In discussions about Hyperextended Knees, some students who have been dancing for years are just beginning to understand that their knees hyperextend, or over-straighten.

Explaining a neutral leg, in the first few classes, is as important as explaining a neutral spine, whatever words the teacher uses. A neutral leg is knee above the ankle bone, pelvis above the knees. A line drawn down through a photo of you standing taken from the side should reveal a postural plumb line from the center of the skull and neck. It is depending where you rested your weight. With hyperextended legs, the knees stretch back behind this line. While this curving out at the back of the knees is an admired line in a dancer’s gesture leg, it causes many problems in a standing leg. First you tackle the feeling of the legs being bent, when held in a straight position.

What is best for you?

However, in this straight position it is much easier to hold the turnout. You have the pelvis in a neutral position where you can build strength in your center. When the knees rest back in hyperextension, the thighs turn in, and often the pelvis tucks under. Now you have compromised the safety of your low back. From here you destabilize your balance. You can compensate for this distortion in many ways in soft shoes, to a degree. There is also a lot of talk about overdeveloping the quads or inside knee muscle, because of holding the leg straight. Not so. If your pelvis is neutral, you can use your muscles properly. You don’t need to grip or clench also you want your thighs pulled up long. You want a feeling of pushing down through the center of your leg bones into the floor.

What hyperextended knee?

You will achieve a real lengthening by doing this, your deep lower abs will pull up and in nicely, and now your core muscles are supporting the length you want. The term hyperextended knee refers to an injury in which the knee joint is somehow forced into a position. It is beyond what is consider to be its normal fully straighten position. When someone hyperextends their knee, the lower leg is excessively positioned forward in relationship to the upper leg. You have seen the pictures of a hyperextended knee. The ones that make you cringe. This knee injury can easily occur due to an awkward landing after a jump. It can also happen as a result of trying to stop running abruptly. In sports such basketball, soccer, gymnastics, volleyball or rugby. You can imagine for yourself scenarios that would cause the knee into an overly straightened position.

Knee braces can help control the degree to which the knee is allow to be hyperextend. The support that they can provide can reduce your knee pain and decrease the chance of this kind of knee injury from every happening in the first place. We are here to help you and you can ask any type of question from us.