The Yoga Therapy Toolbox #11: Best tip for JOINT HEALTH

If you want your knees to last into old age, avoid this! ⬆️

If there is one thing I am deeply grateful for as I approach my 58th birthday, it’s my joints. I get out of bed every morning and go to bed every night without a single pain in them.

And when I do get injured — as we do from time to time in a physically active life — I know exactly what helps me heal quickly: Following the number one indication (and contraindication) for joint health.

This may sound controversial, especially if you have been trained to believe otherwise:

👉 Joints need to be mobile and strong — never overstretched.

Why overstretching damages joints (the science)

• Joint stability depends on connective tissue integrity

Ligaments and the joint capsule limit excessive movement.

Once overstretched, they don’t “bounce back” like muscles do.

This creates joint laxity (looseness), which raises the risk of injury and long-term instability.

• Hypermobility increases degeneration

Repeated overstretching can lead to hypermobility or worsen pre-existing conditions.

Hypermobility causes microtrauma that wears down cartilage faster, raising the risk of osteoarthritis.

• Your nervous system is protecting you

Muscles and tendons have built-in sensors (proprioceptors) that regulate stretch to prevent injury. This is  for a good reason!!

Overstretching overrides these signals, leading to sprains or strains.

The nervous system reacts with chronic tension, creating more pain.

• Cartilage needs proper alignment

Articular cartilage protects the bones in each joint.

Overstretching disrupts alignment, causing uneven pressure and faster wear.

What this means in practice

In yoga therapy sessions, I focus on maintaining JOINT SAFETY with practices such as:

Therapeutic Pawanmuktasana (Joint Freeing Series by Mukunda Stiles) — a must-know for every yoga therapist.  

Implement resistance bands and the use of a small Pilates ball to create gentle resistance that helps strengthen the muscles around the joints

If you want your own joints (and your students’ joints) to stay pain-free into your 60s and beyond:

Stay within the natural Range of Motion -you will know because anything that goes beyond ROM causes deep pain-. Don’t ignore it!

Avoid overstretching, especially holding stretches for more than 3 minutes.

“We are only just beginning to see the damage caused by overstretching. Alarmingly, many yoga practitioners in their 20s already report knee, hip, and shoulder pain”.

➡️ Keep joints moving, keep muscles strong, and avoid overstretching. That’s how you get to enjoy your joints for a lifetime!

About the Yoga Therapy Toolbox

The Yoga Therapy Toolbox is a collection of practical, experience-led tools drawn from decades of clinical yoga therapy practice and refined through real-world use with a wide range of clients and health conditions. Alongside clear, usable applications, we share insight into where these tools come from and why they work, so they can be used immediately or returned to when needed. New Toolbox posts are published regularly – subscribe to receive email reminders whenever a new tool is added, so you never miss one.