How're your knees holding up?

[SighGuy]

Curious. As a younger man of 27, my knees are just fine. But sometimes I wonder if I’m slowly damaging them by, say, praying the Rosary on my knees.

Do you old fogeys still have good knees, even with praying on hard floors?

I’d just like to hear stories so I know if I should “cool it” or if there’s no real cause for concern.

Thanks, and have a good day!

 

[Jennifoo]

Hi there. I’m young and choose not to kneel for the Rosary. I find that it’s too long and the pain distracts me from the prayer. Then I can’t wait for the Rosary to be done so that I can get off my knees. Holy Mother Church doesn’t regulate postures for personal prayers. One is entirely free to pray the Rosary, or any prayer, sitting, standing, kneeling, or even walking.

I also have difficulty at the EF. I personally will sit for the Readings, but make sure to kneel for the Canon and most of the rest. I sit for the Leonine prayers. It’s the best I can do.

Please don’t feel that you have to wreck your knees, or any other part of your body, to show reverence. You don’t. The Lord knows your heart. Besides, reverence is also shown by our demeanor and modesty.

Hope this helps. God bless you.

 

[SighGuy]

Hi Jennifoo,

Thanks for your response. You are certainly right to say this! But as it is, I do not mind the kneeling, and rarely does it come to such a bother that I focus more on it than on the Rosary.

If it came to be evident that kneeling were going to render me damaged by middle-aged, I would not feel bad about sitting.

Peace of Christ!

 

[Hrvatski]

I have one I can kneel on and one that I can’t use. So I go to one knee. To many years of basketball on this 69 year old frame.

 

[GEddie]

Kneeling is painful for me, so I pray standing, when possible.

ICXC NIKA

 

[Jelrak_TB]

Curious. As a younger man of 27, my knees are just fine. But sometimes I wonder if I’m slowly damaging them by, say, praying the Rosary on my knees.

Do you old fogeys still have good knees, even with praying on hard floors?

I’d just like to hear stories so I know if I should “cool it” or if there’s no real cause for concern.

Thanks, and have a good day!

Kneeling during prayer eventually caused me to require a cane to walk for a time due to a feeling quite similar to arthritis, but caused by a loosening of the kneecaps, which in turn was caused by an uneven muscle build-up…after I quit kneeling the symptoms eventually vanished. I can even jog again…I do not recommend kneeling for prayer to anyone for this reason…

 

[book_and_bead]

I have bone-on-bone arthritis in both knees and at 55, not ready for a replacement according to my doc. It’s a long story; I’ve battled weight issues and always had jobs that required lots of heavy lifting. I cannot kneel at all and am only able to walk or stand with walker assistance for ten minutes at the very most. I have my good days and bad days. I always sit in the front pew and on bad days my pastor and our Eucharistic ministers are kind enough to bring the bread and wine to us women who struggle. Some days I can walk up without my walker and get Communion. Either way, I don’t feel bad at all. I’ve been reassured many times by my pastor and others that it’s okay.

 

[Allegra]

I have knelt to pray my whole life, as well as to scrub floors, pull weeds, clean floorboards, paint walls, etc and I have no problems. My stepfather is a carpenter and spends hours everyday working hard on his knees. Some people are born with bad knees, but I expect a regular person isn’t gong to cause themselves harm unless they are literally praying for hours every day. 15 minutes for a rosary is not going to cause a person with healthy knees an injury. Besides, you can purchase foam mats to add extra cushion if you want.

 

[cheezey]

Well, this "old fogey’ tsktsk: ) has bad knees of recent. They are not even good on kneelers. On a chair, I lean forward almost as if adjusting a shoe. (Not quite, but…) Not good on the back but that won’t make me walk as funny and nervously on the way to the altar. I am fairly sure it would cause distraction for others to hear and see my fall for having knelt with weak knees. And on a marble floor.

Take car of your knees, though, even now. Things can happen at your whipper snapper age, too.
So as mentioned, a cushion would be a good idea.

From an old fogey in denial.

 

[CB_Catholic]

From the time I was a little girl, kneeling on a hard surface has caused me a lot of pain, and also kneeling puts a strain on my lower back. Now, in my sixties I can hardly kneel for anything and can’t get back up if I kneel on the ground or floor. I have no padding on my knees and my legs always have been skinny.

In church I “sneel” to relieve the back and knee pressure. If I kneel for Communion at a rail, I have to grab the rail and hoist myself up. I much prefer standing.

