As many of you know, certainly I have shared my challenges openly, I have had some issues with my wheels. Recently I had both hips and both knees X-rayed. I am expecting to be referred to a rheumatologist. We will see........

In the mean time I have been putting forth considerable effort, including trying to educate myself (no small feat as I can be a bit hard headed at times ;-) concerning all things joints and musculature but I digress.

While I spend the vast majority of my long work days, often 12 hours, I also sit for extended periods of time while driving or sitting at shows. If its a 3 or 4 day show I might be sitting for 8 hours or more. While I welcome the rest it comes at the expense of having shortened hip flexors.

Hip flexors are sort of a buzz word in health and fitness circles. Endless reams of info are available as well as a myriad of UTube vids which show how to go about lengthening and stretching this vital muscle. I have tried quite a few of these stretches with only marginal and inconclusive results. That of course leads to confusion........"maybe my problem isn't associated with my hip flexors at all" etc.

But I recently hit on a stretch which has made a profound impact on my hip mobility. Its nice to feel like you can walk again without a hitch or like your walking in wet cement. The stretch is incredibly easy, but for me it can be a bit painful. Lay flat on your couch or bed and just let one leg dangle down. Thats it. I hold it for a count of 200 and by then it starts getting my attention. But afterwards the freedom of movement is noticeable.

In any event.........this might help someone else so I thought I would pass it along. Right now I am to the point where I might not be as whole as I would like but I probably could of pulled off my trip this past summer. Getting stronger and more mobile. Thank God ;-)

Definitely an often-overlooked stretching region. Amazing how interconnected everything is. For that stretch, do you lay flat on your back and just let the leg hang down? I sometimes lay on my side and hang the top leg over and down, that gets a decent stretch on the hip too. I once went through a rehab for something else, and they had me do some pretzel-type stretch which addressed the hip and the iliotibial band as well.
Seems like I need more and more stretching as time goes on, yet I do less and less of it :(

HowardSprague: "Definitely an often-overlooked stretching region. Amazing how interconnected everything is. For that stretch, do you lay flat on your back and just let the leg hang down? I sometimes lay on my side and hang the top leg over and down, that gets a decent stretch on the hip too. I once went through a rehab for something else, and they had me do some pretzel-type stretch which addressed the hip and the iliotibial band as well.
Seems like I need more and more stretching as time goes on, yet I do less and less of it :("

Yes Howard I just lay flat and let one leg dangle down. It was surprising to me that there was any resistance but surprise, surprise.

The other thing which came to my attention was during a session with a massage therapist. She worked on my butt and there was a very tight and painful area (no jokes please ;-) where a muscle attached. She said that was definitely a problem area.

I started strengthening my glutes (butt muscles) but I also started taking a sports vibrating massager or sitting and rolling on a LaCrosse ball while watching the evenings sports show (again spare me the jokes ;-) This has helped tremendously as well. I never knew I was all bound up. My guess is the weak glutes forced other muscles to take over all the load of pushing me around........not so good.

I am diggin on the Piyo workout series. Pretty cool, mostly short workouts without equipment using motion and pilates and yoga moves. Throw in a decent bike ride and some sets of single leg squats and I am on the road to recovery. Hurrah, thank you Jesus!

You can make that stretch even more effective if you tighten your core/tilt your hips so that the small of your back is flat against the bed as your leg dangles over the side. Had hip surgery several years ago to fix a torn labrum and that was one of many, many different stretches I did in PT.

My physical therapist has me laying on a firm surface where I can drop both legs at the same time. Keeping the core tight and breathing into the stretch as the legs droop can extend the stretch very well. He also has me laying on my side with shoulders still flat on the surface and then extending the top leg forward again with a dangle and breathing into the stretch. Then rotate to the other side. I generally get some nice snaps and pots in my spine from that one. Together they have nearly eliminated the pain and stiffness in my gait.

someone should make a utube of these exercises. some of the descriptions sound like a game of Twister!

bhouse46: "My physical therapist has me laying on a firm surface where I can drop both legs at the same time. Keeping the core tight and breathing into the stretch as the legs droop can extend the stretch very well. He also has me laying on my side with shoulders still flat on the surface and then extending the top leg forward again with a dangle and breathing into the stretch. Then rotate to the other side. I generally get some nice snaps and pots in my spine from that one. Together they have nearly eliminated the pain and stiffness in my gait."

