Yoga offers a fantastic full-body workout that can help you increase your overall fitness levels, burn calories, build strength and improve your flexibility. But, there are some common mistakes you can make when practicing yoga that can lead to knee pain.
In this article, we’ll go over some possible causes of knee pain when practicing yoga and some tips you can use to stop your knees from hurting when doing yoga.
Is it Normal for Knees to Hurt During Yoga?
It is totally normal to experience some uncomfortable stretching sensations whilst doing yoga. However, when doing yoga, you are not supposed to feel a sharp pain in your knee, aching or pinching.
If this is the case, or you already have a knee injury, you should come out of the pose and practice a modified version, which allows for a less intense experience.
Why do my Knees Hurt When I’m Kneeling in Yoga?
The kneeling position can cause knees to hurt because it puts more mechanical compression onto the knee joint. This causes the kneecap to apply strenuous force on the thigh bone.
The force of this compression is dependent on various different factors. For example, a person with more body weight is likely to experience more intense or frequent pain than someone with less body weight.
This can also be said if you are kneeling on one knee more than the other.
Your knees could be hurting when kneeling in yoga because you already experience knee pain in your day-to-day life.
If this is the case, continually adopting a kneeling position will make your knee more sensitive as a result of the additional compression. This causes greater pain, but it doesn’t worsen the actual knee injury.
What Causes My Knees to Hurt when Kneeling While Doing Yoga?
Here are several things that can be causing your knees to hurt when kneeling while doing yoga:
- Incorrect pose – One of the most common mistakes in yoga is the failure to carry out the correct form. Failure to correctly align your body when doing yoga can lead to knee pain.
- Not warming up – Not warming up your muscles and joints before practicing yoga can lead to pain and injury of the knee when carrying out yoga poses.
- Pre-existing knee pain – If you already suffer from knee pain, forcing your body to kneel for a certain amount of time can cause you to feel pain. The added strain and stress on your knee joints can cause your knees to hurt. If this is the case, try to do the pose without deepening it.
- Not modifying the pose – If you do have an existing issue with your knees, it is important to modify the pose to accommodate this. It is important to reduce the strain on your knees. If you start to feel pain in your knees, you should immediately stop the pose and look for a modified alternative.
How Can I Stop my Knees from Hurting During Yoga?
You can do a few things to stop your knees from hurting during yoga:
- If you have existing knee pain, avoid poses that require you to kneel directly.
- Try not to hyperextend or lock your knees.
- Make sure you keep your hips, knees, and ankles in alignment when carrying out certain poses.
- If a yoga pose requires you to squat or lunge, keep your knees behind your toes.
- Listen to your body. If you feel pain when doing certain poses, stop immediately to prevent it from worsening.
Final Thoughts on Knee Hurt after Yoga
Yoga can be a great workout if you suffer from existing knee pain, as there are various different poses and intensities that can be modified to suit your body.
This allows you to reap yoga’s many benefits, such as burning calories and toning your muscles whilst still being gentle on your knees.
There are many yoga poses that can help to relieve some pressure or stiffness on the knees. However, it’s important to remember when doing yoga to warm up properly and make sure you are using the correct form to stop your knees from hurting.