No that's not my knee on the left. That is a drawing that I
did to illustrate the stretching that I describe below. Return to my Biology pages
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© Copyright 2002, Jim Loy
No that's not my knee on the left. That is a drawing that I
did to illustrate the stretching that I describe below.
A number of years ago, my knee hurt greatly, just under the knee cap. I was sure that I needed surgery. I went to a knee specialist, cost me a couple hundred dollars, and he told me that my knee was in great shape. All I needed to do was stretch before and after tennis. I have been stretching more or less regularly since then, and my knee feels very good. On the left we see a drawing that I did using Poser, which shows the main stretch. We are stretching the muscle marked with the red arrow. I don't know the name of the muscle.
During normal walking or running, this muscle contracts to straighten the knee, and relaxes when other muscles bend the knee. If it is tense or tight, then it may not relax so well when you bend your knee. This will stretch the tendon (ligament?) which connects this muscle, over the knee cap, to the front of the shin bone. Tendons are not supposed to stretch; when they do, they hurt a lot. And that is the pain that I felt.