Wow that sounds much better than what I am doing. I will keep that in mind. For now I will keep doing what I am doing until the pain subsides but thanks for sharing that. I can picture how that would be superior. The firm surface certainly has less "give" than a bed mattress. I will start your method next week...........I might have to build a bench of sorts.......what do you use may I ask?

ever see those photos of a leopard laying on a tree branch? Might have to climb tree, could be the way,... :)

MT, I use my weight bench....I do not do weights anymore, but the bench is useful.

bhouse46: "MT, I use my weight bench....I do not do weights anymore, but the bench is useful."

Ha! Great minds think alike. I was just looking at weight benches on Amazon. Plus I can get my weights off the floor from under a shelf and start using them again. You can build muscle at any age so why not use them? I think weight bearing exercises are important as people age. Right now I am primarily a push up and dumb bell guy. Trying to get into the whole Kettlebell thing but my hips are unhappy with squatting and swinging weight. Maybe these leg stretches we have been talking about will help. I liked what I seen with the Kettlebell workout video.

One thing I know........i'm not going down without a fight ;-)

When I began to have trouble getting up and down off the floor, I purchased a regular massage table to use for my back exercises (and when I rehabbed a replaced knee and later a hip replacement.) I bought it at Wayfair.com. with free shipping, and it came in two or three days. It is lightly padded, very sturdy, and will fold up if I need to carry it to another location or put it away in a corner of the room. It stays up in the area at the end of our living room and is there for exercising of all kinds. We love it! (I don't have the extensions for the face on it, but I guess you could have.) I am having hip pain now and am going to try the hip flexor stretch myself, if my physical therapist approves.


Massage table

Also if you sit/drive a lot bend backwards whenever you stand back up. You just simply put your hands on your hips and lean back as far as possible. Stretches your hip flexors and your back all at once. Keep doing your stretches too but something this simple can speed it up or keep it from getting so tight. Humans were not created to sit. If you can just get up and bend backwards every 30 minutes...sitting less and walking more would be better but I know that isn’t always realistic. You can do this at portages and camp too.

Watch your dog or cat whenever they get up they do the same exact thing...at least everyone I have ever had did.

T

Spartan2: "When I began to have trouble getting up and down off the floor, I purchased a regular massage table to use for my back exercises (and when I rehabbed a replaced knee and later a hip replacement.) I bought it at Wayfair.com. with free shipping, and it came in two or three days. It is lightly padded, very sturdy, and will fold up if I need to carry it to another location or put it away in a corner of the room. It stays up in the area at the end of our living room and is there for exercising of all kinds. We love it! (I don't have the extensions for the face on it, but I guess you could have.) I am having hip pain now and am going to try the hip flexor stretch myself, if my physical therapist approves.



Massage table "

It is odd that we find ourselves at this point is it not? I never pictured having my mobility hampered in any way other than some sort of accident (God Forbid). Have someone handy in case you dont feel like you can place the leg back on the flat surface. A little help will go a long way. You might also consider having a small stool or something to place your heel on so you can have total control of just how much pressure you want to put on the joint. I know that I have experienced some pain initially but grit my teeth and push through it and after repetition it has become less. In the moments after the stretch there is also a bit of pain but it goes away and I am more mobile with less impingement. This has been key for me. Well, that and my hot tub ;-)

timatkn: "Also if you sit/drive a lot bend backwards whenever you stand back up. You just simply put your hands on your hips and lean back as far as possible. Stretches your hip flexors and your back all at once. Keep doing your stretches too but something this simple can speed it up or keep it from getting so tight. Humans were not created to sit. If you can just get up and bend backwards every 30 minutes...sitting less and walking more would be better but I know that isn’t always realistic. You can do this at portages and camp too.


Watch your dog or cat whenever they get up they do the same exact thing...at least everyone I have ever had did.


T"

Wow.........that really has the ring of truth Timatkn. Just lean back baby! Of course! If only it could become a habit. Hands on hips and lean back a bit every time you get up from sitting, Duh!

FWIW I usually do the "cat" stretch daily to help my back and keep the discs healthy and in place. But that is done on all fours. Geez, first back issues and now knees, hips and ankles. Pretty sure the Designer had manufactured this stuff to last a lifetime but it appears that through a couple of injuries, bad posture, lousy diet and poor motor mechanics that things have worn excessively. If only we could do it all over again knowing what we know now. Youth, it is wasted on the young ;-)

I did the "pretzel type" stretch religiously for a year trying to get over the hump on IT band issues. I think it helped, but ultimately they never went away.

I'm convinced that the stretching and muscle imbalance correcting can help, but ultimately I think some of us were handed the joints and tires of a Cadillac or Maseratti and other's received the joints, tendons and cartilidge of a mopar. The truly unfortunate received 80's mopar equipment.

