this was really interesting and something i would definitely love to read/hear/learn more about. as a yoga teacher, i'm curious about how to use this idea in mountain pose, where time and time again - even from pt/yoga teachers and yoga therapists and even biomechanics - the common instruction is to turn the pinky edges of the feet so they are parallel to the edges of the mat, or turn the feet so the space between the two middle toes are parallel. neither of those instructions ever feel good to my knees so i've stopped teaching it that way, but i'm curious how to learn more about this set up and how it might influence other movements. thank you for sharing it.
Hello! Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. Q angles are concept that have been around for a while, but learning how to use them to your advantage is different from the commonly taught narrative of looking at Q angles as a predictor of injury (it turns out, there is no correlation). I will say, depending on your foot structure and q-angle, turning your feet out and setting up a little bit wider might make everything feel a lot more comfortable.
We are going to do a podcast on the topic (hopefully this next week) which should answer some questions. It was also discussed in pretty good detail at The Biomechanics Movement Summit last weekend. The sessions are available for purchase online. Once you understand how to set up for it, it makes squats, lunges, warrior positions, etc., feel a lot easier.
If you have any specific questions re: q angles, feel free to drop them here!
this was really interesting and something i would definitely love to read/hear/learn more about. as a yoga teacher, i'm curious about how to use this idea in mountain pose, where time and time again - even from pt/yoga teachers and yoga therapists and even biomechanics - the common instruction is to turn the pinky edges of the feet so they are parallel to the edges of the mat, or turn the feet so the space between the two middle toes are parallel. neither of those instructions ever feel good to my knees so i've stopped teaching it that way, but i'm curious how to learn more about this set up and how it might influence other movements. thank you for sharing it.
Hello! Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. Q angles are concept that have been around for a while, but learning how to use them to your advantage is different from the commonly taught narrative of looking at Q angles as a predictor of injury (it turns out, there is no correlation). I will say, depending on your foot structure and q-angle, turning your feet out and setting up a little bit wider might make everything feel a lot more comfortable.
We are going to do a podcast on the topic (hopefully this next week) which should answer some questions. It was also discussed in pretty good detail at The Biomechanics Movement Summit last weekend. The sessions are available for purchase online. Once you understand how to set up for it, it makes squats, lunges, warrior positions, etc., feel a lot easier.
If you have any specific questions re: q angles, feel free to drop them here!