Problem:
Left hip, especially whenever i break parallel. Physio thinks its poor flexibility through posterior chain, mainly hamstrings.  Apparently this has caused me to have underdeveloped glutes, thus spreading the load to other areas.

Fix:
Im stretching alot more than i used to which is helping, stretching in particular has been a weakness of mine for a very long time. It is well and truly time I ante’d up and did something about it.
Also doing some glute strengthening work, mainly focusing on my left glute.

Ive just bought a bar, some bumpers and a squat rack so who knows, maybe with some time ill actually be able to squat properly one day!

Definitely two.  Firstly, my knee goes a little funny in a not so comfertable way whenever I go into the sit-down-in-chair-with one-leg-resting-by-the-ankle-over-the-other-knee position.  Different to stiffness, more like resistance.  This has come about in recent years.  The other one, more noticeable and more bothering is the pain I get on the inside of my groin/upper leg whenever I side stretch.  Once again, this is not stiffness or resisting the stretch, but a definite sharp pain.  These are both new to me and I guess is a sign of ageing (I’m actially at that age now where I can say “I’m not as young as I used to be”).

What am I doing about this.  Butt all.  Anyone have sugestions?

PS.  Good topic Adam.

Adrian McGough - Jan 28, 2010 11:13pm

Definitely two.  Firstly, my knee goes a little funny in a not so comfertable way whenever I go into the sit-down-in-chair-with one-leg-resting-by-the-ankle-over-the-other-knee position.  Different to stiffness, more like resistance.  This has come about in recent years.

Hi Adrian,

I have experience with this exact problem. Do you also get some discomfort if leave the leg up there for a while then take it off?

It is likely to be caused by tightness in the various lateral attachments of the knee (Ilio-tibial band-ITB, vastus lateralis-VL, biceps femoris-BF and others). In my case, it’s BF that seems the primary culprit. After a good mobility session on the hamstrings the restriction is completely absent.

I’d recommend ‘softening’ the lateral thigh structures with mobility, massage and flexibility exercises. Considering the full length of the muscles/tendons involved covers the entire thigh and into the hip joint, it may take a few different positions/techniques until you find an approach that works.

As for the other problem, I could stab in the dark, but that wouldn’t help anyone!

I think we may see some issues herein that can be resolved (or at least improved) with very similar “treatments”. Thihan’s input will be invaluable.

If you have a CF Journal subscription take a look at Kelly Starett’s videos.

More soon…

Another one with a knee issue, in some ways sounds similar to what Adrian has described above.

Symptoms: Knee click, tightness on inner part of hamstring during squat with weight, general left ankle tightness. The knee feels odd after squats/cleans/deads/anything that involves load.

What I’m doing about it: Stretching, foam roller, ITB/glute release with tennis ball or similar

History: Since Nov 2008 have had this issue (around that time I did a Movember fundraising run, 3x400m in the 40kg vest)

Have seen Physio, Osteo, Sports Doctor, in that order. Original diagnosis was a strength imbalance between the outer quad and the inner quad (sorry, the correct terms elude me) leading to the patella tracking incorrectly, and the click. I tried the exercises prescribed to strengthen the inner quad, but never really believed this to be the case and lost interest. I was also not seeing results from the exercises.

Osteo prescribed plenty of stretching (to be done every day) and after no major improvement, wanted to send me to a specialist for a scan, which sounded expensive. I didn’t really have faith in the opinion and didn’t have the scan done.

Sport Doctor diagnosed it as “Patellofemoral Joint Dysfunction” and that the cause was weak, tight glutes combined with poor footwear (Nike Frees) and the >50% increase in mass during the run. The prescription was to go back to the Physio for glute release and strengthening of glutes & quads.

Generally, the following will help most joint/muscular issues:
- self myofascial release (a fancy way of saying massage yourself!)
- foam roller work
- mobility drills
- dedicated flexibilty sessions
- focusing on correct biomechanics inside and outside the gym
- eating properly
- learning more about anatomy

My issues:
- left shoulder post-op rehab; going well; focusing on external rotation, flexion, extension, no abduction yet; then general strengthening.
- left knee pain; due to relatively weak quads; focusing on unilateral strength and stability; box squats; glute activation and general mobility.

In my case, I must be patient and I think this could be true for most of us.

Adam.  I’ve always felt that great benefit would come from as you say “dedicated flexibility sessions”. 

It’s tough, as with CF there is time for a little stretch at the end to prevent stiffness but never any for focus on stretching with the actual aim of seriously improving flexibility.  Not just this, but there seems to be very little info passed around either at the gym or on the forum regarding stretching (eg. How, what’s good, what’s bad, why, length, sets, reps, names of stretches for recording purposes, etc). 
Personally, I would like it to be a topic that is bought up more often.  Have no ideas of how to implement this (unless maybe if some rest days give serious time to stretching after a warm up of the joints/muscles), just shooting my thoughts to the breeze.

THE END