My friend and very reputable Psychotherapist, Libby Seery, also offers a very good course on Mindful meditation. She goes over Body Scan and many other mindful techniques to help you live a more present, healthy life style. This is an article from Libby that goes over what Mindfulness is, why it is helpful to practice, and a link to her course at Renaissance Life Therapies Academy. http://ezinearticles.com/?Mindfulness-Lets-You-Let-Go-of-Stress&id=9244472
This week we will be looking at one of the most common places to suffer injury both in the immediate and in the long term. Besides having many injuries resulting from abrupt impacts, the knees are a target for much of the physical stress and weight bearing that we have during the day. If you have a different place in the body that you need to learn how to care for or heal, please let me know in the comments here or on the Face Book group “For the Love of Self.” Now, let's learn how we can care for our knees better!
“Smile bend, smile straight, let's help our knees feel great!” :-)
Why Do We Want to Love Our Knees?
In 2010, 10.4 million doctor visits were for common knee injuries according to Orthoinfo.aaos.org in “Common Knee Injuries.” Your knee is a very complex joint including ligaments, tendons, two pieces of cartilage, a floating bone, a major muscle, and three other bones. When you consider the complexity of the knee joint, it is no wonder there are many ways for it to become injured. Common injuries include fractures, dislocations, sprains, and tears. These injuries and caused by impacts to the knees, and are typical for athletes, but also result from falls, car accidents, and other mishaps that occur quickly.
Julie Kailus, a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a certified Pilates instructor, and author of Strong Knees therapeutic exercise, in “Best Ways to Ease Knee Pain: 5 Tips from a Physical Therapist,” tells us that the single greatest cause of chronic disability in U.S. Adults age 65 and older is arthritis of the knees. Arthritis of the knees is from everyday wear and tear, and can occur even if you avoid rigorous sports or accidents that cause impact to the knees.
In “Yoga Therapy for Healthy Knees,” Doug Keller, a master's degree of philosophy holder and yoga instructor in the U.S. and abroad, talks about a common problem in the knees, when your knee cap goes off track. This problem leads to the cartilage underneath grinding away, and is a key reason for knee replacement surgery. This can be resolved if we correct the imbalance in our leg muscles that pull our knee caps into place.
Common Knee injuries:
- Illiotibial Band Syndrome (I.T.B.)
- Pain that is on the outside of the knee and runs up the outside of the leg to the hip might mean you have Illiotibial Band Syndrome (I.T.B.).
- Causes of I.T.B. Syndrome includes
- high or low arches,
- uneven leg length, bowed legs, weak thigh muscles,
- supination,
- wearing worn down shoes,
- running on uneven pavement or down hills.
- high or low arches,
- Exercises that can help are
- side stretches,
- strengthening the quadriceps, and
- low impact exercises like riding a stationary bike or swimming.
- side stretches,
- Products that can help heal I.T.B. injury include
- An I.T.B band or stability brace,
- strengthening tape,
- cold compress, and
- supportive shoes.
- An I.T.B band or stability brace,
- Pain that is on the outside of the knee and runs up the outside of the leg to the hip might mean you have Illiotibial Band Syndrome (I.T.B.).
- Runner's Knee or Chondromalacia & Patellofemoral Stress Syndrome
- Pain that is dull and in or around the knee can be caused by Runner's Knee or Chondromalacia & Patellofemoral Stress Syndrome.
- Causes include
- Flat feet,
- tight or weak thigh muscles,
- muscle imbalance,
- inadequate stretching,
- misalignment, and
- overuse or injury.
- Flat feet,
- Exercises that can help are
- Stretching and strengthening the hamstrings and
- low impact exercises that strengthen the quadriceps.
- Stretching and strengthening the hamstrings and
- Products that can help include
- Patella strap
- compression sleeve
- adjustable knee brace
- shock absorbing shoes, and
- cushioned insoles for support.
- Patella strap
- Pain that is dull and in or around the knee can be caused by Runner's Knee or Chondromalacia & Patellofemoral Stress Syndrome.
