Author: Randeep Singh / go to all articles on Yoga cure
Yoga for knee pain:
The thigh bone known as Femur from above, Tibia and Fibula form the lower leg, and Patella to cap it all come together to form the knee joint.
A group of tendons bind the knee joint to the muscles of the leg, and the ligaments join he knee bones to each other providing the joint so formed the required stability. Yoga for knee pain works by exercising this juncture of the musculoskeletal system.
Special ligaments around the knee joint prevent the femur from slipping forward or backward on the tibia. Medial and lateral menisci are the pieces of cartilages which act as shock absorbers between the femur and the tibia.
The knee is the biggest and the most intricate joint in the body. The knee joint is kept galvanized by a fluid filled sac between the adjoining bones. The knee joint comes under the category of hinge joints which can move, bend only in one direction, but the knee is a modified version of a hinge joint as it can undergo flexion, extension and to a lesser degree internal and external rotation too.
The knee joint is a very important because it can support the body to stay upright without any use of supporting muscles, aids in lowering and raising the body, propels the body forward by enabling the movement of walking. It is also a efficient shock absorber, and facilitates the twisting of the leg along its vertical axis.
Knee pain is the condition which emerges when the cartilage which provides the cushioning support between the upper and lower leg bones wear off causing the bare edges of these bones to rub against each other. The presence of knees provides us the freedom to sit, jump, run or squat as we wish. The hamstring muscles contract and pull on the tibia while we bend the knee joint for sitting down, whereas while getting up the quadriceps muscles pull the tibia straight in line with the femur.
Yoga Benefits for Knee Arthritis
Knees are that section of the body upon which any yoga technique lays the maximum demand; whether you are bending forward, backwards, twisting or stretching along the length of the spine a certain degree of the action of the knees is always involved.
Thus, one must perform yoga asanas with serious consideration to the alignment of the knees. Knee pain is the most common musculoskeletal discomfort experienced by millions across the globe today. The first thing that the yoga for knee pain does is it works on, and strengthens the larger muscles – hamstrings, and the quadriceps – so that these muscles take off a part of the load of supporting the body when steady or in movement from the knees.
Secondly yoga poses for knees build the muscle strength evenly around the joint to keep it in the right alignment for it to function properly.
Regular practice of yoga asanas for knee pain has been known to even strengthen, tone the ligaments which hold the knee joint together. Yoga poses for knee joint pain can even help the cartilages absorb fresh nutrients from the blood on each relaxation after an adequate compression has been applied upon them. Nourished cartilages are healthy cartilages.
The yoga exercises for knee pain must be done with utmost care; be aware of the body movements while getting into the poses and make sure that the stretching is impacting the muscles and not the tendons, and the cartilages involved. Special care must be taken to make these movements very slowly and never abruptly.
A number of factors can predispose someone to knee related issues. Obesity is one of them, excess weight body maintains a constant stress on the knee joints which accelerate their degeneration. Persons with family history of knee trouble are generally more prone to knee pain much early in life, and any previous injury around the knee can contribute to its degeneration later.
Keeping the knee mobile and the muscles around it strong and flexible is the only way to keep the knee pain away. Practicing yoga regularly can provide relief by increasing the range of motion of the knee joint by making the muscles, tendons, ligaments holding the joint in place more pliable and strong. Most of the knee pain comes from the injuries which emerge from trying to move that jammed up or a joint restricted due to tightness in the surrounding muscles that extra more.
Loss of the bone mass and strength is one of the reasons for the arthritis of the knee joint. Yoga for knee joint pain provides enough stress on the bones to trigger their self-preservation processes in action. Well exercised bones, with yoga for arthritis, which make the joints, are more likely to maintain their healthy mass, or bone density than the ones which are hardly used.
A healthy bone mass is definitely a positive ingredient for a healthy joint made out of the same bones. The slow and controlled movements of the yoga poses for knee pain properly circulate the synovial fluid, lubrication between the joints, between the edges of the joint forming bones which keeps their wear and tear due to over use at bay.
Yoga Poses for Knee Health
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