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Knee and hip pain
Ficus_religiosa
Veteran
When I first started meditating, my upper back hurt like hell after a few minutes. Some stretching and studying a proper way to sit straight proved to work wonderfully.
I always sit in lotus with a small pillow under my bottom, keeping my hip a little higher than my knees, helping my back staying straight.
After a month or so of meditating almost every evening, I just don't seem to get used to it in my legs. My knees are a little sore, and my inner thigh (only the left) is too. The foot which rests inside the joint on my right leg (this being the left foot) also hurts.
I thought it would pass, but it doesn't. I don't wanna hurt myself, but still insist on sitting in full lotus. It's a posture you can use everywhere on any surface because you don't sit on a foot or knee or whatnot squeezing it..
I always sit in lotus with a small pillow under my bottom, keeping my hip a little higher than my knees, helping my back staying straight.
After a month or so of meditating almost every evening, I just don't seem to get used to it in my legs. My knees are a little sore, and my inner thigh (only the left) is too. The foot which rests inside the joint on my right leg (this being the left foot) also hurts.
I thought it would pass, but it doesn't. I don't wanna hurt myself, but still insist on sitting in full lotus. It's a posture you can use everywhere on any surface because you don't sit on a foot or knee or whatnot squeezing it..
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Comments
Since I sit seiza, the knees get stiff after a while, and the ankles/feet as well if I don't use a bench. I consider it one of the sharper-pointed aspects of dukkha, myself.
It's when I sit down and adjust my legs it hurts, as opposed to earlier where it just stretched. After a while the pain ceases.
And I mean it hurts, like needles or other unpleasant things where pushed into my senews :?
Its pretty common to have those issues in the beginning of the lotus position. It sounds like your body isn't loosened up enough, and it would be good to do some pre-stretching. Check out this video if you can. The stretching exercises will help open up your hips, knees, ankles and the ligaments in your legs.
If you can, consulting with a yoga instructor locally could also help. I bet there's one that could give you some pointers if the video doesn't do the trick. I've been using burmese, but have been preparing my body to use the full lotus for its wide open breath.
Good luck!
With warmth,
Matt
I used to sit cross-legged for about a year. While keeping a straight back was not a problem in that position, my knees always ended up twisted and hurting, especially after longer sessions. Don't even mention lotus. Then I discovered seiza (it's quite unusual in Thailand), which solved my problems. I use a small wooden stool for support and -voila- no more knee pain and the back can be kept perfectly straight.
Cheers, Thomas
It sounds to me as if you would do well to have your spine and sciatic nerve checked out. There can be undiagnosed problems which only manifest after years, for example Spondylolisthesis.
I agree with this. If the pain persists, even after stretching exercises, I think it would be time to re-think the position you're sitting in and maybe even see a doctor.
I have some pain in my hips and right calf too, so I am thinking that in time, I will be forced to just forgo the Burmese position and sit on a chair.
Sitting Seiza would probably kill my knees, as I am on the heavy side, and I don't think I can find a wooden bench around here too easily.
I made mine with stuff I found in a skip when someone was re-fitting a shop. I found two pine shelves and some brackets in there, asked the owner if I could have them and found that they were fascinated in what I was going to do. They were so fascinated that they asked me for a meditation reading list and instructions on making one for themselves.
I don't think a doctor will be necessary. I have back-problems from a curved spine (like my father), but I never feel it anymore. Exercise and stretching has helped it stop. Once in a while I will get crick, but I've learned to just ignore it - after all it's just muscle pressing on nerves. I stretch and walk, and it ceases. It happens less than one time a year though.
The pain in my knee stops after a while of meditating, and it doesn't follow me more than a couple of minutes after. It's, as I wrote, more when I've sat i lotus in all sessions for several days that it will hurt when I adjust my legs. "Hip" might be a bad selection of word, as it's more the inside of my thigh (I don't know what to call it in English).
My concern is not that I have any conditions, but that I will eventually get some if I force my body too much.. Any thoughts? (and sorry for making myself sound more "sick" than I am, I find it difficult to explain this in English as I lack some specific medical terms)
Well, I'm just a beginner in meditation, but I've read about a condition called "meditator's knee" where your knee will give you pain after meditating in a cross legged position for a while. Other than that, I have also heard of people getting mild cases of "phlebitis" (painful inflamed veins) in their thighs or calves. But this is more rare according to what I read.
I think the important thing, is not to force your body into doing something it doesn't want to, or isn't ready for.
I agree that the lotus position is very versatile as it allows you to sit without any additions like a mat or zabuton, but if this is causing you pain and negative bodily reactions, then I'd at least think about the possibility of switching positions to a less demanding one.
Thanks for the help you guys