chronic hip flexor/adductor tightness?

YES.

It sounds like your psoas major is chronically tight (like you mentioned) and it is pulling your Ilium out of the ideal alignment. This will cause the following symptoms:

1. your ASIS may feel lower on that hip

2. your adductors will be shortened and chronically under tension and most likely not respond to normal stretching like your unaffected leg does

3. tight inguinal ligament

4. Toeing out during gate (which is what you describe when your foot "splays"

5. lower back pain (to the side of your buttcrack) that comes and goes... generally just an ache, nothing terrible

6. intermittent groin pain (my guess is after running because your adductors will get especially short then)

If this sounds like you...I have plenty of ideas. I think you are not responding to stretching because you are not stretching the muscles passively and also not at the right degree. For example, depending on the way your ilium is pulling you can attempt to do numerous hip flexor stretches for hours and it might not only make zero difference, but it could potentially make it worse in the long run because it's stretching against your hip. If you are attempting the kneeling or standing hip flexor stretch I recommend not doing this.

Send me an e-mail if you'd like to try a few things. I could be wrong with the above assumptions. One thing I would try to do is don't assume you are only externally rotating (which is waht produces the toeing out) when running. Chances are you are ever so slightly toeing out even during normal walking. When walking around your home and you stop in front of a sink or counter or wherever, DON'T move. Look down and assess your feet. Is teh affected hip slightly toeing out? You don't have to be duck-footed. But you'll notice the difference. If so, attempt to slide it in so it's pointing straight. While this might not hurt, does it create a small pressure/tightness somewhere near your pubic bone or groin muscles? Again, shoudln't hurt a lot, but you'll notice your groin area fights this internal rotation. It probably feels more relaxed with your foot towards the side. This is tricky to do without overanalyzing. You can also check yourself if you plop down on the couch or lay down on your back. If it's dramatic enough even your thigh will feel mroe relaxed externally rotated on that side. It will cause more adductor tightness to rotate it back in alignment with the other leg.

E-mail me if you feel you want to discuss some stretches/exercises...

I have the same issue. Took me out of running for about a year, not too bad now but worried it could reoccur.

What's your email?

Having the same problem with chronically tight adductors. They aren't really tight though they just ache like crap from time to time. I had a sacral stress reaction that's healed

Had the same issue wrote:

What's your email?

sorry haha

Hi, I am having the same problem, can you help? I have been dealing with this for a long time and am very frustrated. I actually had anterior thigh numbness due to a nerve impingement. Help!!!

I had chronic adductor pain/soreness until I bought a foam roller and started using it on the side and teh front of my quadplus sitting on a tennis ball to get to my piriformis.

The combination, or maybe one or the other, has almost completely cured me. What is the deal with the foam roller - it's a miracle cure for many people.

I have the same problem and it has affected my intrapelvic muscles.

Any tips on loosenong adductors?

I seem to be having this exact issue. My right leg is slightly externally rotated and it's causing all sorts of issues. Whenever I get injured it's always on my right leg. My hip flexors/butt/glute etc. are always tight and sore on the right side of my body. Right now I've been rolling out the psoas with a tennis ball where it inserts into the femur and that was very painful the first several times I did that. It seems to be getting less so as of late. I've also been rolling out my gluteal/butt area and there are some very sore spots there as well. I've been going to the chiropractor to see if they can help me figure out this problem. After taking some x-rays I was told that my right hip sits slightly lower when standing, just as you point out in your post. When sitting for extended periods of time I have lower back pain as well. Everything you describe sounds exactly like what I have going on with me. I have been doing fairly extensive online research and like I said I've even gone so far as to go to a chiropractor to try to get help with this. Do you have any tips to try to clear this up? I'm dealing with some ankle soreness right now as well on my right ankle. My guess is the root cause of the ankle soreness is stemming from this hip issue.

Do you have an office job and sit for long periods of time? I found that I was getting very tight hip flexors during the day, especially if i ran before work. I got a standing workstation and that has eliminated it. i have the ability to sit at the desk as well..i do about 50/50

Great posts everyone, this is why I read the message board

I recently got an electronically adjustable plan table at work that I've put my computer on so I'll be able to stand for a much greater part of the day now. I suspect all the sitting is what caused this problem for me as well. Hopefully that along with plenty of stretching will help get rid of this problem.

Hi there! I am experiencing extreme tightness in my upper hamstring/abductor/groin/and hip flexor as well.

I ran my 2nd marathon in November, which I qualified for Boston in! Before this race, I was being treated by a sports chiropractor for hip flexor tightness/pain. After the marathon, extreme high hamstring pain began in my right leg. Now, my hip is getting better (core strengthening/IT band strengthening.. etc), but my hamstring is getting worse. It is fine during runs, but after the run, the pain is excruciating while I stretch.

I had an MRI done and a small cyst was seen on my right hip (no biggie doctor said) and a sports hernia above my pelvis was shown (basically almost a muscle tear).

I feel that no matter how many exercises and stretches I do, my hamstring is not lightening up.

Do you have any tips? Thanks!

The first thing I'd do would be to find a massage therapist with experience working with athletes. A good one can often identify subtle issues that elude chiropractors and physicians. Then you better judge what exercises might help.

Try supta virasana (reclined hero's pose). If you can't get your butt down between your heels sit on a block or a book until you're comfortable. Don't push it and be as relaxed as possible. Try and do it for 10 mins a day. It reverses the effect of sitting all day. It can be very unconformable to start but the benefits are worth the work.

It'll open up your hip flexors and psoas like nothing else.

Hi I found this post and just had to reply! I have had adductor pain for over a year. I've spent a fortune on physio and gotten different replies. One said psoas, another tight adductors. But all agreed that it is is coming from hip problems because I pronate on my right leg. In fact all my injuries have been on my right leg - knee problems, sprained ankle, tendonitis, plantar fascitis, tight gluts and adductor. You name it! My physio tells me that if it weren't because I love running so much I would have switched sports. I wear insoles and have started a whole series of exercises to strengthen my hip/glut area. I foam roll and am going to start swimming too next month. I also have a sitting job but there is nothing much i can really do about this :(

Would appreciate any feedback.

Thanks so much

Jackie

Do some hip thrusts or bridges a few times during the day, preferably where no letsrun posters are around to watch.

As for your exercises, focus on gluteus medius exercises -- side leg raise, dirty dogs, clamshells.

I have pretty much the same problem except I overpronate on the left and normally all my injuries are that side. However I have now favoured the good leg so much that its starting to go too, torn hamstring last year (I think due to the right quad bulking up too much on the bike) and now horrendous adductor probs the last four months. Don't have any answers I'm afraid, I'm just trying to do stretches but I spend most of the day sitting down which doesn't help.

Virasana wrote:

Try supta virasana (reclined hero's pose). If you can't get your butt down between your heels sit on a block or a book until you're comfortable. Don't push it and be as relaxed as possible. Try and do it for 10 mins a day. It reverses the effect of sitting all day. It can be very unconformable to start but the benefits are worth the work.

It'll open up your hip flexors and psoas like nothing else.

This reclined Virasana really seems to open my hips, psoas, etc...I'm worried about long term effects on knees because of their slightly mis-aligned position during the stretch. Any issues with ACL, MCL or meniscus?

If anybody is still following this thread.

Thanks!