- Arthritic knees
- Arthritic knees can develop from daily activities that put pressure on the knee cap like
- kneeling,
- walking up and down stairs,
- squatting, and
- weight gain.
- kneeling,
- Symptoms include
- pain and swelling when getting up or after an activity,
- cracking when you move, and
- increased pain as the weather changes.
- pain and swelling when getting up or after an activity,
- Products that can help ease pain are
- Braces and supports,
- compression sleeves,
- heating pads, and
- topical ointments.
- Braces and supports,
- Arthritic knees can develop from daily activities that put pressure on the knee cap like
Now let's learn how to start making our knees feel great!
“Smile bend, smile straight, let's help our knees feel great!” :-)
How to Love Our Knees
We should seek treatment as soon as possible, especially if
- we heard a popping noise at the time of injury,
- have severe pain,
- cannot move the knee,
- we are limping, or
- have swelling at the area of the injury.
A doctor may recommend many different methods for treatment depending on
- the nature of our injury,
- age,
- general health, and
- activity level.
These treatments include
- immobilization,
- physical therapy,
- non-steroidal ant-inflammatory medicines, and/or
- surgery.
These injuries could include
- fractures,
- dislocations,
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries,
- Posterior Cruciate Ligament injuries,
- Collateral Ligament injuries,
- Meniscal tears, and
- tendon tears.
If you want a explanation, and more information on these injuries, you can visit the full article here: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00325
To avoid arthritic knees and other knee injuries, Julie Kailus offer us “Best Ways to Ease Knee Pain: 5 Tips from a Physical Therapist.”
- Strengthen your butt
- Research has indicated that ACL tears occur when large hip muscles are weak.
- A weak Gluteus Maximus creates painful downward stress on the hips, knees, and ankle with each step. By exercising the Gluteus Maximus we can avoid the pelvis dropping and the femur falling inward.
- Stretch the muscles that act as supports for the knees
- The butt muscles tend to atrophy because we sit most of the day, this imbalance helps contribute to over worked hamstrings and hip abductors, which results in compressible force on the knee joints.
- Stretching out these supporting muscles decreases the likely hood of an imbalance.
- Tone the core muscles
- A weak abdomen causes the pelvis to tilt forward, which curves the low back, and causes the thighs bones to shift inwards.
- Strengthening the abdomen and core muscles will help you maintain a neutral spine, placing the lower extremities, especially the knee joints in the best possible position for movement without compression.
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Men are five times and women are four times more likely to develop osteoarthritis if they are overweight. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, effecting millions, occurring when the cartilage at the ends of your bones wear down over a period of time.
- Muscles strength is decreased as fat increases, doubly impacting the strain on the knee joints.
- Take care of your feet
- Wearing high heels increase the compressive force on the knees by 23%, and encourages the calf muscles to tighten, which is another common cause of knee pain.
- Also, replacing your work out sneaker every 300 miles, depending on your activity level. This will help maintain good support for your arches and joints.
You can read Julie Kalius' full article here: http://life.gaiam.com/article/best-ways-ease-knee-pain-5-tips-physical-therapist
We have already learned that imbalance in the leg muscles can be a big problem. Here is another situation where muscle imbalance creates a problem for healthy knees. Doug Keller gives us some very effective exercise to maintain a properly aligned kneecap by balancing our inner and outer thigh muscles in “Yoga Therapy for Healthy Knees.” The Y-shape configuration of our leg bones promotes an imbalanced development of our quadriceps in our neutral standing position. An over development outer thigh muscles will pull the kneecap out of place when straightened.
Lifting the knee caps is a very easy way to check if this is an issue. If one lifts the knee caps by engaging the thighs and the knee goes straight up, development is balance, but if the knee moves to the outside, the inner thigh needs development. It can be hard to develop awareness of when this muscle is working, and there maybe some genetic abnormalities that cannot be changed like knock-knees or bowlegs that tend to make it difficult to work this muscle, but Doug Keller has put together a yoga asana routine to help us no matter our difficulties in this matter.
