Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett Forums General GFM #7 leg cannot cross over

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    • #210905
      ChezChez
      Participant

      New member here. 63 y/o endurance athlete (backcountry skiing and ultramarathon running) has always been stiff. I’ve been doing all the GFM exercises for a week now, some better than others but I don’t fail at anything until the last part of the Bone Saw video, sitting cross-legged. In every yoga class I’ve ever taken this is where I simply tip over. I’m not sure what kind of rotationI am missing. When I try to cross one leg over the other bent leg sitting on the floor, there is no way it’s going that direction at all. The angle I put my leg at doesn’t matter. Even high, my foot cannot cross over the other leg. If I try to pull it there, I tip over backwards. The only thing that hurts when I do this is my knees, seemingly on the LCLs or the ITB. Nowhere else do I feel anything, just no ROM and pain on the lateral side of the knee of the leg I’m trying to cross over. I think it’s external rotation of the hip but I don’t have any trouble doing those movements that preceded this. What is the deficiency in my mobility that causes this move — that everybody else seems to be able to do — to kill my knees and has done so my entire life? I think this is possibly the key to all my mobility problems.

    • #210909
      ChezChez
      Participant

      To be clear, it is the knee of the leg that is on the floor that hurts. The leg that I’m trying to cross over does not move and does not hurt.

    • #216361
      Michael AlzheimerMichael Alzheimer
      Participant

      Hey Chez!

      I would say being able to sit cross legged can be challenging for many people and can take time to be able to get into this position comfortably. I would not force yourself into this position if it is causing pain in your knees. I think you are correct that you are potentially lacking some ER of the hip. Could also be tightness in the abductors as well. Try working on these two areas and test and retest and see if its better, same, or worse when trying to get into the cross legged position. Here are a few routines to try out:

      Wednesday, September 26th, 2018 – Adductors & Hip Flexion

      Episode 238: Hip Opening

      Cheers,
      Mike

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