Tight hip doesn’t equal tight muscles
January 11, 2014
Al asked The Guru for the following Physiotherapy Advice:
Tight right hip when I do any distance over 5km. Run 3/4 times a week. Been working on improving control and stability glutes and quads but also stretching lots. Taking a long time to improve and getting frustrated. Not as bad as it has been so some improvement. Wrong side of 40 if that helps. Do I just keep going or is their something else i need to consider?
Al
January 11, 2014
Hi Al
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Sounds as if you’ve some pretty good advice, or are well read. However, there comes a time when you have to stop beating your head against the wall.
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The tightness is due to something. Either poor control and stability, dodgy joint or something else.
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A dodgy joint would most likely be painful, so I’ll exclude this for now. Something else could be an irritated bit of nervous tissue in your back which is telling the muscles around your hip to tighten, because the way your back is being forced to move due to poor posture, previous back pain etc.
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The muscles that you are trying to train up just can’t because you don’t have the ability to move any better (not necessarily more) – which ties in with what you back can or can’t do. It has nothing to do with range of movement but more to do with quality.
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Do give up, but I’d have a good, long hard look at your back – and try to ignore your hip…..
