee is directly above your ankle.
Good Poses
Balancing poses will help strengthen the legs, ankles and back muscles. They also help strengthen the stabilizing muscles surrounding your knees and ankles. When doing balancing poses, such as warrior III, dancer’s pose, half moon or standing split, maintain a 20-degree bend in the supporting leg to prevent hyper-extending the knee.
Poses that stretch or strengthen the hamstrings and quads are also useful in supporting the knee. Supine extended hand to toe, supine butterfly and downward facing dog are all positions that target the hamstrings. Poses such as chair and yoga squat target the quads and small muscles that support the knee. The knee bend in these position doesn’t need to be extreme–even a slight bend will be beneficial.
Poses to Avoid
Any pose with an extreme knee bend or in which you are sitting on your legs with your knees folded underneath you should be avoided. Seated bound angle and seated head to knee can put too much strain on the knees. If you do attempt these poses, use blankets or pillows underneath your knees for support. Diamond, hero, child’s and pigeon pose should also be avoided due to the pressure put on the knees.
Modified Poses
In any lunge pose, such as side angle, revolving side angle, warrior I and warrior II, use the knee as the limiting factor in your lunge position. This can mean backing off the lunge. Triangle and revolving triangle should also be modified by keeping a 20-degree bend in the front leg to relieve pressure on the knee. Blocks also might be used to help support the weight of your upper body, again relieving the pressure on your front knee. Standing forward bending poses should also maintain a 20-degree bend in the knee to help further stretch the hamstrings and protect the knees.
About this Author
Elaine Wiltshire has been working as a journalist since 2006 and is now a freelance writer and editor. She trained in Cecchetti ballet for 20 years and is now a certified yoga instructor specializing in yoga for athletes. Wiltshire is also the publisher of Scrum, Ontario’s rugby magazine.
