How to get rid of knee pain
Once again, the Tube Principle comes to the rescue.
Most often, knee pain comes from putting too much effort into bending and straightening your knees. Here’s how to remove the strain and therefore the pain as well.
Think of your leg as a tube. The knee is, of course, a bend in that tube. When you put too much effort into moving it, you over-tighten it all around and strain pretty much all your knee muscles.
Normally you would concentrate on trying to ease your bending or straightening knee muscles. Don’t do that. Instead, pay attention to the pull from the back of your knee towards the front. Here’s how to do it.
Do this and you’ll find it helps your knee very quickly
Find your knee-cap and then put your two hands over the knee so that the tips of fore-fingers are on the bottom of your knee-cap and the other finger-tips are on the front of your lower-leg bone. Allow your palms to settle gently on the sides of your knee.
Now just imagine someone gently massaging your knee, gently drawing their two lots of finger tips apart in front — and the bases of their two hands together at the back. Go with it: allow your knee to ease in that direction.
Notice how that simple thought eases the pain straight away.
The next step
When you next feel knee pain, stop what you’re doing for a moment and imagine those two hands doing that gentle drawing backwards. If you need to, sit down and use your hands to get the feel you got when you last did it again. Once you have some ‘feel’ for it, just use that new-found feel to help your knee work more comfortably, as you go back to what you were doing.
See what a difference it makes? Then remember to keep using it: the more you use it, the better your knees will get.
… and the next article
The next article, How to use your feet better to get rid of knee pain, was published in my newsletter, Back in Action on Wednesday 25th March. You can read the article here.
Next: Why you should never bend at the hips
Further Resources
Here are some ways I can help you further.
Wherever you live
- If you’re not already getting my free weekly article delivered to your inbox, then
go here to get it.
(It’s free)
When you subscribe you also get to download “The Hows & Whys of Semi-Supine”. This free e-booklet is indispensable to anyone serious about strengthening their bad back (or further strengthening an already-strong back). - Repoise is our membership site for people who are serious about improving themselves (and getting out of pain as they do that).
When you join, you will:–
- Have daily access to me. Together we will work out what’s going wrong for you and how to fix it
- Learn from reading other Repoise members’ questions and following their progress as they work with me
- I’m writing a book about my work. It will come out on the 1st December 2010. If you're getting the free weekly articles, I'll send out more details about the up-coming book as soon as the information is available.
If you’re in Liverpool (or can get to Liverpool)
- I’m also running Friday lunchtime group lessons. Go here for details.
- There’s nothing better than individual lessons. Ring me on 0151 708 6172 to talk to me about booking individual lessons. (Leave your number so I can get back to you).
If you’re further away and can’t get to Liverpool
- There’s still nothing better than individual lessons. Here’s where you can find a teacher near you in the UK or elsewhere
- I suggest you also do the things I listed above for everyone:–
- Read my weekly articles
- Get direct day-to-day guidance from me by joining Repoise.
Next: Why you should never bend at the hips
Hi Philip,
I find this one a bit confusing. Are you saying that much knee pain comes from too much contraction in the front of the knee and that one could “pull together” the back of the knee to un-do the front? Or are the imaginary hands drawing away from the inside of the knees toward the outside?
In many of your “tube principle” writings, I would find diagrams useful. Do you know any artists?
Thanks in advance for your clarification.
Hi Constance,
Thanks for a great comment.
A lot of people find my descriptions of the Tube Principle confusing and that’s very natural because what we find when we use it is usually very counter-intuitive. There’s a good reason for it’s being counter-intuitive: what we find contradicts the voice of our habits — and you know what it’s like when you go against habit.
When, in my lessons, I get my pupils to apply Tube Principle directions, things quickly become much clearer to them. That’s because the directions just work.
About the imaginary hands, yes, they need to pull from the front of the knee to the back. Don’t try and over-intellectualise it. Just try it and see. Once it has worked for you (or your pupils), you’ll begin to understand it better. I’m sure I wouldn’t understand it either if it were a new concept for me and somebody tried to explain it to me.
Yes, diagrams would be helpful and I’ll make sure I include some in the book when it comes out. Unfortunately I don’t know any artists so any clues to finding one would be greatly appreciated.
I am afraid “natural” is not really any sort of indicator as to whether what you are taking is good or bad for your body. Poisons such as cyanide a VERY natural.
Jacqualine,
What do you mean? While I totally agree with your comment, I don’t see any relevance either to my article or to my comment.
The only place I use the word “natural” is in my reply to Constance where I say: “A lot of people find my descriptions of the Tube Principle confusing and that’s very natural because what we find when we use it is usually very counter-intuitive.”