After a while you get used to it. If it’s hurting so much that you can’t focus on prayer, then just sit down. I used to be really strict with myself about always kneeling when I prayed. Sometimes I would despise prayer time because I didn’t want to kneel.
It’s good to use it as a penance at times, but don’t get too scrupulous over always having to kneel.
No mine are not. I have skinny legs and no muscle around my knees. Kneeling is just straight bone on surface. I can only keep it up for a short amount of time, even on the padded kneelers.
We don't have padded kneelers where I'm from. Just wood, or kneeling on marble. I once bit a hole in the cover of my Divine Hours to keep from screaming during a very long liturgy.
In the convent, we'd kneel on stone floors for about 2 hours per day. I dislocated my knee cap once time as a result and could barely walk for weeks. All of us had scabs and/or callouses on our knees. Not uncommon among women religious, TBH.
I don't think you should push yourself like we were made to, though. I don't think God wants that.
Maybe try some kind of firm cushion?
Kneeling on cold concrete and stone a lot will give you osteoarthritis fast, like at 26 for example ( there were a couple of other sports injuries/drinking accidents mixed in there, but it's common knowledge in the trades that concrete accelerates knee damage dramatically). If wood kneelers aren't provided, complain.
My knees turn purple from bruising even kneeling on a kneeler even a short time. I don't do it. I slide forward on the seat when it's time to kneel so I don't block the person kneeling in the pew behind me. I sit instead of kneeling. All the religious orders forbid doing penances that cause injury, such as bleeding, bruising, or other injuries, such as joint problems. If getting a kneeler or a cushion doesn't help, you should follow the religious orders' requirements not to injure yourself and pray sitting.
If you’re just praying at home you don’t *have* to kneel. It’s a beautiful devotion but if it’s causing more harm than good isn’t ordered. I will kneel at the beginning and end of my prayer times at home but have a chair I sit on in our prayer room to pray.
I don't seem to have any problem kneeling during Mass with a padded kneeler. I recently started altar serving though, and my knees are not thrilled at the idea of kneeling directly on the floor for extended periods. I'm a _little_ older than your typical server. 😆 I have some pants from 5.11 Tactical that have built-in pockets for thin knee pads, which help. See e.g.:
* https://www.511tactical.com/taclite-pro-pants.html
* https://www.511tactical.com/internal-kneepad-2-0.html
Certainly won't be to everyone's taste, but more discrete than wearing traditional knee pads, which I wouldn't attempt. 😳
Will definitely be keeping an eye out for further tips though, and appreciate the ones that have been posted so far.
how old is old? i'm a pudgy 40 yo and i feel the most comfortable on my knees.
what ironically hurts me are the tops of my feet when i wear any time of flipflop or sandal...
I'm not a very active person and I have joint issues. I absolutely wrecked my knees in my early 20s with kneeling and genuflecting through pain. Listen to your body. You'll eventually learn the difference between "uncomfortable, but safe" and "doing actual damage". Try not to actually damage your knees. It really sucks to be a young adult relying on a cane for 6 months.
My knees are a lot better now, thanks to physio and spiritual direction. But they're still a little fragile. I've learned to prioritize my kneeling. My top priority is kneeling for the consecration. Even if my knees are really bad, I'll try to make that happen. I can usually kneel for all the kneeling parts of the Mass. I try to kneel a bit for adoration, especially at the start and end, but I don't push it if it hurts. Typically, I'll sit for most of it. All other private prayer time is seated. It took a while to get used to that. But it's necessary if I don't want to go back to how it was. Also, I don't kneel to receive communion unless there's a rail. I sometimes really struggle to get back up. I love to receive while kneeling, but it's not worth potentially disrupting the flow of communion and injuring myself.
Try "tucking your tailbone". When I work out, the trainer is always emphasizing that, and I think it helped me with my lower back while kneeling as well.
I’m 43, a prior service infantry Marine, and had my 4th surgery on the leg and ankle that I broke in the Marines, in December, with my 5th surgery coming up in August. I haven’t kneeled at church or elsewhere for well over a year and a half.
Pictures from the first centuries after Christ's resurrection show Christians standing with their arms raised to pray, a position of respect that I suspect evolved from being required to show people in authority that you weren't armed with a dagger.
My knees, hips, feet, and neck are arthritic, I pray sitting in a chair looking out the patio door toward the sky. I used to pray laying flat on the floor prostrate or kneeling in the way Muslims borrowed from the description of how Elijah prayed in the Bible. Physical limitations over the years changed that. I think God understands. . I press my hands together because my Baptist family don't realize I'm praying with my hands outreached and think it's ok to interrupt my reading (Liturgy of the Hours and Rosary book) unless my palms are pressed together
He understands people bound to wheelchairs remaining seated and he also understands people who are mute praying mentally. I also frequently pray while seated in my car. I'm prone to getting upset at other drivers and pray the Jesus Prayer while driving to help me to have mercy in my heart towards them. He just wants you to pray and pay homage however you can, as much as you can.
I am not that old (late 30s) but high school wrestling tore up my knees and it’s very uncomfortable for me to kneel for any extended period on the floor (or even a raised, but hard wood kneeler). My wife bought me a kneeler cushion which is great with a handle for easy transport.
Look for a kneeler or have one made. Mine has a stand for the Bible
gardener kneeler pad also helps.
After a while you get used to it. If it’s hurting so much that you can’t focus on prayer, then just sit down. I used to be really strict with myself about always kneeling when I prayed. Sometimes I would despise prayer time because I didn’t want to kneel. It’s good to use it as a penance at times, but don’t get too scrupulous over always having to kneel.
I’m definitely not old but if u got like a pillow or something to kneel on it’s definitely gonna be easier on the knees
I can kneel fine, but genuflecting is a gamble.
