External Tibial Rotation

[martine]

Hi there,

Does anyone have any experience of tibial torsion? I have seen a physio and osteopath for knee pain (swelling and inflammation around knee-cap) neither of them noticed the twisted tibia. (I noticed it when massaging the knee) That is, the head of my right tibia is in a different position to my right (pain free). It is further forward and appears twisted forward. This means when I walk, when my leg becomes straight, my knee cap tracks over the wrong part of the tibia. This causes significant pain and for about 7 weeks now I have had to stop walking for more than 10 minutes. This is very debilitating and I would love to hear from anyone who has any ideas about how to get my tibia back to its ideal alignment. I am getting very anxious about any movement as I feel my medial meniscus could be seriously in danger due to the tibia being in the wrong place. I want to avoid surgery at all costs.

Thanks!

Martine

[celinenj03]

Did you have an injury that might have caused this?

[martine]

Hi Celine,
About 20 years ago I fell on my knee but it didn't seem to be too bad (small scar). I have always had problems with the knee but I think it is a hip and foot alignment problem that causes a twist in the knee when I walk. I am currently developing my own exercise routine to strengthen and realign my left hip and left foot arch. This seems to be helping a bit although it is hart to tell as I don't walk too much anymore out of fear of making things worse.
Thanks for the reply,
Martine

[cat]

Martine,
I'm curious. Do you have some sort of dislocation or is it that your tibia and/or femur is twisted? Have you been evaluated by a doctor for this? And what kind of exercises are you doing? I was told by a yoga instructor to do mountain pose .(I have internally rotated femurs and externally rotated tibias.) But when I tried doing what my instructor suggested it just stressed my hip joint.
cat

[tanyap]

I am currently developing my own exercise routine to strengthen and realign my left hip and left foot arch. This seems to be helping a bit although it is hart to tell as I don't walk too much anymore out of fear of making things worse.

Martine - I would be very very careful doing this - if you get the exercises wrong you could cause yourself more damage - you really need a professional to design an exercise program that matches your needs.

[martine]

Hi Cat,
No dislocation, it just seems like my tibia is externally rotated and when I bend my left knee when standing, (squat) the femur rolls in slightly. When a knee bends it is designed so the tibia rotates internally, it seems like my femur is joining in!! I have done a heap of research and found that the ankle joint is important in this as when walking the foot undergoes many transitions that can cause the tibia to rotate. Also, it seems that my hip is weaker on the left (bad side) and so I have been using the wrong muscles to walk. For this I am strengthening gluteus medius and maximus.

Every case is different I think, mountain pose may stress your body if you are not using the correct muscles or try to change things too quickly. Maybe ask your yoga teacher if she can show you how to bend your knees without the femurs rotating inwards? I guess those are the muscles that need strengthening?

Good luck,
Martine.

[cat]

Thanx Martine, but I already know how to keep my knee caps from turning inward. I just turn my foot out.
I'm glad you've found some exercises that are helping you.
cat