Hyperextended Knee

[Mr_Jailer]

Salaam,

I hyperextended my knee playin' footy last night. I can't walk properly, at the very least I don't put unneccsary weight on it - in case it goes 'click'. And I don't straighten it either.

Some of you in the medicine field, what do I do... ? How long does it take to heal?

I haven't sought medical attention yet, but will do so very soon. I am walkin' with a double limp btw, and a burnt arm on astro turf... My right arm is my only fully functionin' limb alhumdulillah :D

[moshyman]

My medical advice is............ go and see a doctor! :)

[Chained_Water]

Wa alaikum as salaam bro..

Don't be crazy.. go get it checked out ASAP!
I would've gone to A&E and probably sat there crying the whole night :p

[MG]

Do You Hyperextend?

Wearing minimal or tight-fitting clothes so you can clearly discern the alignment of your legs, stand sideways in front of a full-length mirror, far enough away that you can see your whole body. In normal standing alignment, the leg forms a straight line from ankle to hip, with knee over ankle and hip over knee. If your knee is hyperextended, however, the leg will appear to curve back, with the knee behind an imaginary straight line drawn from ankle to hip.

Since hyperextended knees are basically a problem of too-loose ligaments and tendons around the knee, you can cause or exacerbate such looseness through poor alignment in yoga poses. The soft tissues at risk of being overstretched include the cruciate ligaments deep inside the knee, the medial and lateral collateral ligaments on the inner and outer surfaces of the knee, and the popliteal ligaments, which cross the back of the knee. There are also several large tendons that cross the back of the knee and normally help prevent hyperextension: the hamstring tendons coming down from the back of the thigh and the gastrocnemius tendons coming up from the calf.

If you look at the hyperextended knee pictured at left, you can see that these tendons are overstretched. The overstretched knee ligaments and tendons are also usually accompanied by changes in adjacent muscle groups, including the soleus muscle, which is deep in the calf. The soleus originates on the upper tibia and fibula, then runs down the calf to attach to the heel. If it is short and tight, it will pull the upper ends of the tibia and fibula backward, contributing to hyperextension. So if you have hyperextended knees, it's important to regularly practice bent-knee calf stretches, like Malasana (Garland Pose) and simple squats.

Though yoga probably will not shorten overstretched knee ligaments, it can help stabilize your knees by strengthening the surrounding muscles.

Protecting Your Knees

Of course, you want to practice your poses in a way that won't increase hyperextension and knee instability. If you tend to hyperextend, typical calf and hamstring stretches done with a straight knee can aggravate the problem unless you take care to engage your quadriceps (front thigh muscles). People with hyperextended knees usually have weak quadriceps, or do not tend to engage them fully in straight-legged poses like Tadasana (http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/492_1.cfm) (Mountain Pose) and Trikonasana (http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/494_1.cfm) (Triangle Pose). Instead of engaging the quads to stabilize and protect the knees, people who hyperextend usually just push their knee joints back. To overcome this habit, they need to strengthen the quads in bent-knee postures such as Virabhadrasana I and II (http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/495_1.cfm) (Warrior Poses I and II) and Parsvakonasana (http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/749_1.cfm) (Side Angle Pose) and train the quads to be active and strong in straight-knee poses.

One of the best ways to start training the quads to work in the straight-knee position is by sitting on the floor with your legs stretched out straight in front of you. Contract your quads by gently pressing your thighbones down into the floor. If you have hyperextended knees, your heels will lift off the floor; if you watch carefully, you will observe that the part of your shinbone nearest each knee shifts back toward the floor. If that happens, your challenge is to learn to contract your quads without letting your knees hyperextend. To do this, gradually press your thighs down while keeping your heels on the floor; you will notice that now the upper shinbones do not drop toward the floor. Since you need to challenge a muscle regularly for it to build and keep strength, it's a good idea to practice this action a few times a week. Not only will you start building strength in your quads, but you'll also learn how to straighten the legs without hyperextending them.

