I’m not of fan of sitting on my knees. I just don’t see how it can be good for me.
Especially considering I played catcher in baseball during my teenage years. Which required me to spend A LOT of time in the squatted position. Even back then when I was in the game, I never rested on my knees. It just didn’t feel good to me.
I know it’s pretty common for some people to sit on their knees. Especially while working on something that requires them to be low to the ground. Or playing with the kids on the floor.
I’m not speaking for them in this article. I’m just speaking for myself, through my experience of being an athlete who has a full-time job working on a computer.
Most people don’t think about knee pain after sitting. Or, its long-term impact on joint health, circulation, and posture.
So today, I’m dedicating this post to talk about whether or not sitting on your knees is bad.
Is Sitting on Your Knees Bad?
People sit on their knees frequently without realizing the potential strain it can place on the knee, ankles, and lower back.
Posture habits can quietly impact joint health over time. The more repetitive strain and overuse I put my muscles through, the tighter they get. The tighter they get, the more it decreases my blood flow. This affects my joint health in a heavy way. Especially how my tight muscles pull on my tendons at the knee joint, considering how I much time I spent in a prolonged sitting posture for 9 years.
Listening to your body, and changing your sitting position throughout the day, can help with your joint health over time.
What Happens to Your Knees When You Sit on Them
I choose not to sit on my knees, because knee health is important to me. And sitting on my knees could pose multiple problems. Like the ones listed below…
Increased pressure on kneecap
The knee cap is designed to glide smoothly. It works together will multiple tendons, muscles, and other forms of soft tissue. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to rest my 200 pound frame on my knees. But as if that’s not enough of a reason, here are a few more that I keep in mind.
Reduced circulation in lower legs
The heart pumps blood throughout our entire body. And the lower legs have the farthest distance for that blood to travel. My knees are already enough of a roadblock for that blood to pass through. I don’t want to make that situation any more difficult by sitting on my knees.
Strain on ligaments and tendons
Sitting on my knees would require my lower leg and thigh to be at a minimal angle at the knee joint. I’d guess 10 degrees or so. And that’s just not good for me. Maybe it would be okay if I was doing a quick stretch. But definitely not while prolonged sitting.
Potential stiffness when standing up
Sitting on my knees would require my hamstrings to contract fully, and my quadriceps to extend fully. Two completely different actions, for 2 muscle groups that are supposed to work together. This would cause dysfunction and stiffness after the fact. And it’s just not worth it for me.
Is it Bad to Sit on Your Knees for Long Periods
Sitting in any one position for long periods is bad for me, especially if I was sitting on my knees.
But let’s even look at normal sitting posture at a computer. Even if I have “perfect” posture, it can still cause repetitive strain and overuse injuries.
Although good posture is important, computer pain doesn’t care so much how good my posture is. It cares more about how long I work in the exact same position.
And the longer duration I’m in that position, the more increased risk of excessive muscle tension, discomfort, and joint stress.
What are the Benefits of Sitting on Your Knees
I, personally, can’t think of any benefit I’d get from sitting on my knees. Here are some benefits that “could” be possible, but I’ll also cover why they’re not worth it for me.
Improve ankle and knee flexibility over time
This may be true for an experienced yogi or gymnast. Someone who takes their flexibility very seriously. I mean very seriously. I don’t fall into this category. Even with my flexibility being an important focus, also considering I do take hot yoga classes occasionally. I try to avoid those knee sitting postures in class when they come up. Instead, I will just spend the time in child’s pose (focusing on lengthening my tight hip flexors instead).
Encourage upright posture when done correctly
This is a good benefit, but still not worth it for me. There are other ways I encourage upright posture. I’ve written about them in my article titled How to Sit Up Straight While Working.
There are also ways I encourage upright posture away from my desk. Like cactus pose (while laying on the floor), stretching with a yoga stick, or doing strengthening exercises with a steel mace. I wrote about all those at the end of this article.
Be part of mobility practices in cultures and activities like yoga
I can understand wanting to be a part of these. But even when I’m in yoga class, there are other things I can work on that are a better use of my time and energy.
Especially because sitting with poor foot position at a computer (for 9 years) caused me to be hamstring dominant. This caused my quadriceps to lengthen. My quads need work being activated and strengthened, but they don’t need any help getting stretched into a longer position. Which is what sitting on my knees would do.
Nowadays, I always sit with my feet flat on the ground, or a footrest if necessary.
How to Sit on Your Knees Comfortably
There is no way for me to sit comfortably on my knees
That’s my personal stance on it. Like I said earlier, knee sitting may be beneficial for flexibility experts like yogis or gymnasts. Especially if they have very tight quadriceps, which they are trying to stretch. But if they have tight quads, they probably don’t sit at a computer for long periods of time anyway. So they’re not reading this.
This article is for the athletes who have full-time jobs at a computer. For those of us that know, knee pain after sitting causes all kinds of other issues. And we work around them in our own unique ways.
Thanks for your interest in computer posture.
Todd Bowen – Computer Posture Correction and Pain-Free Ergonomics: For Office Workers Who Want to Fix Their Sitting Pain
P.S. If you’ve read this far down, you’ll love the digital store I just published.
🙏 Thank you for supporting my work. -Todd