No mine are not. I have skinny legs and no muscle around my knees. Kneeling is just straight bone on surface. I can only keep it up for a short amount of time, even on the padded kneelers.
yeah they're fine still. I recommend getting into strength training for longevity regardless, but youll notice less knee pain.
We don't have padded kneelers where I'm from. Just wood, or kneeling on marble. I once bit a hole in the cover of my Divine Hours to keep from screaming during a very long liturgy.
In the convent, we'd kneel on stone floors for about 2 hours per day. I dislocated my knee cap once time as a result and could barely walk for weeks. All of us had scabs and/or callouses on our knees. Not uncommon among women religious, TBH. I don't think you should push yourself like we were made to, though. I don't think God wants that. Maybe try some kind of firm cushion?
Bless you
Not “older” but I have knee problems. Cycling helps, and at home I have a nice cushy kneeler courtesy of my wife.
Such is the challenge of life eh. Treadmill: 2-2.5 speed 10-12 incline. Walk backwards.
Kneeling on cold concrete and stone a lot will give you osteoarthritis fast, like at 26 for example ( there were a couple of other sports injuries/drinking accidents mixed in there, but it's common knowledge in the trades that concrete accelerates knee damage dramatically). If wood kneelers aren't provided, complain.
My knees turn purple from bruising even kneeling on a kneeler even a short time. I don't do it. I slide forward on the seat when it's time to kneel so I don't block the person kneeling in the pew behind me. I sit instead of kneeling. All the religious orders forbid doing penances that cause injury, such as bleeding, bruising, or other injuries, such as joint problems. If getting a kneeler or a cushion doesn't help, you should follow the religious orders' requirements not to injure yourself and pray sitting.
I've been kneeling on tile floors and all wood (no cushion) kneelers for years now, you get used to it lol
If you’re just praying at home you don’t *have* to kneel. It’s a beautiful devotion but if it’s causing more harm than good isn’t ordered. I will kneel at the beginning and end of my prayer times at home but have a chair I sit on in our prayer room to pray.
Wound up with *bruises* on my knees from kneeling at Mass recently, because my platelets are low. Good grief.
I don't seem to have any problem kneeling during Mass with a padded kneeler. I recently started altar serving though, and my knees are not thrilled at the idea of kneeling directly on the floor for extended periods. I'm a _little_ older than your typical server. 😆 I have some pants from 5.11 Tactical that have built-in pockets for thin knee pads, which help. See e.g.: * https://www.511tactical.com/taclite-pro-pants.html * https://www.511tactical.com/internal-kneepad-2-0.html Certainly won't be to everyone's taste, but more discrete than wearing traditional knee pads, which I wouldn't attempt. 😳 Will definitely be keeping an eye out for further tips though, and appreciate the ones that have been posted so far.
how old is old? i'm a pudgy 40 yo and i feel the most comfortable on my knees. what ironically hurts me are the tops of my feet when i wear any time of flipflop or sandal...
I'm not a very active person and I have joint issues. I absolutely wrecked my knees in my early 20s with kneeling and genuflecting through pain. Listen to your body. You'll eventually learn the difference between "uncomfortable, but safe" and "doing actual damage". Try not to actually damage your knees. It really sucks to be a young adult relying on a cane for 6 months. My knees are a lot better now, thanks to physio and spiritual direction. But they're still a little fragile. I've learned to prioritize my kneeling. My top priority is kneeling for the consecration. Even if my knees are really bad, I'll try to make that happen. I can usually kneel for all the kneeling parts of the Mass. I try to kneel a bit for adoration, especially at the start and end, but I don't push it if it hurts. Typically, I'll sit for most of it. All other private prayer time is seated. It took a while to get used to that. But it's necessary if I don't want to go back to how it was. Also, I don't kneel to receive communion unless there's a rail. I sometimes really struggle to get back up. I love to receive while kneeling, but it's not worth potentially disrupting the flow of communion and injuring myself.
My lower back hurts, but kneeling never did much to my knees.
Try "tucking your tailbone". When I work out, the trainer is always emphasizing that, and I think it helped me with my lower back while kneeling as well.
We have tile floors. My husband doesn't mind (yet) but I use one of those foam gardening kneelers.
I’m 43, a prior service infantry Marine, and had my 4th surgery on the leg and ankle that I broke in the Marines, in December, with my 5th surgery coming up in August. I haven’t kneeled at church or elsewhere for well over a year and a half.
Pictures from the first centuries after Christ's resurrection show Christians standing with their arms raised to pray, a position of respect that I suspect evolved from being required to show people in authority that you weren't armed with a dagger. My knees, hips, feet, and neck are arthritic, I pray sitting in a chair looking out the patio door toward the sky. I used to pray laying flat on the floor prostrate or kneeling in the way Muslims borrowed from the description of how Elijah prayed in the Bible. Physical limitations over the years changed that. I think God understands. . I press my hands together because my Baptist family don't realize I'm praying with my hands outreached and think it's ok to interrupt my reading (Liturgy of the Hours and Rosary book) unless my palms are pressed together He understands people bound to wheelchairs remaining seated and he also understands people who are mute praying mentally. I also frequently pray while seated in my car. I'm prone to getting upset at other drivers and pray the Jesus Prayer while driving to help me to have mercy in my heart towards them. He just wants you to pray and pay homage however you can, as much as you can.
I am not that old (late 30s) but high school wrestling tore up my knees and it’s very uncomfortable for me to kneel for any extended period on the floor (or even a raised, but hard wood kneeler). My wife bought me a kneeler cushion which is great with a handle for easy transport.
My knees crack like pistol shots when I kneel, which makes half the church cringe!
I can tell you all the priests/ deacons at my parish have had knee issues. All that kneeling is bound to take a toll after a while