General tips to keep the knees healthy
Many of us have sedentary jobs that could result in stiffness of the knee joints. It is important to maintain a good posture, but also to change positions often, take frequent breaks, and do a few stretches even when seated at your desk. It is also important to protect the knees from stress and injury by using protective gear, braces and so on when engaged in activities like skating, contact sport or high impact and weight bearing activities. Also ensure that you get proper rest to give your knees the chance to rest and recuperate.
If you’re overweight, simply losing weight will take care of at least some knee problems automatically. When it comes to exercise, it is important to listen to your body. When aches and pains manifest themselves, don’t ignore them. That twinge in the knee, a nagging ache, stiffness or a reduced range of motion may be warning signs; do not ignore them. This could exacerbate the problem.
Yoga to strengthen the knee
When the supporting muscles and ligaments of the knee are strong, they offer better support to the knee, reducing chances of injury and pain, and helping to slow down age related deterioration. Experts recommend these yoga poses to help strengthen the knee joints to prevent knee related problems:
- Utkatasana or the chair pose helps tone the entire lower body including the thighs and supporting muscles of the knees. It involves assuming a position as though you are seated on an imaginary chair and then raising your arms up high above the head.
- Trikoasana or the triangle aasan requires you to extend the feet far apart and then lower the torso sideways while extending the arm down behind the ankle. However it is important to perform the pose properly as doing it incorrectly could stress the knee area.
- Dhanurasana or the bow pose can also be a great aasan for the knees and many yoga practitioners find that it stretches the muscles in the area and relieves pain.
- The setu bandh aasan or the bridge pose needs you to lie down with the feet flat on the ground. Then with the shoulders firmly on the ground and the arms stretched out with the palms facing downward, you raise your torso and hips up off the ground.
- There is a simple technique that helps strengthen the knees, and can be done at any time. Sit with your legs outstretched in front of you. Press the knees to the floor, pulling them into the quads such that your heels rise a bit off the floor. Hold this position for 10 counts, then relax your knees. Repeat 10 times every day. You can also do this lying down, with a variation wherein you tighten your knee, then lift your leg off the floor and hold it for a while. Repeat with the other leg. Do it 10 times each.
If you have knee issues, it is best to avoid certain aasans: ustrasan or the camel pose because it is a kneeling pose that puts too much pressure on the knees. Virasana or the hero pose may also exacerbate certain knee problems. In some cases, padmasan or the lotus pose may also cause problems so for seated exercises, it may be better to simply be seated cross-legged.
I would end with a small caution here: there are many different types of knee joint pains with many different causes: genetics, injury, repetitive stress, lifestyle, excess body weight and so on. See what yoga poses work to lower pain and soothe your knee(s). You could also have your knee problems evaluated to opt for targeted therapy that works best for the kind of problem you face and so that the existing problem is not worsened.