knee discomfort when stretching

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.

Is there anyone with some input regarding this matter?

Would appreciate any help,

thanks.

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

#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. 

Joshua Slocum said:

#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