Around April of last year, I began having pain in my hip flexors, glutes, and upper hamstring area. It eventually also led to pain in my lower back and SI joint. I don't know if it was all related or if each was a separate issue, but it did seem to happen all at the same time so it makes sense that it was related. All I know is that it was NOT fun.
It was to the point where I had to lay off of heavy lifting for a little while(and stayed away from deadlifts completely for a few months), which I absolute HATED. The pain just continued, so I decided to go to a massage therapist to see if working on the trigger points in my hip flexors and glutes would help.
The massage helped some, but I eventually ended up going to a chiropractor. He worked on my lower back and did active release therapy on my left hip flexor that was giving me the most pain. The chiropractor really helped me tremendously, because he actually explained to me what he thought was wrong and showed me some ways to fix it.
What I realized was that my glutes were weak, specifically the gluteus medius. I was doing so many exercises in the saggital plane and not anything to specifically target the abductors. The chiro gave me a few exercises to do to strengthen my gluteus medius, and since doing these exercises I have been completely pain free!
What I do is pick 2-3 of these exercises as a warmup on lower body days, with the exception of weighted barbell glute bridges or hip thrusts, which I do during my workout after squats or deadlifts.
-Bird-dogs
-Side lying clams with band:
-Monster walks and lateral walks with band(placed around the forefoot, not shown):
-Hip thrusts/single leg hip thrusts
-Glute bridges/single leg glute bridges:
It was to the point where I had to lay off of heavy lifting for a little while(and stayed away from deadlifts completely for a few months), which I absolute HATED. The pain just continued, so I decided to go to a massage therapist to see if working on the trigger points in my hip flexors and glutes would help.
The massage helped some, but I eventually ended up going to a chiropractor. He worked on my lower back and did active release therapy on my left hip flexor that was giving me the most pain. The chiropractor really helped me tremendously, because he actually explained to me what he thought was wrong and showed me some ways to fix it.
What I realized was that my glutes were weak, specifically the gluteus medius. I was doing so many exercises in the saggital plane and not anything to specifically target the abductors. The chiro gave me a few exercises to do to strengthen my gluteus medius, and since doing these exercises I have been completely pain free!
What I do is pick 2-3 of these exercises as a warmup on lower body days, with the exception of weighted barbell glute bridges or hip thrusts, which I do during my workout after squats or deadlifts.
-Bird-dogs
-Side lying clams with band:
-Hip thrusts/single leg hip thrusts
-Glute bridges/single leg glute bridges:
If you are struggling with back pain, I would highly suggest adding these exercises into your program. I'm not saying it will fix the problem, because low back pain can be caused by many factors, but it's worth giving it a try! Plus, having stronger and firmer glutes is never a bad thing! :)
So glad you are 100% pain free now. Training around injuries is discouraging. These are some great moves. Thanks for sharing! I tend to forget to add moves like these until I experience pain somewhere. Then I remember their importance. With this reminder, hopefully I can stay pain free too!!
ReplyDeleteThey have worked wonders for me, really!
DeleteHolla!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I've been dealing with lower back pain for over a year, will start adding this into my routine.
ReplyDeleteI hope it helps!
DeleteFound your blog from Bonnie's and interested in Syour I joint pain and lifting. I just started going to a physical therapist for my SI pain that I've had for almost two years since being prego, but am wondering what your lifting and also interval training looked like when you were in pain (as I can't do squats, dead lifts, jumping, kettlebells, ect). Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMine must not have been near as severe as yours is, as I still was able to do things like jumping rope,kettlebell swings,and burpees and such(although I probably SHOULD have taken a break from all of that!). As far as lifting, I focused much more on my upper body but just had to be careful of the positioning of my back-for example, it hurt to do bentover rows, 1 arm rows, or even heavy overhead presses. I just had to lay off of legs for a while, which was torture for me!
DeleteBack pain is never a fun experience. I'm glad that you went to your chiro immediately to have the proper alignment you needed. At least you were able to come back doing your workout without feeling any more pain. These warm up routines look easy for anyone to try, by the way. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete*Dr. Kris Dorken @ CoreWellnessCentre.ca
I really liked your Information. Keep up the good work. Barbell Pad Hip Thrust
ReplyDelete