I don’t know how kneeling to pray the Rosary every day will affect your knees later. Everybody is different, built differently, etc. But when you are an old fogey, it’s pretty much a guarantee that kneeling will be somewhat difficult.

 

[St_Francis]

Bad knees here, off and on since my teens. I didn’t even play football!

I find that kneeling on a flat surface is easier on my knees than kneeling on kneelers, so I avoid kneelers.

BTW–take good care of your teeth!!!

 

[cheezey]

Bad knees here, off and on since my teens. I didn’t even play football!

I find that kneeling on a flat surface is easier on my knees than kneeling on kneelers, so I avoid kneelers.

BTW–take good care of your teeth!!!

that too!!!

 

[SighGuy]

Thanks for all of the varied replies! And yes, I actually find that kneelers are awful. I can’t use them for very long at all. I begin shifting a lot. To kneel for extended periods of time, I really need to be on the floor. I wondered if I was the only one to hate kneelers. They’re so uncomfortable, and I don’t know why. It seems counter-intuitive.

 

[phil_at_dayboro]

My days of kneeling are just about over, takes a minute to get back up,
Even sitting in a car more that 30 minutes,takes a few seconds to get out, then lean up against the door and straighten this old body out, after ten or so steps I’m back to kind of normal,as long I don’t stop,lol
And I’m only 61 , I need a double knee replacement ,

 

[babochka]

I’m in my mid-40s, with bad knees. I have experienced problems with my knees since I was in my early 20s. At the moment, my right knee (which is prone to injury) is recovering from a bad sprain, so I wouldn’t kneel at all, even during Mass. Even without a specific injury, however, my knees cause pain. I was diagnosed with arthritis in my knees while serving in the Army, at the age of 23. I can usually manage to kneel during Mass, but I avoid it at other times. I don’t squat, either, for the same reason.

 

[babochka]

Thanks for all of the varied replies! And yes, I actually find that kneelers are awful. I can’t use them for very long at all. I begin shifting a lot. To kneel for extended periods of time, I really need to be on the floor. I wondered if I was the only one to hate kneelers. They’re so uncomfortable, and I don’t know why. It seems counter-intuitive.

Kneelers hurt my back, because they put me at an odd angle. I’d much rather kneel on the floor.

 

[TimothyH]

If decades of running and multiple bicycle crashes hasn’t hurt my knees then praying the rosary or kneeling during the consecration sure isn’t going to do any damage.

-Tim-

 

[turtle18]

If I am doing any exercise, then my knees will hurt during Mass. If I am not exercising (and I fall into these periods where I don’t), I usually don’t have problems kneeling.

 

[ccmcmg]

Thanks for all of the varied replies! And yes, I actually find that kneelers are awful. I can’t use them for very long at all. I begin shifting a lot. To kneel for extended periods of time, I really need to be on the floor. I wondered if I was the only one to hate kneelers. They’re so uncomfortable, and I don’t know why. It seems counter-intuitive.

I’m in my mid-40s, with bad knees. I have experienced problems with my knees since I was in my early 20s. At the moment, my right knee (which is prone to injury) is recovering from a bad sprain, so I wouldn’t kneel at all, even during Mass. Even without a specific injury, however, my knees cause pain. I was diagnosed with arthritis in my knees while serving in the Army, at the age of 23. I can usually manage to kneel during Mass, but I avoid it at other times. I don’t squat, either, for the same reason.

Kneelers hurt my back, because they put me at an odd angle. I’d much rather kneel on the floor.

The very front pew in our church is straight up and down, because there is no seating in front of it. I can kneel on it MUCH longer, than at the awkward angle of most pews/kneelers. Sorry, but I have to be one of those ‘recliners’ while kneeling.

Tomorrow we’re going to Latin Mass, which might prove awkward for kneeling/sitting.

 

[TimothyH]

If I am doing any exercise, then my knees will hurt during Mass. If I am not exercising (and I fall into these periods where I don’t), I usually don’t have problems kneeling.

Interesting. Do you stretch? Most people don’t do nearly enough stretching.

“Stretching” by Bob Anderson is a great resource. It has short sections with stretches for just about every sport or activity though I doesn’t have a section on stretches for praying.

books.google.com/books/content?id=trnCvq94_VsC&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&imgtk=AFLRE73Hg_YA3wwqNIpNxsc4PEX7mtxgSxvujEpWQBskECoJGpAF2y9Fu2ysRghSbu5IvDg0VvAs9yUl7CNASuNfyJD-CJ0JAPaBAU2WRsj6Xtx6z_id7DgID8kM85VwfveFwkUyEMDc

-Tim-