yes – it's another knee inquiry

yes – it's another knee inquiry2009-10-14T15:30:05+00:00
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  • moonblue
    Participant
    Post count: 5

    Greetings!
    I have been practicing bikram for approximately five times a week for the past three years. I love it and am fortunate to practice in a studio that has a revolving door of teachers which makes classes pretty interesting for the most part.

    i am 46 yo and fairly active – had a spinal fusion (l5-s1) a decade ago and basically went to bikram for some stretching because i thought that yoga wasn’t really exercise. tee-hee. during the first year – all of these old injuries (some of which i wasn’t aware of – like rib injuries) occurred but worked themselves through.

    for the past few months, i have noticed that the inside muscle of my lower quads extending to the medial part of my knee were a bit tight during Janushirasana with Paschimottanasana – head to knee stretching pose. i have never had any knee problems before now.

    two saturdays ago – i noticed that my balance during the first half was a little worse than normal. by the time supta came up – i noticed a sharp pain in my left knee. had an mri – saw an ortho – came up with a torn medial meniscus – Nothing he can do for it. he says to keep on doing yoga. i am still practicing bikram and paying particular attention to alignment – staying way away from toe stand.

    i’ve been wondering if the yoga caused this torn meniscus are generally from a traumatic/sports incident?

    Thanks for being here!

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Howdy moonblue

    It seems that although sports injuries through weight bearing and torsional movements as well as general age related degeneration are the main culprits, it is possible that yoga may have caused it.

    You’ve been yoga-ing for 3 years and your condition has developed during that time. Is there any other activity that you feel could be responsible? For example you could have jumped down heavily from a height for some reason!

    Robert (my hubby) has a torn meniscus and he also has to avoid practicing one side of tree pose in the classic Bikram way, he has to put the sole of his foot against his inner thigh. And for floor head to knee he has to leave his left leg extended out a little to the side instead of bending it in for the first side.

    The above are just examples for you so you know how you can modify a pose if you need to.

    Are you thinking of corrective surgery? Or will you let it ride for a while?

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    moonblue
    Participant
    Post count: 5

    No other condition cause it. surgery isn’t an option.

    right now (after a cortizone) the only thing that is really painful is four flights of stairs up to the studio (but there are other studios in my area).

    so i’m trying to ascertain whether bikram killed my knee or bikram is helping my knee deal with something that has been hidden or ???

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi moonblue

    In general if you have good technique and no predisposition to a problem (any problem) then the yoga shouldn’t worsen something and it shouldn’t cause a condition.

    I am quite particular about the care and attention to the approach to yoga poses (and hence the existence of this website and my manual and pose tutorials). It is possible that there are techniques that you have been using that have not supported your body the best way possible. I cannot tell from the limited interaction we have had so far. I am happy to continue down that track with you. Let me know what you are thinking!

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

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