pain in my knee during splits?

[Chris H Laing]

Hey all, I just joined this forum because I have used Coach Sommers progressions for developing a full back lever and an advance tuck planche and front lever. However the strength moves aren't the thing that gives me trouble...it's flexibility.

Lately I have been stretching more and have become fond of working the splits to make sure my whole hip area is loose for all the squats we do during crossfit .

The only problem is that when i attempt side splits I get pain on the inside of my right knee, as if the ligament is getting stretched too much. I have looked up the proper stances and positions for the side splits, and have found out that many people get knee pain because they don't rotate their thighs outward and point there feet up...the only thing is that I do this and still experience the pain.

If anyone has any information that could help me with my splits dilemma i would greatly appreciate it...and sorry for the long post :oops:

[Morphs]

I've experienced the same thing at some point, although lately I haven't had any knee pains while stretching the side split.

One thing is that you shouldn't overstretch, especially when you feel your knees. Have you tried the three different side split stretches to see which one doesn't hurt? Here's a short recap:

1- While standing, walk your feet apart as far as possible while placing your hands in front of you on the ground. Your upper body should be horizontal and your hips should be aligned between your feet when viewed from above (see http://www.howtostretch.com/advancedstretches.html).

2- While sitting, spread your legs to the side and lean forward, the 'pancake' stretch (optionally you can lean forward to either side while grabbing the foot).

3- Lie on your back with your legs straight up in the air. Your legs and upper body make a 90 degree angle (just like stretch 1). Then spread them while relaxing your groin. This stretch works best when performed with your legs resting against a wall so you can completely relax.

I've ordered these stretches from potentially the most stressing on the knee to the least stressing. Particularly the first stretch can be very stressing on the knees if you are overdoing it. Furthermore you can try flexing or pointing your toes in stretches 2 and 3, this may relieve the knee of some of the tension.

Aside from these there are more ways to stretch for the side split. A common one in martial arts is the 'horse stance'. Since the knees are bent, this may be an interesting stretch for you. See

. You can see the horse stance at 1:45 and a dynamic version at 1:58.

[gymrob]

I've experienced this. I think it is a weakness of the connective tissue. I think the right way to go about it is to not try to increase the ROM for a while but to work on isometric tensions for certain periods of time until the tissue gets stronger.