Knee harm restoration will be daunting, painful and unsure. However, it doesn’t must be! Yoga (sure, there may be yoga for knee accidents!) is a superb instrument you should use to assist strengthen and lengthen the muscle tissue surrounding the knee, serving to assist in your restoration post-injury.

After tearing my ACL and going via surgical procedure to restore my knee, I felt misplaced and not sure about my restoration course of. Luckily, I discovered yoga, and it helped me enhance the mobility, energy and adaptability in my leg post-surgery.

In addition to bodily remedy, yoga was a delicate and protected approach to assist construct confidence again in my physique.

Yoga will be useful for recovering from so many alternative accidents, and the knee is not any exception.

Yoga for Knee Injuries – Use These 9 Poses to Help in Your Knee Injury Recovery:

Based by myself restoration and anatomical data as a yoga instructor and private coach, I put collectively an inventory of the highest 9 yoga postures that had probably the most influence on my knee harm restoration.

Depending in your harm, these postures will be performed anyplace from two weeks to 2 and a half months post-injury. Make certain to enter every posture slowly and mindfully!

Practice These 10 Yoga Poses to Relieve Knee Pain

Modifications are offered for all ranges. First, seated postures are provided. Then, for many who are capable of put weight on the leg of their injured knee, there are standing postures listed to assist enhance energy and stability within the legs.

Recovering from knee accidents requires a variety of endurance and compassion. Healing is just not linear, and every individual’s restoration journey is exclusive. Pease make sure that to seek the advice of along with your physician or bodily therapist on whether or not these postures are protected so that you can do.

1. Locust Pose (Salabhasana)

Locust Pose is nice for strengthening your decrease again muscle tissue and activating the muscle tissue in your decrease physique. This helps create stability within the again physique to greatest assist your knee(s).

To create extra consolation, place a blanket or one thing gentle below your injured knee.

Let’s attempt it:

• Begin by laying on the bottom in your stomach
• Rest one aspect of your face on the bottom and place your arms by your aspect along with your palms dealing with up
• On an inhale, carry your chest and your arms off the bottom and produce your shoulder blades nearer collectively
• Keep your neck impartial by barely pulling your chin down towards your chest
• You can keep right here for 5 deep breaths with out activating the decrease physique, or proceed to the following step
• Squeeze your ft and legs collectively and activate your glutes and quads
• Keeping your legs straight and ft collectively, use your decrease again muscle tissue to slowly carry your legs off the bottom
• Stay right here for 5 sluggish, deep breaths, repeatedly lifting your chest and legs larger on each inhale
• After 5 breaths, launch your limbs again to the ground and place the other aspect of your face on the bottom
• Rest for just a few breaths, and repeat two to a few extra instances

2. Seated Forward Fold (Paschimottanasana)

Forward folds are nice yoga for knee harm poses as a result of they assist relieve stress within the decrease again and behind the knees by rising flexibility in your hamstrings and calves.

You ought to really feel the stretch in your decrease again, calves and/or middles of the again of your legs.

Let’s attempt it:

• Begin sitting up on the bottom along with your legs in entrance of you
• Modification: place a towel or pillow beneath your knees
• Bend your knees, preserving your toes flexed and dealing with up towards the sky
• Sit up as straight as you possibly can and barely scooch your hips again
• Leading along with your chest, start to fold over your legs, reaching in your shins or toes.
• Allow your head to loosen up as you fold ahead and launch any stress in your face and neck
• Take 5 sluggish breaths, permitting your self to go deeper into the stretch with each exhale
• For a deeper stretch, slowly straighten your legs out a little bit extra on every breath by inching your heels ahead. You may also pull your toes towards you for a deeper stretch in your calves
• To come out, launch your legs/ft and slowly carry your head and neck up
• Rest for just a few breaths, and repeat two to a few extra instances

3. Head-to-Knee Pose (Janu Sirsasana)

This yoga for knee accidents pose helps open up your decrease again, hips and hamstrings. By creating extra space in these areas of your physique, it could actually cut back stress and stress in your knees to help in your knee harm restoration.

