knee discomfort when stretching

[Juan Cardenas]

Hi, im new to the forums and i absolutely love them, will definitely be getting GB starter pack soon enough.

 

In any case, i have been stretching latelly, and noticed a discomfort in my knees when doing hamstring or midde split oriented stretches. 

 

The discomfort comes in two ways:

 

1. around the inner part of the knee when i try to go deep into a split stretch for example, with my toes pointing forward.

 

2. On the beck of the knee (my guess is posterior ligament), when i do straddle or very deep hamstring stretches with my toes pointing upward.

 

To be honest maybe both discomforts are coming from the same place, they just feel a tad different cause of the position.

 

So.. i would really appreciate if someone can give me some pointers as to how i should approach this.. i know there are stretches with flexed knees that put less pressure on them, but since im aiming for the splits i would like to address the problem, not go around it.

Maybe lower intensity, more volume to get the ligaments used to the stretch?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

[Juan Cardenas]

Is there anyone with some input regarding this matter?

Would appreciate any help,

 

thanks.

[Vincent Stoyas]

Typical pain behind the knee while doing pike stretches is caused by tight Calves.

[Joshua Slocum]

#1 could be your hip adductors being stretched, or it could be that you're putting more pressure on the knee than it can bear. You could try doing a "frog" stretch instead. 

 

#2 is likely the gastrocnemius muscle being stretched - it's one of the muscles that makes up your calves. It crosses under the knee and attaches to the femur (upper leg bone): when this muscle is stretched (as it usually is in the pike), it's not uncommon to feel it in the knees. 

[Juan Cardenas]

#1 could be your hip adductors being stretched, or it could be that you're putting more pressure on the knee than it can bear. You could try doing a "frog" stretch instead. 

 

#2 is likely the gastrocnemius muscle being stretched - it's one of the muscles that makes up your calves. It crosses under the knee and attaches to the femur (upper leg bone): when this muscle is stretched (as it usually is in the pike), it's not uncommon to feel it in the knees. 

 

#1 yeah i think thats possible, but as i said, will the frog tretch help my knees get used to the stretch, or is it just going around the problem?

 

#2 i do have very tight calves, so that might be the reason... Ill be sure to stretch my calves more often.

 

Thanks for the replies