"Locking out the knees" is giving me lots of trouble walking: am I doing something wrong?

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

Author

Posts
Leatherstocking
Participant

January 17, 2013 at 4:32 am

Post count: 4

#2470

Hello:

I have done vinyasa yoga for over a year, going at least 3x’s a week and usually 4, with no injuries or pain at all. I started to add Bikram yoga about 6 weeks ago and have had intense pain begin to happen in my left knee, and also growing in my right elbow.

The elbow is an old injury, but the knee is something new. Several of my other yoga instructors and friends have suggested that locking out the knee in the standing head to knee pose is the culprit.

But then I read all kinds of stories about how Bikram reversed knee damage, so I am confused. Is there some trick to locking out the knees without really locking out the knees?

Thanks.

Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
Forum Owner

January 17, 2013 at 5:10 am

Post count: 3048

#10239

Hi Nina

Thanks for ‘dropping by’! 😉

The first thing I would really value you doing is to go and check out the video Great Posture From The Ground Up.

Can you come back and tell me if anything from there resonates for you? If not, that’s good to know too. It will be a great place to start.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Leatherstocking
Participant

January 17, 2013 at 12:16 pm

Post count: 4

#10240

Hello, Gabrielle:

Thank you for the prompt reply. I did just watch your video and think it makes sense, and I can be aware of what you suggest more than I already am (as an aside–I wear heels Mon through Fri because I don’t like flat shoes–my feet spread out too much in them), but I am still not convinced that aligning my foot on the floor is the entire solution.

What I know I do already is to pretty much keep my weight either in my heels or the balls of my feet when in standing balance poses. In other words, I make sure that at all times, I can lift every one of my toes off the ground to ensure that my weight is distributed across the ball and heel. This is something I sort of gleaned from listening to a variety of instructors. Is this healthy? I wasn’t sure from the video.

When you refer to “stacking” the joints, I wonder if there is more muscle alignment/power I could be using in my quads. I just tried it before replying, and I can’t really say that it feels different than the sort of “slamming back” the knee joint sensation I get when I try to do what my Bikram instructors are always saying in class: “Lock out the knee!”

I appreciate your help, as I am on the verge of just giving up on Bikram altogether, as I find being in pain unacceptable. However, before I walk away, I want to be sure that there aren’t inherent structural issues in my body that aren’t the “fault” of any particular kind of yoga, but that are being brought to light [em]because[/em] of doing yoga. Maybe the hot yoga is showing me things that the vinyasa wasn’t showing me. All I know is that I wasn’t in pain before, and now I am.

Thanks very much.

Nina

Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
Forum Owner

January 17, 2013 at 1:22 pm

Post count: 3048

#10241

Hi Nina

A quick thought while I am in the middle of deadline stuff: Often one just has to think of the action in another way. So, how different does it feel in your body to:
>> Activate your leg muscles?
>> Lift the kneecap up with the help of the quadriceps?
(instead of the blanket command to lock the knee)

There can be a misconception of what it means to ‘lock the knee’ as I think I point out on the video… 😉 The video is not entirely about aligning the foot. I know you realise that too. But there are other elements at play. Pronation. Angles of the femur from the hip. And more.

Let me know if that changes anything with those 2 questions. As I say, it’s all about narrowing it down. One step at a time.

PS: Stacking is about using the muscles in a functional way when the joints are stacked correctly. As there is almost NO place in the body where there is a vertical line (even in the legs – and yes I know that is very surprising) it has to do with the series of levers and pulleys that are in your body

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Leatherstocking
Participant

January 25, 2013 at 2:53 am

Post count: 4

#10262

Hi, Gabrielle:

I have been thinking of your high heeled shoes analogy and also thinking of stacking, and also just concentrating on lifting the knee cap without worrying about all the other stuff like kicking out, and things have improved.

So far, my knee has been able to withstand class and is not giving me trouble outside of class.

Thanks.

Nina

Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
Forum Owner

January 26, 2013 at 2:18 am

Post count: 3048

#10267

That’s great news Nina!

Keep me posted.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂
Author

Posts