Australian_Yoga_Journal_2016_08_09_downmagaz.com

your practice
ANATOMY
CORE
HIP
ABDUCTORS
VASTUS
MEDIALIS
OBLIQUE
(VMO)
august/september 2016 yogajournal.com.au
88
QUADRICEPS
VASTUS
LATERALIS
RECTUS
FEMORIS
QUADRICEPS
TENDON
TIBIA
}
PATELLA
FEMUR
PATELLO-
FEMORAL
JOINT
PATELLAR
TENDON
JOINT MATTERS
When you flex and extend
your knee, there’s some
rotation in both the femur
(thighbone) and the tibia
(shinbone); these actions can
wear and tear on the patella
over time. So, the more
you can stabilise the knee
joint, the healthier
the knee will remain.
Body of knowledge
Put an end to knee pain.
By Dr. Ray Long
IN MOST YOGA CLASSES, you’ll often
(hopefully!) hear cues meant to help
protect your knees. For example, angle
the knee no more than 9o degrees, or,
if you feel pain in your knees, back off.
And perhaps one of the most popular:
strengthen your quadriceps to lift your
kneecaps. Cues like these are crucial,
as injuries and pain originating in the
patella, or kneecap, can be quite
common—and quite slow to heal.
However, what these cues don’t
address is the importance of the core,
hip abductors (outer hips), and glute
muscles when it comes to knee health.
That’s because traditionally, treatment
for pain in the front of the knee
focused on strengthening the
innermost quadriceps muscle, called
the vastus medialis oblique, or VMO.
It was thought that when the VMO
was weak, the patella was more likely
to drift out of alignment, ultimately
causing issues. Interestingly, new
findings published in the Archives of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
and the Journal of Athletic Training
show that strengthening the core,
hip abductors, and glutes—in
addition to stretching the quads—is
actually much more effective at easing
knee pain than solely strengthening
the VMO.
continued on page 90