Straighten Up

Now, let us apply this awareness to some yoga poses. Hyperextended knees are often a problem in Trikonasana, for several reasons. If you are doing the pose to the right, your right leg is at an angle to the floor that makes it easy for gravity to pull the leg into hyperextension. If your right hand is pressing down on your right shin firmly, you're pushing the tibia back. (Especially if your hamstrings are quite flexible and their tendons overstretched, they won't offer much resistance to the movement of the tibia.) And finally, if your quads are untrained and/or weak (unfortunately true for many students new to yoga), these muscles will not contract enough to prevent hyperextension and help protect the knee.

If you do hyperextend your knees in Trikonasana, however, all is not lost. With careful practice, you can learn to do the pose with a strong, straight front knee. As you are learning this new alignment, it's helpful to watch yourself in a mirror or get feedback from a teacher with a good eye for structure; you want to make sure to correct your alignment enough to remove the hyperextension but not so much that you bend your knee.

If you usually place your hand on your shin in Trikonasana, the first step in correcting hyperextension should be placing your hand on a block instead. Then move the part of the shinbone nearest the knee away from the floor. You can get a good feel for this movement if you try to press the upper shinbone into a finger (either your own or someone else's).

As an alternate strategy, you can place a block or some other firm object 6 to 7 inches high under your calf, and make sure you do not let your calf press into the block as you move into the pose. Whichever approach you take, move the shinbone just enough to straighten the knee so that it no longer curves back, but not so much that the knee bends forward.

As you move the shinbone, you may notice that a little more weight shifts onto the ball of the foot and that there is less weight on your heel. Because many people prone to hyperextension lean too heavily on the heel, this is a good correction; remember that a goal in standing poses is to have your weight evenly balanced on the four corners of each foot (the inner and outer edges of the heel, and the inner and outer edges of the ball of the foot). If you press those four corners into the floor, your quads will contract, helping to stabilize your knee in its new, straight alignment.

To accompany your Trikonasana work, also practice your new knee alignment in Tadasana or at any other time you find yourself standing for a moment--in line at the store, waiting for the teakettle to boil, taking a shower. Whether in Trikonasana or any of these standing moments, move the upper tibia forward slightly. For most people, about a half inch is enough.

As you begin to correct your knee alignment, you may become aware that your hyperextended knees are part of a bigger posture problem. As the knees curve back, there's a tendency for the pelvis to push forward, the chest to collapse back, and the head to jut forward. These forward-and-back shifts form a system of compensation that can contribute not only to knee problems but also to lower back and neck pain. So as you work on moving your upper tibia forward, you may also want to move your pelvis slightly back and your chest up and forward. Your efforts to protect your knees will then coincide with important physical goals of your yoga practice: to create strong, healthy joints and a spacious, vertical posture.


Dont worry, i wont charge u.....this time :D

[Mr_Jailer]

MG: Thanks for writing the helpful piece. I didn't know you were involved in the medical field. I guess I'll just have to excercise around the knee to build up the ligaments.

The last 5 days have been disastrous. Alhumdulillah, I now see the importance of my body havin' a right over me... I've decided to give my body the rest of the week off... I'll just watch the tennis instead, and I look forward to the Brazil Argentina match tomorrow.

Come on u Argies!!!

After my week off I'll start doin' light excercises on my calf and quads and build the ligaments as u suggested in ur short piece.

And the astro burn on my arm is killlliin' meeee... and my swollen left quad doesn't offer much comfort either... *writhers in pain*. I have a double limp :o I'm a crock :(

And I have a game of football with my branch against another branch in August. It'll be touch n go to get myself fit for that.

Em, MG, you don't do therapy free of charge do you? :scratch:

[jimm]

MG: Thanks for writing the helpful piece. I didn't know you were involved in the medical field. I guess I'll just have to excercise around the knee to build up the ligaments.

The last 5 days have been disastrous. Alhumdulillah, I now see the importance of my body havin' a right over me... I've decided to give my body the rest of the week off... I'll just watch the tennis instead, and I look forward to the Brazil Argentina match tomorrow.

