Knees

Problems with knees usually aren’t problems with knees at all, but problems at the ankle or at the hip socket. Knees are actually pretty free formed joints, just like two bones in proximity to each other. No boney restrictions or muscular restrictions, but the combination of 6 ligaments restrict it’s movement to just bending in one direction, and once bent, some rotation. Knees tend to be high indicator joints, they are the points where pain tends to show up first, because they are so restricted in movement. The problem though isn’t at the knees, it’s at the surrounding joints – the ankle and the hip socket. Both the hip socket and the ankle have a huge range of motion, and if they aren’t held stiff with too much tension and they can move freely, then their movement takes all the stress out of knee joint.

Mobility

People have natural mobility in the ankle and hip socket, but if they don’t use it, or train themselves to force things too much the joint will get immobile. (One of those reason why people should avoid those teachers that teach over forcing movements just to look good or fast). It takes practice for people to learn to allow movement at the joint and relax away from forcing action at the hip and ankle.

Getting mobility going at the ankle and hip allows for natural ease and grace in movement. It gets rid of most of the ever being off balance a dancer will feel. It allows for a huge amount adaptation when you’re dancing with a partner (especially when dancing close in Standard or Smooth). It allows you to move around your center and adapt and change shape while just standing on a single spot and not moving (all those wonderful juicy moves that Bob and Julia used to do? yeah, work on your ankles and hip-sockets to make that sort of stuff easy.) It allows for easy leading in Standard from the body, and that nice rolling through the feet action that is needed to make Slow Foxtrot so slow.

Exercise 1 : Loosening the ankle

Lift one leg (you could be standing, sitting, laying down, doesn’t matter) and with the free leg make circles with the foot. Try to get as far around as you can – explore the full range of motion. Ready for a little change? A little more challenge? Trace the letters of the alphabet with your foot.

Exercise 2 : Plié (Squat)

Stand (could be feet/heels together -- “first position” or feet shoulder width apart -- “second position” do a few of both) and bend your knees and lower. Take a look down as you lower, does your knee track in the same direction of your foot easily? Does it track to the inside (very common)? or track to the outside? If your knee doesn’t track in the line of your foot, you have a tight hip socket or ankle – you needed this lesson! :)

When you lower, does your heel come off the ground? How far can you lower while keeping your heel on the ground? This insures that your working bend at the ankle – that’s the mobility we want to improve. Do several plié’s, only go as far as you can keep your heel on the ground – this isn’t a contest, you don’t get a prize for going lower – you get a prize for working the right joint – and that prize is better health. Pass go, collect $200, get better balance and grace, and reduce the chance of injury for your knee for the rest of your life.

When you lower, do you stick your butt out to the back? Do you tilt it up forward to the sky? Try to lower keeping your hips going straight down without tilting, so that your spine keeps it’s nice natural curve in the lumbar region. Like keeping the heel on the ground assures movement at the ankle, keeping the hips inline assures movement at the hip-socket.

(Plié from the french plier – to bend)

Exercise 3: Knee circles

You can find versions of this exercise in everything from gymnastics, to yoga, to gyrotonics, to ballroom, to whatever. Stand in a slight plie (with some bend in your knees) and make circles with your knees. Go clockwise, counter-clockwise, both knees in the same direction, go in opposite direction. Although the knees are the things moving though space you want to try to get most of the action happening at the ankles and hips – the knees won’t really be doing any work when you’re doing it right.

 

Remember, relax, have fun, learn to enjoy the movement and not force it. Here’s to happy knees!