Hip pain?

[Irulan]

Oh! Sitting all day.... #1 cause of low back and hip issues.

[Irulan]

Here is what I do for hip opening band stretches. I've been told to hold stretches anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes.
1. Hamstring stretch with band. I play with the angle and rotation

2. IT band stretch with band. Play with angles

3. opener band stretch

4. Hip flexor stretch ( lots of variotions out there)

5. modified pigeon pose


I then follow up with a seated twist,
this:


and some foam roller/softball work.

[Catrin]

Irulan, thanks!

My right hip has calmed...but now my LEFT one is strongly complaining. Can't figure out if it is my SI joint or referred from my lumbar spine, but I think it more likely to be my hip. I am going to make an appointment tomorrow with my Chiro, it is time to consult with someone. Again there is more relief after a hard workout, and much more discomfort when I am resting, but it is time to figure this out. Because exercise, even intense exercise, provides relief I am not concerned that it is an actual injury. Could be something needs released, or an imbalance causing the problem. In a way it is good that I can't afford an expensive scan like an MRI or CT scan, it's been my experience in the past that every time we've done that that all it did was to side-track our attention to things noted in the scans that turned out to be totally unrelated.

[Irulan]

I seriously doubt it is an injury. My experience is that it's just life and use, and then having to be very persistent to figure out how to best deal with it. Two rounds of PT did nothing; but changing my bike pedals was almost immediate relief. The right massage person was huge. Maintaining my regime is huge.

[Catrin]

Agreed, if it were an injury then using it would hurt. Just gotta figure out the correct movement pattern so that whatever is cranky will calm down.

[Catrin]

My chiro figured it out in about 3.2 seconds this morning :-) Apparently my lateral core stability is bad enough that lots of weird trigger points have developed, and my upper body has been doing all of the work in my high-volume competition training. While I DO have a bit of hip arthritis, he doesn't think it has anything to do with this. Apparently this can cause the intermittent & inconsistent cross-body symptoms that I've been experiencing. So he gave me some rather odd, and difficult, breathing exercises, and I will be meeting with him for a couple of sessions for some ART. He said things will calm as we release those trigger points and as I work on my lateral core stability. I had no idea!!!

He remembers how bad my left shoulder used to be, and while it will never be perfect, he is amazed at how functional it now is and how far I've come. All due to my current coach :-)

[OakLeaf]

Yay for progress! Good luck with the rest of the treatment.

Care to share the breathing exercises? My diaphragm and intracostals are implicated in a lot of my issues, and I've actually wondered if it's more my sternum than my clavicles that is displaced.

[Catrin]

Ryan told me that the nature of my problem does impact my clavicles, as well as many other little bits and pieces.

Hopefully I can describe this well:

Lay on your back in the "deadbug" position, legs bent at 90 degrees. Press both of your hands into your sides, just beneath your ribs. Breath...but NOT with your chest, only in/with your stomach. It sounds simple but, for me at least, it is difficult. At first I am only to do this for 5-6 repetitions.

Does that make sense?

[tulip]

Pilates really helps with my hip issues. In fact, I haven't had any hip issues since it made Pilates an almost-everyday thing. I recommend you find a classical Pilates teacher who understands modifications. Pilates improves strength, flexibility and posture and is very balancing. You might want to consider dropping your heavy workouts in favor of going to a classical Pilates studio. No need for one-on-one instruction, although that's nice . Mat classes are very effective. Just stay away from pseudo-Pilates, Pilates-inspired or, heaven forbid, "yogates." Most "Pilates" classes taught in gyms are useless at best and harmful at worst.

[Catrin]

For me I've found working on hip mobility has worked much better on my IT Band and hammies than rolling ever did, but that's just been my experience recently.