Tightness/Pinching in Hips

Hello All, first post on the forums.

Just started doing Muay Thai and have found a problem whilst doing round house kicks. I had noticed this pain in my hips before but is now even more evident doing the MT.

I can kick at waist height no problem, whenever i go above waist height i am very restricted in my movement and i get a pinching in my hips (around the abductor) which is quite painful. My hips do feel very tight.

i went to my physio who believes that it is general tightness in the muscles and she stated that when you get tightness in both the abductor and adductor that the muscle bunches up and that creatings the pinching. She showed me some stretches to do to try and loosen up the joints, she also noticed that i have very limited movement when trying to rotate my hip inside (i think) where you lye back and try to move your lower leg away from the body...there was only about 15 deg there. I am going to continue with the stretching but also wanted to ask if anyone here has had similar problems and how they overcame the problem.

I was also thinking of following the 'Stretching Scientifically' book to see if that helps however im thinking that if a specific muscle is tight then i may not be able to achieve what is set out for the book..

Any ideas or opinions from knowledge or experience?

Cheers

 

Your physio is wrong. Stretching Scientifically will tell you that the pain you are feeling is a sign you are not sufficiently rotating your pelvis when raising your leg. This article will give you more info:

http://stadion.com/column_stretch02.html

In basic terms, rotate your pelvis by sticking your butt to the rear.

 

Thanks for that. I dont want to say my physio is wrong, maybe i just misunderstood her a little bit. There is definite tightness in the hips as she diagnosed by the way i sat down and also by trying to rotate the hips.

That article does seem to suggest a few things i need to change though so i will follow this advice.

Thanks heaps for the help!

 

No probs. Good luck

 

still having this problem. The stretching seems to help however :

I am very restricted when doing the side leg raises, the muscles on the outside of my hips feel very tight, it doesnt feel like its a flexibility problem.
I do think that the not rotating the pelvis is causing the pinching pain but im still concerened about the general tightness in the hips.

If i go to a side splits position i can get to about 18 inches from the ground only. If i go further the pain in my hips really puts me off, rotating the pelvis more helps slightly but still hurts like hell.

When i sit on the ground with my feet tucked in touching each other (that common Martial arts stretch) i get a bad pain on the outside of my hip which hurts more as i push the legs down to acheive a greater stretch, it hurts for several seconds afterwards as well.

Wondering whether to push on with the stretching guidelines on this form or to try and eliminate the tightness in the hips first. Also wondering if a visit to a sports doctor may help.

Any suggestions.

 

The tightness (when raising your leg to the side) could just be a lack of strength. Do you do much in terms of developing static-active flexibility, such as extending your leg and holding it in place?

The fact that it still hurts after more than a month of trying to rotate your pelvis indicates there might be an underlying problem (maybe bursitis). Go see your doctor.

 

Highly possible it is a lack of strength...i will stick to the exercises and stretching for a while and see how it goes!

 

Try the Bill Wallace video featured in the first post of the "Stretching for High Kicks" thread.

I'd still advise you to visit your doctor sometime in the next few weeks to request a scan of your hips. Will help eliminate any doubt if there is an underlying issue or not.

Post back if you need any further info/help.

 

look into self-myofascial release/massage

basically, get a sofball, put it between your hip flexor and a wall. Then apply pressure. Find the areas that are tight and apply pressure. Like hard pressure. It will hurt, but after a while the muscle will then release. Then roll the ball to the next tight place and repeat. It's a good idea to do this BEFORE doing your hip stretch.

The reason being is that if you stretch a tight muscle what you could be essentially doing is pulling a knot tighter. Forcing the muscle to relax and release first allows you to stretch the area without worry of making and problems worse.

 

I suffer from the exact same thing as you. I did taekwondo and always had this problem with my hip. I quit 3 and a half years ago and have just started training again, but the problem in my hip is still there. I only seem to get it really bad in my right hip though.

 

Pinching/Tightness in Hips - Doctor Update

Went to a sports doc today and had some xrays.

Turns out i have 'pistol grip hips' so basically the hip joint is restricted by bone on bone and no amount of stretching will help it. Quite clear from the XRay to see why i cant side raise my leg too far!

Doc suggested to 'take up a different sport'...

 

That is gash. I feel sorry for you mate, I really do.

 

Angle grinder and a hell of a lot of ibuprofen might be able to help?...


Sorry to hear this

 

can't you have an operation to fix that?

 

Yep, involves getting it grinded out like the previous poster stated...except i would probably opt for an anaesthetic rather than just some ibufrofen!

Doctor said that is the only fix! Wondering if its worthwhile

 

Several fighters have had it done to their faces to prevent cuts in fights. If your career depends on it or if martial arts is your primary motivation in life, I'd say hit it. If not, I'd say you probably ought to learn to move without high kicks. Then again, regardless of the price, I'm sure people have spent more on hobbies before.
Note, I'm not a doctor. There could be serious risk of permanent joint damage from the operation. I don't know.

 

My cousin had a similar problem, he had an operation to have it grinded out and was on crutches for a few months and off work for 6 months but he's good as new now.

 

There are a lot of other martial arts that don't require extreme flexibility, have you thought of looking into those? Jujitsu, both Japanese and Brazilian, Aikido, Wing Chun. Sure being flexible is helpful in them but is isn't as essential to perform the core techniques...just a thought...

 

Im going to stick out the Muay Thai for a while. Will see how i progress.

I was thinking about the grappling styles arts but would have thought that flexibility in the hips would be a requirement of them. I do like the striking arts more anyway, if the Muay Thai becomes too much of a problem then maybe just boxing.

 

Hi Maverickoz,

I'm concerned I might have the same condition as you or something out of the ordinary. Would you recommend seeing a sports doctor, orthopedic, or regular doctor first?