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Knee Problems
Posted by Lee W on June 18, 1998 at 14:19:48: In Reply to: lower back Spain posted by Dan Jones on June 15, 1998 at 22:50:12: I would ask what style you do. If Wu style, I would suggest that you make sure you are alligning your back with your back leg in front stance. If other styles, I would suggest you look at your front stance. If you are straightening your back leg too much then your pelvis will not be able to shift into alignment with your back unless you are using VERY low stances (which I would doubt because stances this low are only used in things such as Northern long fist or Changquan). If you straighten the back knee too much you make the low back become responsible for supporting the upper body. It is NOT made for this.
Try this: Stand in front stance and straighten your back leg. Put your back in line with the back leg. Now bend your back knee but not so much as to shift your weight from being in front stance No put your hands on your hip bones While concentrating on keeping the back connected in a straight line from the top of your head down to the bottom of your pelvic region, tilt your pelvis in and forward so that your head moves to an upright position. This is how you should stand. You may feel discomfort in the hips and insertion areas of the hip-to-leg muscles but this is due to not using them. If you try this and pay attention to the pelvis and low back, you will probably find that the pain will go away. Another area may be that you are not stretching before doing the kicks in a routine. Pulling the hamstring with kicking this way as in the crescent kicks or the heel or toe kicks can cause low back pain too. Try stretching with a Barre like ballet people do prior to practice.
Posted by Gene on July 14, 1998 at 00:10:10: In Reply to: Re: lower back pain posted by Lee W on June 18, 1998 at 14:19:48: Be careful of advise from chang man ching stylists. When in a forward stance there is a tendancy to arch the lower back because they stay in 100 % tuck all the time.. in traditional Yang style u stay in 100% except when u are in a forward stance.. in this position u lean slightly forward taking the bow out of your back... Try laying on the floor .. u should not be able to slip yor hand under yor back..... when asking these kinds of questions u should specify thta u want info from people with real experience not just members of the tai chi lonely hearts club band..... god luck If anyone is interested, I found that compression shorts relieved both my hip and back pain. These were recommended by a PT that has a small clinic for rehabing athletes. I purchased compression shorts from Goode Wraps and had them customize the shorts. They work extremely well for me.
T'ai Chi Ch'uan Message Board Re: Knee problems, Saturday, 29-Nov-97 00:00:32 199.174.201.81 writes: I also have knee pain. I thought it would go away, but it's still there after doing Taiqi for two years. In recent months, it's gotten a lot better. I have received and followed two pieces of advice: 1. First point your foot, then bend your knee in the same direction as your foot is pointing. Never bend your knee in any other direction. 2. Never bend so that your knee extends forward past your foot. I found that I was doing these two bad things mostly in the warmup exercises. For a long time, my teacher kept telling us to try to get lower all the time. That made my knees hurt, because I really tried to get as low as she can. But when she saw that I was trying hard, she said "not so low--just do what you can do."
T'ai Chi Ch'uan Message Board, Re: Knee problems, Monday, 25-May-98 01:29:58, 199.107.22.157 writes: Treat the knee as a hinge joint. Do not torque the knee. Turn at the hip joint, your knee should always remain in the plane drawn betwee the centerline of your foot and your hip joint. If your teacher doesn't know how to correct your posture to maintain proper alignment, then you may need to find a new teacher. Proper execution of the Yang Form should not bother your knees. Regards, Lee Scheele, Lee@supply.com