This includes:
- Isometric extensions like Dandasana or staff pose
- Poses where the leg is bent like Virabhadrasana or warrior pose
- And straight legged poses like (Utthita) Trikonasana or triangle pose
You can read Doug Keller's full article here: https://yogainternational.com/article/view/yoga-therapy-for-your-knees1
“Smile bend, smile straight, let's help our knees feel great!” :-)
How Utthita Trikonasana can Help Us Love our Knees
In Doug Keller's “Yoga Therapy for Healthy Knees,” you can give a more challenging work out to the vastus medialis (inner thigh muscle) in Utthita Trikonasana than in the warrior pose or Virabhadrasana. This workout will help balance the thigh muscles that pull on the patella or knee cap from either side. Balancing the inner and outer thigh will allow your patella to track properly. Fixing this problem leads prevents the cartilage underneath the knee cap from grinding away, and prevents the need for knee replacement surgery.
When performing Utthita Trikonasana, it is good to keep in mind that if you feel pressure on the knee joint, you have most likely relaxed the vastus medialis (inner thigh) and hyper extended your knee. So, if this is the case come out of the asana and try it again. You may need to seek medical help if this persist, meaning that you have an injury that could lead to severe damage of your knees posterior cartilage.
Sarah Stevenson, a yoga instructor, degree holder from behavior psychology, and life affirming workshop teacher, has this is say about stretching the knees after strengthening them in her article “8 Yoga Moves to Strengthen Knees.” Strengthening the muscles around the knee makes theses muscles tight and decreases fluid movement, stretching them will prevent this issue. In her article she includes three asanas and matching techniques that will do just that including
- Upavistha Konasana (Wide-angled seated forward bend),
- Sukhasana (Easy pose), and
- Balasana (Child's pose). You can read her full article here: http://www.beachbody.com/beachbodyblog/fitness/8-yoga-moves-to-strengthen-knees
I have specifically talk about Utthita Trikonasana's benefits for the knees so far, but I thought it would be good to mention some more of the benefits your body gets from performing this asana.
- Stretches and strengthens
- thighs
- knees
- ankles
- thighs
- stretches
- the hips
- groin
- hamstrings
- calves
- shoulders
- chest, and
- spine
- the hips
- stimulates the abdominal organs
- helps relieve stress
- aids in digestion
- relieves
- back ache, especially during the second trimester
- symptoms of menopause
- back ache, especially during the second trimester
- therapeutic applications include:
- anxiety
- flat feet
- infertility
- neck pain
- osteoporosis, and
- sciatica
- anxiety
Yoga Journal has created a great resource for this asana from which I found the proceeding benefits information. The full article includes technique, a video demonstration, contradictions and cautions, modifications and props, deepening the pose, preparatory poses, follow up poses, beginner's tips, benefits, partnering, and variations. http://www.yogajournal.com/pose/extended-triangle-pose/
Let's Practice Utthita Trikonasana! :-)
CAUTION: Those suffering from
- diarrhea
- headche
- low blood preasure
Those suffering from
- heart conditions (practice against a wall, and keep the top arm on the hip)
- high blood preasure (gaze downward in the final pose)
- neck problems (don't turn your head to look upward, continue looking strait ahead and keep both sides of the neck evenly long)
Technique
- From Tadasana ( learn how to perform Tadasana or mountain pose here: http://forselflove.weebly.com/blog/-how-to-make-2016-a-great-year-how-to-love-yourself-with-healing-and-hope ).
- Extend the legs apart 3 to 4 feet apart, and point the arms straight out to the sides.
- Turn your right foot straight to the short end of your mat, and turn the left foot at a 45 to 90 degree angle to the outside. Your legs and the ground are forming the first triangle.
- Put your left hand into your left hip crease as you reach forward with your right hand.
- Exhale as you extend and lower your torso, catching your ankle with your right hand or laying your right hand on your right foot. The second triangle is found from right hand to shoulder to waist. The third is from left foot to right foot to left hand.
