3 Positions You Must Avoid...If You Want To Avoid Knee Pain!

When I have people ask me “Why do I have Knee Pain?”  Sometimes it can be difficult to answer.  Not because I don’t know how to ease Knee Pain, but I don’t know their personal circumstances or health history in the same way I do with my patients.
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What I can suggest, however, is that they start by looking at their routines and habits for things they may be doing that can put extra stress on their knees.  Then stop doing those things!

​The problem is that most people don’t know what those things might be…otherwise they would have stopped doing them a long time ago.  

So today, I’m going to talk about 3 awkward positions that if avoided, will go a long way toward helping you avoid or ease Knee Pain.

1. Don’t Sit With Your Legs Crossed.  This is probably the most common problem I address with people (women & men) with Knee Pain, especially when the pain just comes on “gradually”.  Whether you have a habit of crossing one leg over the other, resting your ankle on top of the other knee or like to sit with your ankles crossed, this will put stress on at least one (and often both) of your knees.  So, when you catch yourself crossing your legs while sitting, start to improve your habits by simply lining up your hips, knees and ankles.  This will prevent added stress to the knee joints and muscles…and will help you avoid Knee Pain.
2. Stop Locking Your Knees Out.  When you stand with your knees locked out the bones and cartilage in your knee are compressed.  This position also puts unnecessary stress on your ligaments and increases your risk of an overstretched or sprained ligament…which can cause Knee Pain.  When standing your knees should be slightly bent.  This creates some space in the joint without compressing the bones and allows the muscles around the knee to work properly to provide stability and support for your knees. 
3. Avoid Prolonged Kneeling.  Any positions with your knees bent in an extreme position increases stress on the knee joint, ligaments and muscles.  With kneeling you also have the added pressure of your weight pressing the knee against the floor, which puts even more stress on the knees.  So, if you if you need to work at a lower level for more than a couple minutes, you might consider sitting on a stool instead.  It’ll be worth the few extra minutes it might take to grab a stool if it helps you avoid Knee Pain.  If you simply cannot avoid being on your knees for an extended time, at least try to avoid the extreme position of sitting back on your heels and protect your knees with some type of knee pad.  Your knees will Thank You!

These may seem like simple tips, they may even seem too obvious to some.  Unfortunately, it’s simple habits, routine positions or activities like these, that are often overlooked in past “failed” treatments and why so many people have lingering Knee Pain.

So, if you are like a lot of my patients and feel like you’ve tried everything…it might be time to take a deeper look at some of your habits, routine positions or activities. 

Sometimes changing just ONE of those LITTLE things, has the potential to have a BIG impact on your PAIN and your LIFE!

You just might be surprised by what you find!
 
I hope you found this helpful…or that it at least got you thinking "outside of the box" about other possibilities that could help you avoid or ease your Knee Pain (or any other pain for that matter)!

If you have any questions or need more help for your Knee Pain, please reach out to us.  We’d love to help! 

Call 503-744-0046 or email us at info@purelyprimalpt.com.