For a modification, place a pillow below one or each knees.
Let’s attempt it:

• Begin seated along with your legs prolonged out in entrance of you
• Hug your proper knee in in direction of your chest as comfortably as you possibly can along with your vary of movement, then gently drop your knee to the aspect. The backside of your proper foot must be touching the within of your left leg
• Sit up straight, bend your left leg, and start to fold over your left leg
• Fold ahead so far as you possibly can, then loosen up your head and neck
• To go deeper, slowly inch your left heel ahead to straighten out your leg
• Hold for 5 to 10 deep breaths
• To come out, gently deliver your physique upright and straighten out your proper leg
• Repeat two to a few instances on both sides

4. Seated Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

A seated twist may help open up your backbone, shoulders and aspect physique. This helps liberate any tightness within the muscle tissue connected to the hip, which may trigger restricted motion down your legs to your knee(s).

Let’s attempt it:

• Begin sitting up with each of your legs prolonged out in entrance of you
• Bend your proper leg and cross it over high of your left leg, inserting your foot simply exterior and above your left knee
• Sit up as straight as you possibly can, and place your proper arm behind you
• Lift your left arm up towards the sky, and slowly start to twist your torso to the fitting
• Place the surface of your left tricep on the surface of your proper knee, leveraging it that will help you twist a little bit deeper
• If you’re unable to twist this deep, you possibly can place your left hand in your proper shin and proceed to softly twist
• On each inhale, take into consideration sitting up a little bit straighter
• On each exhale, twist just a bit bit extra
• Stay right here for 5 to 10 deep breaths
• With management, gently unwind and produce your torso again to heart
• Straighten your proper leg and are available again to your beginning place
• Repeat on the opposite aspect

10 Yoga Poses to Strengthen Your Knees and Prevent Injury

5. Reclined Knee-to-Chest (Ardha Apanasana)

This posture helps gently ease you again into enhancing your vary of movement in your knee(s), stabilizes the pelvis and stretches your decrease again so it’s wonderful for knee harm restoration.

By going slowly, you give the muscle tissue surrounding the knee joint area to loosen up and open up.

Let’s attempt it:

• Begin by mendacity flat in your again along with your legs prolonged and your arms by your aspect
• Slowly bend your proper knee and place your palms on the entrance of your shin
• Gently information your knee up, hugging it in direction of your chest so far as it could actually go
• You can slide your forearms below your knee (between your hamstrings and calve muscle tissue) to create extra space within the knee joint
• Scan your physique to see if you’re holding stress in any space. Relax and launch these areas
• Stay right here for 5 breaths earlier than releasing and lengthening your leg again to the bottom
• The key right here isn’t to drive your knee into deeper vary of movement – it’s to go slowly and permit your physique to loosen up and open up in its personal time
• Repeat on the opposite aspect

6. Chair Pose (Utkatasana)

Chair Pose is a superb yoga for knee accidents posture as a result of it helps strengthen the quadriceps, hips and glutes, creating extra stability within the knees. The decrease you go, the extra energy you’ll construct.

Keep your hips larger with much less bend in your knees for a decrease depth.

Let’s attempt it:

• Begin in Mountain Pose along with your ft hips-distance aside and your arms by your aspect
• Step your ft collectively, and carry your arms up towards the sky
• Modification: hold your palms at your coronary heart or in your hips
• Begin to decrease your hips down and again, like you’re about to take a seat on a chair
• Shift your weight extra into your heels, preserving your hips low
• You ought to be capable to peek over your knees at your toes, so shift your hips again a little bit if you happen to can’t see them
• Slightly tuck your tailbone below to interact your decrease core
• Keep your chest lifted and your shoulders pulled down and again
• Take 5 deep breaths
• Slowly straighten your legs and launch your arms by your sides to return out of the pose

 

7. Crescent Lunge

Crescent Lunge is a pose you might need to save till you’re a little farther down the highway in your knee harm restoration.

This posture helps assist the knee by constructing energy within the interior thighs, quads and glutes, however can put added stress on the knee earlier than it’s prepared. Ease into this pose and solely go as far your knee can deal with.

