Vumad
Super Hero, with a cape!
- Location
- St. Pete, FL
I know this is going to be a vague post withput images, so im sorry in advance and will try my best to be helpful with it.
Previously i was trying to stretch my hip flexors and foam roll my quads. It caused a lot of pinching in my back and worsened my symptoms, so my previous answer to your question would have been.... nothing.
It was not for a lack of effort. I tried the traditional lunge pose. I tried yoga warrior 1 and 2. I also tried lying on a table and letting one leg hang while the other was pulled to my chest. All painful, no improvements.
What i know now, is A) i didnt know my flexors were a problem, so i ended with a loosing game of catchup leading up to my injury and B) is that due to my underlying condition i was unaware of, i have no tolerance for anterior pelvix tilt, take more breaks. I believe, that my hip flexors became extremely tight from riding my stand up, which lead to my injury.
Think of the drag racing pose, with your left leg forward extended at the knee, but also the left hip flexed, right leg back. The pose stretches you left glute, flexes your hip flexors, but even worse the straight knee puts the rectus femoris in a fully shortened position. Repeat this crouched position every time you exit a corner, and you have a recipie for deactivated posterior chain disaster. Lets not forget how much we use our backs, and anterior tilt is almost a guarantee.
The stretch i have beein doing recently he gave me is modified from a lunge. Im sorry it may be tough without a picture...
The goal of this stretch is to combat the tendency to let your pelvis tilt anterior during a hip flexor stretch.
Imagine being in a lunge position with your left knee on the ground. You do the same lunge position but aginst a door frame. Both of your buttock are against the wall, and you left low leg is behind you going into the next room. You start with your knee in the position it needs to be, so for me being so tight its actually slightly infront of directly under me, if youre very limber, it could be behind you. Tighten your left glute and your core very tihtly, reach over your head and grab the door frame. Using your glute and stomach, push your belly button throuh you into the wall behind you. If you are not nearly flat to the wall, or your pelvis is tilting forward, stop, adjust, maybe move your knee forward, and retry. Your glute should be making lota of power, if not, move your knee forward until you progress, your hip flexor is deactivating your glute.
Additionaly , your rectus femoris, a secondary hip flexor, is located in the front of your quad. Easy to hit with a foam roller. Mine was so tight, i could barely bend my knee, i just didnt realize it because i was tilting my pelvis and arching my back to compensate. This muscle straightens your knee and flexs your hip, so if your hip is flexed, you are going to think you can bend your knee, but when standing tall, you dont realize it locks your knee out. What i believe i was doing was... flexing my hip and hyperentending my back, to take enough off the muscle to let my knee flex, putting a huge load on my spine. Thats the kind of stuff you just cant figure out on your own.
Recently they have been getting in there on my psoas, because it just hurts too damn much to do on your own. Now i can get a stretch on it, and roll my quad. I was very bad befoee they started their work.
I learned a few valuable lessons on this topic over the last year.
Take breaks, you cant ride indefinately.
Dont spend too much time on school work and neglect sports, your hipflexors get tight and your core gets weak.
Doctors who tell you that you are the master of your body, while you are dealing with a neurological issue, are lazy and full of crap. Find a new doctor. You can not figure out the your shoulder and hip are causing your leg to hurt. You need a skilled professional to give you good homework.
