The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › Injuries, Restrictions, Ailments, Pose Modifications › Injuries › Hip flexor discomfort – question
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › Injuries, Restrictions, Ailments, Pose Modifications › Injuries › Hip flexor discomfort – question
-
AuthorPosts
-
Hi Gabrielle,
Firstly thanks for maintaining this fantastic site.
I have not posted before, but I have a question (well, maybe two) which you may be able to assist with.
Some background
I am 35 and I have been practicing Bikram Yoga for two years. Historically I have always had very poor flexibility, and even as a child could not touch my toes. As a young adult I suffered from back and right shoulder pain due to poor posture when practicing music (a lot). In more recent years my lower back felt extremely stiff. Bikram yoga has greatly improved my flexibility and has alleviated a lot of the stiffness I used to feel.Nearly a year ago I started to get some pain in my lower back on the RHS in backward bends, and my back bends also felt restricted. After treatment by an osteopath for issues with my sacroiliac joint I started to get sciatic pain down my right leg. X-rays showed a posterior disc bulge at l5/s1, and less so at l4/l5.
With the help of a chiro, and remedial pilates, I am now feeling MUCH better, but I still have sacroiliac joint instability.
In yoga I currently experience pain in my right hip flexor in the first part of wind removing pose, restricting me from pulling very much with my arms. Also, in separate leg head to knee with stretching, after the first part when I do the sit-up in the middle, I experience pain in my right hip flexor when pulling forward towards the head-on-knee. Bending my right leg avoids this. I never feel this sensation in any of the other sit-ups. So my question is – do you have any idea what would be triggering this pain, and what I can do to heal myself?
My other question is – in yoga we are instructed to tighten our glutes to protect the lower back. I have been told that I have a pelvic tilt where my pelvis is lower at the front, and I suspect that tightening my glutes in yoga is reinforcing habitual pelvic tilt. What are your thoughts on this?
Thankyou and namaste
Rachel
Hi Rachel
I just wanted to say that I will get around to your answer soon! So much forum activity!!! Your question is on my list of things to do!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Rachel
I experience pain in my right hip flexor when pulling forward towards the head-on-knee. Bending my right leg avoids this. I never feel this sensation in any of the other sit-ups. So my question is – do you have any idea what would be triggering this pain, and what I can do to heal myself?
Can you simply clarify for me that you bend your right leg up when you are curling down to get your forehead on your knee? I am not 100% sure if you’re talking about the sit-up or the Janushirasana or Paschimottanasana part or a bit of all 3! Partly because you said you are putting your head on your knee and you placed it after the sit-up.
If you can clarify this then I can give you the appropriate technique. It seems you may have a few actions mingled! Or I have misunderstood. After re-re-reading your post I deleted some instructions because I just want to be sure. 😉
You know, there is a lot of interesting direction given about the glutes and the tummy muscles that are to be ‘sucked in’. Some of these things are based on simple repetition and therefore seem to be true (because so many people say them, they must be true!). The protection of your back would be more a function of core strength. You can cause a lot of rigidity if you over tighten the wrong muscles. That goes for the glutes too.
You do mention glutes and pelvic tilt: If your pelvis is anteriorly tilted then it would stand to reason that a tightening of the glutes would serve to partially correct that tilt. Your problem may lie elsewhere. It could be that your SI issue could be related to this pelvic imbalance (I can’t say, it’s just postulation. It seems you are doing some great work already to fix this. What does your Pilates instructor and osteopath say?)
Thanks for your supportive comments about my website! I am very grateful. Sorry for the delay in responding. I hope that you get back to me (in faster time than I did you) and we can progress!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Gabrielle,
Sorry for the confusion. The pain only occurs in the sit-up, and it is in the sit-up that I find bending my right knee was I round over alleviates the pain in my hip flexor.
Thanks!
RachelHi Rachel
If you take a look at the Sit-Up threads you will see that I do not teach it with a rounded back. There are many reasons for this. Focus on having a strong core, straight back and bend your legs. Anyway I have described it in detail here: Proper Sit-Up Form.
It seems as though you already have intuited something similar by bending your legs but you may still be rounding your back.
Try out the straight back sit-up and come back and let me know how it works for you and if you need more instruction.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Thanks Gabrielle, I will try that. Actually I did execute with a straight back earlier when I found out about the disk bulge, but I don’t worry too much about it now that my back has improved. Really though I am curious as to whether you have any theory about why my hip flexor would hurt in that particular sit-up, and not in any other sit-ups in the series. I am wondering what it is about ‘separate leg head to knee with stretching’ that it causes my hip to hurt in the sit-up immediately aftet the first part of that posture.
Thanks and regards
RachelHi Rachel
I would really want to know more about what you’re doing. Are you willing to break that down with me? Because I am sure there is something in there that is the ‘culprit’!
Let me know and I can prepare a whole raft of questions.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.