by Nina

Barrie and I are going to do a whole series on the knees this summer! To start, I’m going to discuss some structural differences we humans may have in our knees so when we address those conditions later you’ll know what they are and whether or not they apply to you and/or your students. The structural conditions are: knock knees, bowlegs, and hyperextension of the knees. If you suspect you or any of your students may have any of these conditions, read on and use the appropriate test!

We’ll have information on how to work with these conditions as well as on how to align and stabilize your knees in future posts.

Knock Knees

This celebrity looks like she has knock knees

Knock Knees (genu valgum) is a condition where your knees angle in toward each other and “knock” against each other, even when your feet are apart. This prevents you from being able to stand in Mountain pose with your feet touching each other.

The condition is caused by the shape of the upper parts of the thighbones, the femur bones, where the short neck of the femurs meets the longer shafts of the lower parts of the femurs. This shape causes the femurs to move closer to the midline space between your legs, referred to as “adduction,” and you end up with knock-knees. But knock knees can also be caused by some diseases, such as rickets, loose knee ligaments, or other genetic conditions.

Because of how the femurs meets the two lower leg bones, the tibia and the fibula, the inner knee joints tend to open up towards the insides of the knee joints and the outer or lateral joints tend to compress together more than normal. Tight inner thigh muscles and weaker outer hip and leg muscles can contribute to this situation. And with the knees knocking towards one another, you can get more wear and tear on the outer sides of joints, which over time can cause pain and damage, and the skin of the inner knees can even sometimes rub together in an uncomfortable way on the opposite side of the joints.

Testing for Knock Knees

  1. Stand in front of the mirror in Mountain pose with your feet several inches apart.
  2. Now step your feet close enough together so your knees are touching.
  3. With your knees touching, how far apart are your feet? A small distance is normal, but if your feet are 3 or more inches apart, this may indicate that you have knock knees.

Bowlegs

This Doctor Who looks like he has bowlegs

Bowlegs (genum varum) is a condition where when you stand with your feet together, your knees remain wide apart. Bowlegged people also tend to stand on the outer edges of their feet with their feet slightly turned out.

The condition is caused by the shape of the upper parts of the thighbones, the femur bones, where the short neck of the femurs meets the longer shaft of the lower part of the femurs. This shape causes the femurs to move further away from the midline of the space between your legs, referred to as “abduction” in anatomical circles, and you end up with bowlegs. But bowlegs can also be caused by some diseases, such as rickets, and some professions, like being a jockey.

Because people with bowlegs tend to bear weight unevenly on their hips, knees, and feet (the outer sides of these joints bear more weight), uneven stress and wear on those joints could lead to the early onset of arthritis.

Testing for Bowlegs

  1. Stand in front of a mirror in Mountain pose with your feet together.
  2. Are your knees touching each other? Or almost touching each other? Or, are they wide apart, bowing out away from each other.
  3. If your knees are wide apart when your feet are touching, this can indicate you have bowlegs.

Hyperextension in the Knee Joints

Me, hyperextending my knees

Hyperextension in the knee joints means that your knee joints have a slightly greater range of motion in extension (that is, when you “straighten” your knees) than the average person’s does. In other words, in people with hyperextension of the knees, when their knees are straight, instead of the femur bones on top and the shinbones on bottom forming one straight line, your knee joints bow slightly backwards. In addition, when your knees are hyperextended, your kneecaps don’t face straightforward; instead, they turn in slightly, with the inner edges pressing back more than the outer edges (making you look a bit knock-kneed). Also, with hyperextended knees, you tend to bear more weight on your heels than on the balls of your feet and your thighs are not directly aligned with your shins.

All this unevenness in your legs, knees, and feet is the reason there is concern about hyperextension, with concern that it could lead to uneven wear and tear on the cushioning cartilage of your knee joint, which could result in dysfunction and pain down the road.

Testing for Knee Hyperextension

  1. Start by standing in front of a mirror in Mountain pose, with your feet together. Now look at your knees. Are they turning slightly in toward each other and coming closer together than the rest of your legs? This could be either a result of hyperextension or knock knees.
  2. Next, bend both knees by moving your shins forward and shift some of your weight from your heels to the balls of your feet. Then straighten your knees by lifting from your thighs, while keeping some of your weight in the balls of your feet.
  3. Look at your knees again. Are they now facing straightforward with more space between them? If so, you have corrected your hyperextended knees. If there is no change, you may have knock knees. But try the adjustment once more just in case.

 

• Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook and follow Nina on Instagram • Order Yoga for Times of Change here  and purchase the companion videos here • Order Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being here.