Knee pain below kneecap

Hi Gabrielle,

Thank you so much for your response and for the video.  I do tend to roll in toward the arches of my feet slightly and have trouble lifting up on my arches.  This may be the root of the problem.  Also, when I go to stand on my toes, my ankles want to roll out.

I tore my ACL & had surgery to repair it about 10 years ago.  I am still not as straight in my left leg as my right.  My hips have been out of alignment since my early teens (I am 31yrs now) – Left hip is higher than the right, both are tilted forward and I’ve been told my femurs are forward in the sockets.  I’ve begun to have some arthritis / bone spurs in my right hip.  I know this might sound like a lot – but I’m basically in good shape and am very active.  I teach yoga and live in NYC – so lots of walking and stairs.

More to your questions – I have never (even as a child) been able to sit in supta vajarasana with my hips touching the floor.  I had – just recently since having ACL surgery – gotten to a point where I could  kneel with my hips touching my heels.  When I 1st started doing yoga, childs pose was uncomfortable because of tightness in my knees, but putting a towel inbetween calves & thighs helped – and it would help with this new tightness too.

The poses that bother me now are:
1) standing deep breathing – it feels as though I draw up too strongly on the knee cap.
2) standing half moon – I feels like I am using the muscles on the insides of my knees to keep my feet on the floor and this hurts.
3) eagle – no problem
4) standing separate leg head to knee – it doesn’t hurt my knee, but I suspect my alignment is off
5) standing bow – same as above
6) balancing stick – no pain
7) separate leg – sometimes feels funny on inner back part of knee – but not current problem.
8) triangle – bothers knee now
9) head to knee – no problem
10) tree – very difficult because of tightness in hips and knees, but not particularly painful with this recent problem
And for the rest… All the backbends and spine strengthening stuff is fine – all the kneeling stuff bothers the inside of my knees a little bit – it feels tight along the inside.

Could this be tendonitis? And if so, what should I be doing differently?
 
If you don’t have time to reply, I totally understand and will continue to think about my feet!
 
Thank you so much!
 
Best,
Liz

Dear Gabrielle,

I haven’t been doing any physical therapy, but over the last two or three years I have seen a few doctors, a chiropractor and a rolfer… The doctors seem to think I will eventually need a hip replacement based on x-rays which were consistant with femoral acetabellular impingement syndrome (the socket is bumping into the head of the femur) – which I never want to do. The chiropractor felt too rough, and I don’t remember much of what he said. The rolfer was the one who said the femurs were forward in the sockets, and also that I am losing the curve in my thorasic spine. I think everyone has commented that my left hip is higher than the right and tipped forward. None have given me any special exercises, though I have asked. One doctor said not to do frog pose. I agree that manual manipulation to increase space in my hips would help, but I can’t afford to go more than about once a month.

Thank you so much for your concern! Any advice would be much appreciated!! And…
Happy New Year!