Lotus is one of the yoga poses that most commonly causes injury. Attempts to force the legs into lotus pose can injure the knees by squeezing and damaging the medial meniscus cartilage; this is painful and takes a long time to heal. The hip joints must rotate outwards freely approximately 115 degrees to permit full lotus. Students who cannot achieve this much hip rotation may try to compensate by bending the knee joint sideways, risking injury. Safer alternatives include Baddha Konasana (cobbler's pose), provided the knees are not pushed down. The thighs can be encouraged to rotate using hand pressure or a strap.