Come on u Argies!!!

After my week off I'll start doin' light excercises on my calf and quads and build the ligaments as u suggested in ur short piece.

And the astro burn on my arm is killlliin' meeee... and my swollen left quad doesn't offer much comfort either... *writhers in pain*. I have a double limp :o I'm a crock :(

And I have a game of football with my branch against another branch in August. It'll be touch n go to get myself fit for that.

Em, MG, you don't do therapy free of charge do you? :scratch:

doing exercise too early could just make it worse. Go see a doc and get it checked out. You could have torn some ligaments etc.

btw, reading stuff of the net and then implimenting it is never too good of an idea.

[MG]

its ok Mr Jailer, like i said no charge, as for the therapy.......u can t afford me!

i dont like to tell alot of people about my medical knowledge, they get intimidated :rolleyes:

[Mr_Jailer]

Wa alaikum as salaam bro..

Don't be crazy.. go get it checked out ASAP!
I would've gone to A&E and probably sat there crying the whole night :p

Would you by cryin' the whole night at the fact that you'll be sat there waitin' all night, missin' out on sleep* or because of the agony caused by the injury sustained?

It only hurts (the ticklish sick feelin') when you attempt to straighten the joint.

I was walkin' briskly outside durin' my lunch hour when this guy with a clickboard approached: "I see you have sustained an injury, do you realise you may be liable for compensation?"

I had a bandage on my arm coverin' the burn... n so I explained to him how I got it... he said he'll call me if I'm eligible.

Me thinks *jeah, I'm not gonna sue the Recreation Centre for havin' astro turf instead of grass as their choice of playin' surface'. :D

*Do you sleep at night these days?

[Mr_Jailer]

doing exercise too early could just make it worse. Go see a doc and get it checked out. You could have torn some ligaments etc.

btw, reading stuff of the net and then implimenting it is never too good of an idea.

Yep, I've given my body the rest of the week off. :freedom: I'll still go gym next week, but I'll do mostly weight trainin' on the upper body. My CV sessions have been put on hold :(

I don't know what the doc will find - or I'm not sure he'll be able to help... I think rest is the most important remedy at the mo...

Maybe I would've torn my ligaments if it weren't for the fact I had been buildin' my legs through gym work. But I'm sure there no major damage... the real pain I feel is the burnin' sensation in my arm...

[Mr_Jailer]

its ok Mr Jailer, like i said no charge, as for the therapy.......u can t afford me!

I don't want to buy you - just askin' 'bout the therapy.


i dont like to tell alot of people about my medical knowledge, they get intimidated :rolleyes:

errm jeah... we sure do :nervous:

[jimm]

Yep, I've given my body the rest of the week off. :freedom: I'll still go gym next week, but I'll do mostly weight trainin' on the upper body. My CV sessions have been put on hold :(

I don't know what the doc will find - or I'm not sure he'll be able to help... I think rest is the most important remedy at the mo...

Maybe I would've torn my ligaments if it weren't for the fact I had been buildin' my legs through gym work. But I'm sure there no major damage... the real pain I feel is the burnin' sensation in my arm...

just becuase you build up your legs with weight training does not make you immune to tearing muscle fibres or ligaments. All it means is that you need more pressure / force to do so.

[Chained_Water]

Would you by cryin' the whole night at the fact that you'll be sat there waitin' all night, missin' out on sleep* or because of the agony caused by the injury sustained?


*Do you sleep at night these days?
'cuz of the pain.. I can't take pain.. I am liable to cry at a paper cut :p

Umm.. nope@sleep.. only difference is now I don't stay as late on ummah as I used to.

[Mr_Jailer]

just becuase you build up your legs with weight training does not make you immune to tearing muscle fibres or ligaments. All it means is that you need more pressure / force to do so.

I really don't think the ligaments have gone... all I did was swing for the football and missed... ouch... The flood lights had just switched off then so it was dark too...