- Reach the left arm up to the ceiling, and softly look at the left thumb or at a none moving spot above you. Make sure that your torso remains inline with the rest of the body.
- CAUTION: Make sure you are taking care not to over extend your knee. It might pop, and have a detached feeling if this is the case. Hyper extension of the knee is a very serious condition that can damage the cartilage of the knee. If your knee looks like this http://yoganonymous.com/yoga-pose-breakdown-extended-triangle-utthita-trikonasana/ model, you need to correct this injury before bearing any weight only on the injured leg.
- ALIGNMENT: Do not collapse the chest inwards, but keep reaching it up and out. Maintain one line vertically in your body as best you can.
- CAUTION: Make sure you are taking care not to over extend your knee. It might pop, and have a detached feeling if this is the case. Hyper extension of the knee is a very serious condition that can damage the cartilage of the knee. If your knee looks like this http://yoganonymous.com/yoga-pose-breakdown-extended-triangle-utthita-trikonasana/ model, you need to correct this injury before bearing any weight only on the injured leg.
- Remember to relax and breathe while in this pose. Enjoy the feeling of expansiveness. Hold this pose for as many breathes as you would like or are able to.
- Recommended feel good practice: First, only follow these suggestions if they help you relax more. Remember the goal is relaxation. Simply breathing is enough in many cases, but these might deepen your experience.
- As you breathe try thinking to yourself the following sentence with each breath. “Smile bend!” inhale. “1” exhale. “Smile straight!” inhale. “2” exhale. “Let's help... “3” exhale. “our knees feel great!” inhale. “4” exhale. Continue this as long as you would like.
- Smiling will help you relax even more.
- Enjoy this pose as you feel the extension and stretch of your body, reaching for better health and a happier life. Let go of worries and concerns and just feel the souls of your feet against the ground, rooting you firmly down to earth as you reach for new heights. This pose is a foundational yoga asana, and will herald better things to come the more you learn to find ease in it like maybe an arm balance, split, or other brave feet in life like starting a new career. It all could start here if you stick with your practice! :-) “Smile bend, smile straight, let's help our knees feel great! :-)”
- Recommended feel good practice: First, only follow these suggestions if they help you relax more. Remember the goal is relaxation. Simply breathing is enough in many cases, but these might deepen your experience.
- If you have not done both sides. When you are done with this side, slowly make your way back to Tadasana. Repeat all steps for the other side.
- Once you are done with both sides, thank your body for carrying you through such an expansively strengthening practice today! Remember to “Smile bend, smile straight, let's help our knees feel great! :-)” as you move on to whatever is next for you feel the openness in your body as you walk firmly on the ground! :-)
Throughout history in the west and east the number three and the shapes that represent it have always had great religious and spiritual significance. Think about that, welcoming the sacred in through all forms, as you are practicing Utthita Trikonasana! No wonder it has such great healing benefits!
Do you practice “Loving Your Knees?” Please share in the comments area here or on Face Book in the "For the Love of Self" discussion area some of the ways you have practiced “Loving Your Knees” in your life. Have you had a first hand experience of taking care of your knees in your life either because of an injury or because of a feel good practice, or know someone who has? Any experience that you can share in “Loving Your Knees” will be greatly appreciated. Thank you, my friend, and keep doing your best to Love your knees and the rest of your person! :-)
If there is a topic you are passionate about or question that you would like answered about how to Love ourselves better, I would love to hear it. Particularly if there is a physical injury that you would like therapeutic exercises for. Please write a comment about it here or on Face Book in the "For the Love of Self" discussion area.
Thank you very much for taking time to bend and straighten with “How to Love Yourself by Loving Your Knees! :-)” Writing this article has been a really help me learn a lot about knee care. I know this research will come in handy as I move through life and end up in situations where I can be proactive in preventing knee injury. It is my hope and prayer that it does you some good throughout your days as well! Aaron Szczurek <3 :-)