Knee and IT Problems

I just signed up on your site. It looks like it will have some helpful info on my bikram yoga practice.

There are a couple questions below that I HAVE brought up to instructors and haven’t really gotten a straight answer.

To bring you up to speed, I have been practicing for 3 years and increased the frequency to every other day within the last year and a half.

1. I have been experiencing pain on both knees all inside, and wherever the IT band stretches to. I have been to a chiroprator for the right leg mostly cause that’s the one that was the worst. He performed muscle stretches (which we very painful) and applied kinesio tape to select areas to pull the muscle away from the nerves (he said). This was a temporary fix and worked for about a month – but that was about 6 months ago, I’ve been practicing through a lot of discomfort.

To describe the pain, it’s sometimes a sharp dull ache other times it’s a sting right in the center (kinda in the top soft spot on the knees center).

I ice it and do IT band stretches and use a foam roller to work out the tension.

2. Along with this annoyance, that I think is related. Is pain that goes from my but down to my calf just above my ankle. This is not all the time, more when I have either sat or walked for longer than a half hour.

I feel these two things are extremely limiting my practice and growth. I want to make sure I’m not damaging anything, I don’t know what I would do without this Yoga?!

Thanks any information would be great!

Cheers,
Kristin