The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › Injuries, Restrictions, Ailments, Pose Modifications › Injuries › Knee Pain – I Think It Started With Fixed Firm
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › Injuries, Restrictions, Ailments, Pose Modifications › Injuries › Knee Pain – I Think It Started With Fixed Firm
-
AuthorPosts
-
Hi All! I’m really glad I found this forum! I am brand new to yoga and it sure has been a challenge so far!
I just started doing yoga at a local Bikram studio last week on Monday (the 19th). I’ve missed a couple of classes but have gone most days (missed Tuesday and Friday). I am trying to determine if the knee pain I am feeling is a cause for concern or not.
In one of my early classes I caused a short jolt of pain to go through the outside (far to the outside, almost to the “hinge”) of my left knee while trying to adjust my feet in the fixed firm posture. I stopped immediately and haven’t repeated the “bad” movement since then. My knee actually does not hurt while doing any of the postures, or walking etc. However, it is very sore to the touch in the same spot that I felt the pain. It also has a dull achy feeling on occasion. In addition, an area on the inside of the knee is also somewhat sore to the touch (although not as much).
So my question is, will this go away with continued practice? I have full range of motion and no real pain with moving my knee or doing the postures, but am just concerned about the sore spots and wondering if it will get worse. It seems to have stayed pretty constant.
I also have trouble with my hamstrings being *really really* right, but that is for another post!
Hi Kelsey,
I am a teacher from Gabrielle’s Teacher Training!
Welcome to Hot Yoga and The Forum! 😉
Many find Fixed Firm Pose Challenging indeed! I’d like you to answer a few questions!
– Have you ever had any knee injuries in the past?
– Can you please explain that ‘bad’ movement? In what position were you in, when you did that?If other poses don’t cause pain, visiting classes shouldn’t be a problem. However as soon as you feel sharp pain in your knee, you need to stop and by no means should you push through that sensation! I personally think that quitting a few classes wouldn’t hurt either, you can go back to practicing anytime. Your knees are precious so make sure you take care of them (and your body in general!)
I am looking forward to hearing from you!
Namaste,
Andrea
Hi Kelsey
Thank you for joining us!
My questions would be:
>> What exactly were you doing when you adjusted your feet?
>> How were you sitting?
>> Was your bottom on the floor?
>> Where were your knees in relation to each other?
>> What about your feet? What parts of them were touching the floor?The danger one can get into is for either of us to assume you are approaching the pose correctly. So please indulge me by answering the questions. And work in what Andrea asked too about the “bad movement”.
More information about what, where, when, how of the knee in this pose or any other is what I need!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Andrea and Gabrielle,
I will try to answer your questions!
Andrea: I’ve never had any knee injuries. I did gymnastics as a kid/ teenager and I’m sure I put some strain on my knees, but never actually hurt them. They do sometimes feel weak when I try to get up. Unfortunately I have not really retained any of that flexibility! You lose it when you don’t use it.
As for the “bad” movement, it is unfortunately enough after the event that I don’t remember the exact details, but I can tell you that I was laying down on the ground and moved my foot – I believe I was trying to get my toes to be in a straighter line next to my legs rather than pointing out at an angle. Basically I just pointed my toes harder and tried to move my foot to the side, toward my bottom and felt a sharp pain in my knee, so I immediately stopped that motion. Just to be clear, I have not been attempting to work through any pain, the area has been sore to the touch but does not hurt when I move my knee in any of the postures, or walking standing etc.
Gabrielle: I was laying on the floor on my back I adjusted my foot with my bottom on the floor and my knees were open, not touching. The tops of my feet were also on the floor. I have since determined that I didn’t actually need to make that “adjustment” in the first place and was misunderstanding what the teacher was saying. Now, if I’m wrong about that of course tell me, but I believe that there was no need to move my foot at all once I was already laying down.
Doe that answer the questions? 🙂
Incidentally, I took two days off (yesterday and Friday) and although I can still feel the sore area, it has lessened a lot. So that is good! I am hopeful it will heal by itself if I just go easy on it for a while.
Hi Kelsey,
Thank you for your detailed response!
So how has that knee been? Do you still experience any pain in fixed firm or in any other pose?
I thought I was doing this pose right, until Gabrielle pointed out a couple of things for me 🙂 As you said aligning the feet properly at the first place is very important. Having the tops of the feet rest on the floor, not the arches with all then toes pointing back, toes right next to your hips.
Another important thing is to ‘glue’ the sit bones onto the floor and to keep them in the exact same place throughout the whole pose. You can have your knees open, working on getting them back together once your are laying on the floor.
So just bear in mind that a precise alignement comes before depth. Avoiding sudden movements in static yoga poses is defnitely advisable! I hope that your knee is healed and that you will enjoy your practice in the future.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Namaste,
Andrea
Hi Kelsey
I would like to add that if you EVER have to adjust your feet in this pose, then lift up out of it to sitting position readjust your feet and knees and THEN settle back into it. That way you’ll protect your knees and be more sensitive/responsive to the changes and be able to modulate the extent with control!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.