CCBBSpeckled: "I did the "pretzel type" stretch religiously for a year trying to get over the hump on IT band issues. I think it helped, but ultimately they never went away.


I'm convinced that the stretching and muscle imbalance correcting can help, but ultimately I think some of us were handed the joints and tires of a Cadillac or Maseratti and other's received the joints, tendons and cartilidge of a mopar. The truly unfortunate received 80's mopar equipment."

Were you strengthening the glute medius too? Or sometimes for the IT you need to stretch the adductors too but strengthening is usually the most important part of rehab to restore balance. Usually IT band issues have nothing to do with the joint...it is all soft tissue, generally IT pain will be on the outside of the hip, joint issues are painful in the groin area YMMV though.

T

timatkn: "

CCBBSpeckled: "I did the "pretzel type" stretch religiously for a year trying to get over the hump on IT band issues. I think it helped, but ultimately they never went away.



I'm convinced that the stretching and muscle imbalance correcting can help, but ultimately I think some of us were handed the joints and tires of a Cadillac or Maseratti and other's received the joints, tendons and cartilidge of a mopar. The truly unfortunate received 80's mopar equipment."

Were you strengthening the glute medius too? Or sometimes for the IT you need to stretch the adductors too but strengthening is usually the most important part of rehab to restore balance. Usually IT band issues have nothing to do with the joint...it is all soft tissue, generally IT pain will be on the outside of the hip, joint issues are painful in the groin area YMMV though.


T"

Its all Greek to me........I T bands, Glute Medius etc. The Chiropractor, massage therapist, guys and gals on Utube mention all these body parts and I just kind of nod and say "y-e-a-h right" ;-)

I foam roll fairly aggressively usually a couple times a day. I notice on the outsides of the hips there can be some painful issues but it has largely been remedied. I always feel better immediately after foam rolling.

In the evening I use a sports vibrating massager and have come across some incredibly painful hotspots on the outside of my hip (IT band?). These hotspots were unknown to me until the vibrator hit them. Then it was "OH MAN"! It took several days of working the area to get it to calm down. The hotspot actually formed a big red welt protruding from my hip. Weird. Both sides had this hotspot but it took some searching to find it.

The other thing I do which REALLY helps is a LaCrosse ball on a hard surface placed underneath my legs and rolled around on while in a seated position. Can you say ugly torture face? Can you say "OUCH"? Who knew? I never suspected everything was so bound up and tight. I have always just forged ahead with confidence and determination without really thinking about any abuse I was doing.

This entire smashing of muscles is completely new to me. Heck, I never even used to stretch much. Its probably why things are breaking down.

Monday I get results of blood work and Xray. I decided to get checked for Lymes as well. Something is going on. I will maybe get some answers Monday. I would really like to get back to doing some hard canoe trips ;-)

Smart move getting checked for lymes, ya never know. Especially if you have multiple joints bothering you.

T

MT,

+1 on what T said about getting checked for Lymes Disease.

Several years ago a good friend of mine in Indiana started having severe joint pain and terrible pains in his chest as well. After many tests and no real answers, doctors in Indianapolis were going to open him up to check his heart. A few days before his scheduled heart surgery, a nurse asked my bud if he had recently been in the woods and perhaps his joint and chest pains were caused by Lymes Disease. He said he had indeed had been in the woods mushrooming with me in southern Minnesota only 3 weeks prior. Well he got tested for Lymes and he did in fact have Lymes and it was the root cause of his problem. It turns out ... he was the 1st reported case of Lymes Disease in Indiana.

Hope you find the cause of your joint problems.

Thanks Mike........I am not expecting Lymes but I have spent some time afield in NY state. If I have contracted the stuff I have had it probably for a very long time as this issue has been creeping up on me for probably a decade. But the symptoms seem to coincide so I thought I should rule out all possibilities.

More likely it is combination of a lifetime spent on cement floors, a football injury and a diet which didn't have enough alkaline foods which would of likely warded off things like arthritis.

In any event, I am going to be standing on Gods Word and believe what He said about me and have confidence that He is for me and His plans dont include what I am currently experiencing. Healing has already been provided for me some 2000 years ago now I have to believe it. Surely if God can take legs which were severely scarred and bumpy from a rare disease when I was a kid and make the flesh like brand new within 10 minutes He can dissolve arthritis and regrow some cartilage. Of course He can and He will for His Word does not return void from that which it is sent to do. He is jealous to perform His Word and watches over it.

I am feeling better already ;-)