splits injury

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by jimpickles, Jun 7, 2009.

  1. jimpickles

    jimpickles Valued Member

    i do taekwondo and i need to be able to do the splits before my next promotion test.
    ive been doing half an hours stretching every weekday moring for the last two weeks or so and i can very almost do front splits. Wahooooo!
    But last week when stretching i went into the splits down to as low as i could within reason then pushed a little bit more and suddenly something went clunk on the right side of my pelvis (i had my right leg forward).
    it hurt a lot. for the rest of the day i had sering pain in the same spot when i lifted that leg.the day after the pain was kind of dissapated and i had a very painfull and stiff right but, it really hurts sitting down. since its stop being stiff but it sear in pain if i do anything like stretching and it still hurts if i sit on my right butt.

    anybody got any idea whats happened or what i could do to help.
     
  2. never too old

    never too old Valued Member

    I don't know how to make it better, but I'd suggest doing a longer warm up before trying for the splits once you're better, and don't force it - it will come when and if it's ready.
     
  3. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Anyone can achieve full splits in 2-3 months regardless of their starting point.

    Stretching is wrong. It will only injure you.

    See?

    Yes - you are injured. Rest the affected muscle and visit a physiotherapist for a course of treatment.

    When you are given the all-clear to resume training, drop stretching and stick with building strength through the full range of movement. It is all you need.
     
  4. Ma Bu

    Ma Bu Valued Member

    I assure you, maker of thread, Superfoot is right. Train your leg muscles in their full range of movement, once you've managed to heal your most uncomfortable injuries. Stretching without strength training is dangerious for the muscles stretched. For example, in Chinese martial arts, the horse stance, called ma bu, is trained not only for strength of the legs to stay rooted, but also for flexibility.

    I have noticed that when doing horse stance for a few minutes, soon after it, splits are several times easier to achieve. Superfoot has made this excellent point several times on this forum as well. Stretching muscles without strength training seems to be equivalent to stretching a gummy bear until it breaks and then expecting it to make a full recovery in a matter of weeks. :rolleyes:

    It feels nice to post here on this forum in a while. Notice how coherent and esthetical my post looks from afar.:cool:

    Keep it realer.
     
  5. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Absolutely correct. Being able to sit in a horse stance 2 - 2.5x shoulder width for 2 - 3 minutes is a great indicator of your ability to train for splits. A lot of people fail to realise they need to be strong in order to do the splits; most assume (incorrectly) they get strong by doing splits. Attempting splits without sufficient strength will only lead to soreness and injury.

    I really like this analogy :cool:
     
  6. KonGato

    KonGato Valued Member

    I'll try doing that.

    What areas of the lower body are the most important to strenghten in order to accomplish full splits (or make the progress easier)?

    The quads, the hip flexors, hamstrings? Or maybe it's best to ask: What exercises are the most important for strengthening elevant muscles?

    Squats and ma bu (and martial arts training ofc) ?
     
  7. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    For the side split, you should strengthen primarily the adductors (inner thigh muscles - adductor brevis, adductor magnus, adductor longus, pectineus and gracilis). You should strengthen them in positions that closely resemble the side splits - ma bu (horse stance) is a great build-up to this. Also sliding up and down in the splits (regardless of your max stretch) will help.

    Likewise for front splits. The muscles you should target are the quadriceps and hamstrings. Again, do exercises that most closely resemble the front split. Lunges are a good example.
     
  8. Narrue

    Narrue Valued Member

    Dont force yourself into any posture your body is not flexible enough to assume, it will result in injury every time.

    I used to do tkd and had an idiot teacher who would force me into splits and my foot over my shoulders etc. My right hip is a little dodgy as a result now.

    I dont know what injury you have done, could be tear to muscle tissue or ligament or maybe the pop was the joint.

    Maybe you should attempt this training after a warm bath and as said standing in horse stance.
     
  9. Mike Flanagan

    Mike Flanagan Valued Member

    A 'clunk' I would usually associate with inappropriate movement of bone. Extrapolating from that I suppose its possible you mildly dislocated the hip. But it may not be anything that dramatic. A Van Zandt said, you really need to see an appropriate health professional about it.

    Mike
     
  10. GUSHERA09

    GUSHERA09 Banned Banned

    I currently use:

    1: chest, triceps
    2: upper back, biceps
    3: shoulders, traps, calves
    4: quads, hams, lower back

    I get the absolute best results training eod, so each muscle usually gets trained once every 8 days.

    5-way split I like:

    1: chest, abs
    2: back, calves
    3: shoulders, traps
    4: biceps, triceps
    5: quads, hams

    3-way splits training eod I like:

    1: chest, biceps, triceps
    2: back, shoulders, traps
    3: quads, hams calves

    1: chest, shoulders, triceps
    2: quads, hams, calves
    3: back, traps, biceps

    S
     
  11. pallab

    pallab New Member

    im facing the exact similar situation as u...you have been posted this long ago.so u have the idea how to get recovered soon..please suggest me what do i do now for an instant recovery as i love tkd a lot and want to practise it again :mad:
     
  12. querist

    querist MAP Resident Linguist?

    Please keep in mind that I cannot make an accurate diagnosis without physically examining you, especially for this type of injury. I am a doctor and most of my practice is sports injuries.

    There are a couple of things that may have happened, and an exact diagnosis would depend on pinpointing where the "clunk" was felt. I am going to make an educated guess and suspect that you may have tweaked your right sacroiliac (SI) joint. If it was your actual hip joint, odds are it would have hurt quite a bit and you'd have trouble walking, while doing that to the SI joint may cause just a twinge and you'd still be able to walk, etc.

    The "searing pain" suggests that you may have damaged the muscles in the area. You over did it.

    other folks have posted recommendations on using ice, etc. I'll add that it should be 20 minutes on, then at least 20 off. If the area starts to feel numb, take the ice off immediately.

    You may have been pushing just a little too hard and that's what stressed the joint to the point of causing that cavitation to produce an audible and tactile "clunk". Ease up a little on the stretching on that side. Take your time. I know it is tempting to try to rush into being able to do a full split - I was young once and I did the same types of things - but you really need to be careful, especially with stretching, because some popular "techniques" actually cause muscle damage.

    Talk to your sifu / sensei / coach about stretching techniques. Odds are that he or she knows the proper way to do it simply from experience. Avoid anything that includes bouncing up and down.

    If you know an athletic trainer, ask him or her. If not, talk to a doctor who is familiar with sports injuries (since your average GP is not super familiar with the finer points).
     
  13. Late for dinner

    Late for dinner Valued Member

    Necromancy!

    Necromancy peeps??

    pallab/querist

    Just in case this was missed guys you have both tried to revive something long dead - pallab your question is unlikely to get answered from the OP since he hasn't been around since 4 days after his original post 6 + years ago, likewise querist it would seem unlikely that your comments would help something long since healed/resolved or further managed by a health care practitioner. Nothing wrong with speculating but I assume that you are giving advice relatively specific to the OP's request.

    Good to hear other health care practitioners giving advice on here! You are a chiropractor and not a medical doctor? Have you done you board exams in this area?

    Just pointing out the obvious. :mad: D

    LFD
     
  14. pallab

    pallab New Member

    I have one more question do u think age is a bar to acquire flexibility specially while stretching...i am 25 years old and am i be able to do side splits properly
     
  15. querist

    querist MAP Resident Linguist?

    I didn't see the original post date - I saw that there was a recent comment so I decided to read and comment.

    Boards: no. My only post-doctoral boards were in acupuncture and Chinese medicine. The majority of my practice, however, revolved around sports injuries so I am speaking from professional experience.

     

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