Stretches.

Stretching doesn't mean you have to do yoga. There are basic stretches (when you're warmed up) that you can do hourly and standing.

Quad stretch, hamstring stretch, leaning side stretches, piriformis stretch. Google it.

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Get up earlier and do that yoga DVD before work. Or go home and do it before dinner.

Doing random stretches is sort of like randomly loosening strings on a guitar - it's not the best approach. I suggest getting an assessment by a physical therapist, who will tell you which muscles are tight. Once you find those, stretch them often (hourly is best) because the effects of stretching don't last long. Many stretches can be done discreetly while standing. The PT may also give you strengthening exercises for your weak areas, which can be done at home.

You could also consider foam rolling at home. I have found it much more helpful in releasing muscles & connective tissue than pulling at them, which is what stretching does. It is best to work on the entire leg, not just one specific muscle, because everything works together. When one starts to loosen, another starts to tighten. Plus it is nearly impossible to stretch just one or two isolated muscles. Just my experience.

Jabbarwocky wrote: »

The doctor was an Orthopedic specialist and he specified the backs of my thighs, just above the knee. Especially the outer one on the left. Its tight enough right now that I cant fully extend my left leg without a bit of pain.

Do you know why it's so tight?
Here's the simplest hamstring stretch:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ykOlGxeEnr0
Hourly is best, for 30+ seconds. It can be done standing too, with heel on floor.

Jabbarwocky wrote: »

@TavistockToad , I don't have to do them at work but figured stretching a little bit several times throughout the day would be helpful.

i applaud this. stretching once at either end of the day is probably better than nothing, and idk. maybe it's great if you're already in 'nothing much wrong' mode and just doing it as a maintenance thing.

but ime for actually addressing some of the stuff that it's meant to when you have a specific issue you want to correct . . . it's not all that far off useless. you're constantly re-inventing the same square-one wheel.

if knees are your issue, then i'm making the assumption that one of the primary things you probably need to release is your i.t. bands and quads. i'm a desk-jobber myself, and i have to say that finding suitable means to do this is a real bear. i don't get much benefit from using my own hands to pull my foot up behind me, so i tend to search out any place where i can do the 'couch' stretch, which imo works because it's completely passive. you stick your foot up behind you on some surface that will support it, and then the only part of the job that you do yourself is trying to talk your quads into relaxing and going with it.

when people aren't looking i sometimes get to use the edge of my desk, or one of the counters down in the locker room. idk how your colleagues will take to that in a prison, but in the kind of place i work in this isn't something i can just stand up and do whenever i'm feeling inclined even though it's my own desk and it's not technically their problem if i want to put my own feet onto it.

some bike racks actually have just about the right height for it too.

I'd never heard of a couch stretch and it's really hard to find examples of people using actual furniture as opposed to a wall. Since you don't want to get down on the floor at work, I did find this:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=IioW8A3fgW0
About half way through.

Not for your legs, but I know you need these. Thought I'd park them here so you'd see them.
prevention.com/fitness/7-exercises-that-instantly-un-hunch-your-shoulders

I hope this shows up. Forgot about youtube being an issue.

Jabbarwocky wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. @canadianlbs , what IS a couch stretch? Never heard of it before.

eh, may just be the name i see kelly-starrett fans give it. you use some kind of prop to bring your heel back to your bum [while maintaining a straight line across your hip joint]. it stretches your rectus femoris, primarily - which is the big 'middle' quad muscle that runs straight over your kneecap, and it will make your teeth sweat to begin with, if you're tight in that zone. called the couch stretch because i gather starrett's idea of a 'prop' was to use the back of your couch while watching tv. or something. i can only really take about 8 seconds of starrett before wanting to smack the guy, though his technical knowledge seems to be good.

i have many thoughts about this stretch because getting the two halves of my pelvis rotated and one side of my s.i. joint 'locked' as a consequence finally made a penitent and a believer of me. it's actually not hard to mis-do a quad stretch and end up mostly 'stretching' the capsule of your hip joint, which is a thing you don't want. so i know it's theoretically possible to do this by just grabbing that foot and yarding on it, but my quads are so feisty they tend to fight back. the best form of it for me has always been these 'passive' configurations where i'm using furniture or something to do the pulling. when that happens, my quads end up with nowhere to hide so they tend to submit after a while.

Lets just say that some people do some REALLY strange things on company time.

oh good. then you backing up to your desk and propping a foot on it so you can lean back against it won't even raise eyebrows then.