Its embarassin' tellin' my colleagues what happened :$. I had the stuffin' taken out of me.

[Ebony]

'cuz of the pain.. I can't take pain.. I am liable to cry at a paper cut :p

Umm.. nope@sleep.. only difference is now I don't stay as late on ummah as I used to.

It has to be utterly and totally painful for me to even yelp :D
High pain threshold...the same doesn't apply for some things though :mad:

[MG]

I really don't think the ligaments have gone... all I did was swing for the football and missed... ouch... The flood lights had just switched off then so it was dark too...

Its embarassin' tellin' my colleagues what happened :$. I had the stuffin' taken out of me.

u got all that injury and u didnt even touch the ball......

[moshyman]

I really don't think the ligaments have gone... all I did was swing for the football and missed... ouch... The flood lights had just switched off then so it was dark too...

Its embarassin' tellin' my colleagues what happened :$. I had the stuffin' taken out of me.

Classic!

[Mr_Jailer]

u got all that injury and u didnt even touch the ball......

No, that was my last injury of the night alhumdulillah... I had 2 injuries before that :( One was a re-occurence which I first had on Thursday - the astro turf burn.

Yesterday one late tackle took me out completely... it was a vicious high challenge like a steam train... it took me out... I landed on the same arm I had burnt on Thursday and it took off the dried blood and started bleedin' again... soaked thru my top... and it was hurtin'... also in that challenge my left thigh took a knock and its still swollen n hurts... I lay there in pain had the stuffin' taken out of me... it didn't help the fact I went to gym for 1.5 hours and played tennis for 2h a day earlier and slept for 3 hours that night (watchin' Vengeance).

But I get knocked down I get up again, nothin' gonna keep me down... prayin' is really hard tho... i struggle with my prayers...

[MG]

No, that was my last injury of the night alhumdulillah... I had 2 injuries before that :( One was a re-occurence which I first had on Thursday - the astro turf burn.

Yesterday one late tackle took me out completely... it was a vicious high challenge like a steam train... it took me out... I landed on the same arm I had burnt on Thursday and it took off the dried blood and started bleedin' again... soaked thru my top... and it was hurtin'... also in that challenge my left thigh took a knock and its still swollen n hurts... I lay there in pain had the stuffin' taken out of me... it didn't help the fact I went to gym for 1.5 hours and played tennis for 2h a day earlier and slept for 3 hours that night (watchin' Vengeance).

But I get knocked down I get up again, nothin' gonna keep me down... prayin' is really hard tho... i struggle with my prayers...


your a glutton for punishment u r :)

[Chained_Water]

Bro you are nuts.. are playing football or trying to kill yourself :rubeyes:

[moshyman]

Don't listen to them...

Keep playing footy... bones and muscles heal but youth will disappear! :)

[Mr_Jailer]

Bro you are nuts.. are playing football or trying to kill yourself :rubeyes:

My opponents were tryin' to stop me from playin'... it would've been too much for them to let me run at them and take 'em on.

Anyways, I'm gettin' better now alhumdulillah - still feelin' the burnin' sensation on my arm, still not gonna do any physical activity except light excercises til the end of the week.

Moshy: I agree, I'm beginin' to enjoy playin' sport again... have to show the youth not to mess with experienced campaigners ;)

PS: What is a glutton?

[Ebony]

glutton

noun {C} DISAPPROVING


a person who regularly eats and drinks more than is needed

[Mr_Jailer]

I'm glad to announce I have fully recovered alhumdulillah.

[MG]

I'm glad to announce I have fully recovered alhumdulillah.


alhumdulillah

it took u over a year to recover from it? must have been real serious

[Mr_Jailer]

alhumdulillah

it took u over a year to recover from it? must have been real serious

I recovered 'bout 15 months ago... but hey gotta be sure before announcin' complete recovery.

[MG]

I recovered 'bout 15 months ago... but hey gotta be sure before announcin' complete recovery.


phew

good alhumdulillah