Let’s attempt it:

• Begin in Mountain Pose along with your ft hip-distance aside, arms by your sides, and each ft dealing with ahead
• Take a step again along with your left leg, about three to 4 ft
• Keep your proper knee consistent with your proper ankle, monitoring your knee towards your pinky toe
• If that is too intense, don’t bend your knee as a lot and/or use a wall or chair for assist
• Lift your again heel off the bottom and are available excessive in your left toes
• Place your palms in your hips and use them to information your hips so they’re each dealing with ahead in a single straight line
• Activate the muscle tissue in your again leg to get your leg as straight as you possibly can
• Bring your palms to your coronary heart heart, or carry your arms up towards the sky
• Soften your shoulders and launch any stress you might be holding in your face or higher physique
• Breathe seven lengthy, sluggish, deep breaths
• To come out, push off of your again foot and are available again to Mountain Pose
• Repeat two to a few instances on either side

8. Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

Tree Pose is a superb pose to construct energy in the complete decrease physique – ankles, calves, quads and hips, which makes it good for knee harm restoration.

By strengthening your decrease physique, you create extra energy and assist in your knee(s).

Let’s attempt it:

• Begin in Mountain Pose along with your ft hip-distance aside and your arms by your sides
• Shift a little bit extra weight into your proper foot, securing your self so you’re feeling grounded and balanced
• Use a wall or chair to carry onto that will help you steadiness. Over time, you possibly can progress to no assist as your steadiness and energy improves
• Begin to bend your left knee and swivel it to the left, opening up your hip
• Depending in your hip mobility and the place you’re in your knee harm restoration, you possibly can come excessive in your left toes and hold the underside of your foot on the within of your ankle
• You may also slide your foot as much as the within of your calf or place it on the within of your interior proper thigh, avoiding direct compression to the fitting knee to guard the joint
• Make certain you aren’t locking out your proper knee – if you happen to hyperextend in your joints, make sure that to maintain a slight bend in your proper leg
• Find your drishti (a degree you possibly can place your deal with) and take 5 to 10 breaths
• To come out of the pose, slowly launch your left foot with management again to the bottom
• Repeat on either side two instances

9. Side Angle Pose (Parsvakonasana)

Side Angle Pose is one other yoga for knee accidents posture that you could be need to maintain off on doing till later in your knee harm restoration.

This pose can put strain on the knee if you happen to don’t have the energy in your decrease physique and core to assist. A shorter stance will really feel extra snug and places much less strain in your again (straight) leg; moreover, you possibly can alleviate strain by aligning your again heel to a wall.

When you’re feeling you’re prepared, this posture can actually strengthen the interior thighs, quads and hips, constructing extra assist for the knee.

Let’s attempt it:

• Begin in Mountain Pose with each ft dealing with ahead
• Take a step again along with your left leg, about three to 4 ft, and switch your again foot to the left, inserting it at a 90-degree angle
• Depending on which feels greatest for you, line your heel or arch of your again foot consistent with the heel of your entrance foot
• Keep a deep bend in your entrance leg so your proper knee is consistent with your proper ankle
• If you’re feeling your proper knee caving inward, push your knee out in order that it tracks extra towards your pinky toe
• Shift a little bit extra weight to the outer fringe of your again foot to discover a steadiness between the load in your back and front leg
• Keep your again leg as straight as you possibly can by squeezing your quad. It’s okay to maintain a slight bend if that is an excessive amount of strain in your again knee
• Extend your proper arm ahead and your left arm again, coming right into a Warrior II place along with your palms consistent with your shoulders
• Keeping your decrease physique precisely the place it’s, lengthen your torso ahead and place your proper elbow on the within of your proper leg
• Try to not place an excessive amount of weight in your leg – use your core to maintain you lifted
• If you want extra assist, place a block on the within of your proper foot and place your hand on the block
• Lift your left arm as much as the sky, and have a look at your hand
• Hold for 5 deep breaths
• To come out, start to straighten out your proper leg
• Lift your torso up, push off of your again foot, and step ahead into Mountain Pose
• Repeat on either side two instances

Use Yoga for Knee Injuries to Help Your Knee Injury Recovery

Great job! Remember to be light, go sluggish, and ask your physique what it wants.

By practising these yoga for knee accidents postures and following the steerage of your physician, your knee will get better and really feel stronger than ever very quickly!

All included data is just not supposed to deal with or diagnose. The views expressed are these of the creator and must be attributed solely to the creator. For medical questions, please seek the advice of your healthcare supplier.