Is this a safe stretch?

[momof5]

The level 4 and 5's and at our gym have a new stretch that makes me uncomfortable and I was wondering if I was being unreasonable? The girls sit on their bottoms with their legs elevated on a mat in a pike. The have a partner put their hands on their legs. One hand below the knee and one hand above the knee and push the leg down to the ground. I am worried that this is unsafe for their knees. Am I being unresonable?

 

[jitta_bug123]

I cant tell you if this is safe sorry, but we do do this stretch at our gym too. Im pretty sure it's so your knees hyperextend, so even when they are slightly relaxed they still look straight to the judges, and also it will help your splits leaps to look more split without actually having to get your splits down further.

 

[gymnut1]

We have gymnasts sit like this and stretch forwards but we dont push their legs down. I don't know if you could damage the knee or not. As a coach I am always wary of kids stretching other kids. They don't have much awareness sometimes of when to stop.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

yes! this is unsafe for the knees if not done properly.

fallacy: you can get the knee joint straight so the knees don't look bent while performing gymnastics. false, false, and false.

hypermobile shows the anatomy of the knee to be beyond straight.

hypomobile shows the anatomy of the knee to be not quite straight.

you want hypermobile? then knee reconstructive surgery is the ONLY remedy. there is NO stretch that will take the anatomy of the knee from hypo to hyper. no, no, and NO.

 

[gymdog]

It probably depends on how much they're pushing. I constantly pull my heels up off the ground in pike and I've been doing that for the better part of a decade I guess. I don't really feel it putting stress on my knees. Of course, pulling up from the foot, not pushing down from on top of the knees. Now I'm not sure pushing the knee while in extension is the best way to stretch for straight legs. Tight calves and hamstrings seem better to address.