Knee Pop and Long Leg!

Greetings!

After reading your letter about the popping hip, I was wondering if you could shed some light on a problem that I have been having. I have been having a popping sensation at the back of the knee. After x-rays and an MRI, I visited an orthopedic that told me that "he doesn't know what to tell me", he thinks it is my hamstring. The popping started back in October and since then has for the most part gone away, but there are times that I can still feel it "pop" or get a sensation as though it needs to pop. Do you have any ideas or suggestions that I can try? I guess I need to tell you that there is no particular exercise that bothers me, most of the time it happens I am just walking!

Thanks! Nancy

Good question – and – I'm happy to hear that the 'pop' is slowly going away. It's not unusual at all to find that the lateral hamstring is tighter than the others. For women, it has to do with the width of our hips and potentially tighter iliotibial bands. (The IT band connects from the muscles on the outside of the hip and runs down the outside of the leg to below the knee)

Are your IT bands tight? If so, I would work with a foam roller along the outside of the leg as well as the front and back.

Some dancers have some natural rotation that occurs at their feet while walking. You want to keep the hip/knee/ankle in alignment when walking, and that usually means facing straight ahead. You might note if the times you are noticing the pop if you are wearing shoes that perhaps shift your gait. I see dancers walk more turned out while in heels, for example.

It is amazing how often a favorite pair of shoes can be traced to some small tweaks and pulls. I'm not saying that is what created your 'pop' but simply when there is something going on that isn't a straight forward cause/effect – it is useful to broaden our observations to look for less common influences.

Next question…

I have a big problem standing in fifth position. I cannot seem to straighten my legs and still maintain a closed fifth position, mostly because one leg is insanely longer than the other one! My teachers are always telling me to straighten my legs and I just can't seem to do it. As a result, I grip my quads a lot to try and keep a straight fifth position. Then my teachers tell me to lift up and turn out to keep me from gripping my quads, but then I can't keep from tucking under. Will I ever be able to have a straight fifth with my uneven legs? What should I do?
Thanks! –Kelly

There is a simple solution to this problem, Kelly. That is to get a lift to put in your soft slippers of the short leg. I have seen this problem before when the dancer comes to see me and is having some knee, hip, or ankle problems on the long leg side.

If there is enough difference that you cannot easily cheat your 5th (I'm not encouraging anyone to cheat anything) that tells me you are standing unevenly between the two legs even in open positions.

Stand in first position facing the mirror. Slowly lower into demi plié. Do you shift to the longer leg side at the bottom of the plié? Now put something small – less than a half inch in thickness under your short leg. Repeat your demi plié. Does it look more even? How does it feel?

If it feels significantly better it would be worth going to the drug store and purchasing a pair of heel cushions and place one of them in your soft shoe. It is an inexpensive fix. Take the other lift and put it in your walking shoes and notice if you feel more evenly balanced as you go through the day.

Warmest regards,
Deborah