You need to identify the cause of the problem.
Do you have restriction when performing certain skills?
How are you impacted by the lack of internal rotation?
Positions that are compromised?
If you have been working on it for a year and not seeing improvement you are not going after the correct thing.
Have you stopped doing the 2 man IR stretch?
There was temporary lasting effect because it is somewhere that needs attention. It may take some time for the change in positioning to hold.
How long did you do it for?

I have very much similar problem with internal rotation of my right hip. Sometimes I get a uncomfortable impingement feeling, but hip hamstring flossing helps. To give you an idea of what I’ve tried, I’ve used a crap load of band tension while doing hamstring floss. I needed a 100 lbs kettlebell to help hold me in place along with a heavy soft plyobox.

My right hip is missing alot of internal rotation. I can restore a good amount of it with flexion. I have some issues with internal rotation during extension like when walking. When my right leg swings back.

My missing right hip IR results in a very right ankle that wants to flare out. When I try to walk straight my hips more laterally in the frontal plane instead of sagital.

I recently went to see a chiro and he’s a personal training client of mine and we had a good conversation of what was happening. The right pelvic bowl is slightly turned in. He’s been able to adjust it and it allows my right femur to move better, but there’s still a blocked feeling.

I was looking at an anatomy chart trying to dissect this ir problem and I learned that the hamstrings (semabremanosus) causes some medial ir of the femur. I found takin a softbal and sitting on hard surface rolling the thing out helps. Getting that wod of fibers that kstar calls the “grundle.”

But thinking out loud here’s what I want try on myself after realizing to your post.

Hamstring floss biasong some internal rotation 2 mins (just the right)
Couch stretch 5 mins right side
Hip flexor lunge stretch with band pulling hip forward 2 mins right side

Side lying Abduction strengthening only right side
Softball the adductor and hamstrings under the crotch area of the restricted area trying to pressure wave /tack and stretch through that position of emphasis 2 mins

Then do some walking lunges and some lunges with bad distraction (or call it a split squat ) with my left leg forward and the bad distracting my right hip forward biasing IR stationary split squat 10-15 reps. Then do the otherwise without the band.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about or need some clarification ask a question.

I’m pretty OCD with this stuff because I do have some pain issues that have been greatly relieved because of what I learned from the mobility wod. So I started my own little video project using all the stuff from the supple leopard to be able to do an overhead squat. http://youtu.be/aemjDdVMIGM

My internal rotation is shocking. When I lie in the prone position, with my knees at 90′ and let my legs fall out, which in turn will induce internal rotation of the hip joint. My right hand side is like 5* at the very most. My other side is slightly better but still very very poor.

I’ve always thought this was tight TFL etc. But when I look into it, having limited internal rotation of the hip joint would suggest tight lateral hip rotators (as it’s them which is stretching).  maybe piriformis, Am i right in saying this?

What’s the two man IR stretch??? I’ve never seen or heard of that, and can’t find much of goggle except this thread when you search that.

Also view: http://www.ericcressey.com/measuring-hip-internal-rotation
– It’s mentioned on that I’m sure if your hip internal rotation decreases during lying prone from seated then it could be a capsule problem.

As someone who only “understands” complete body dysfunction, my instinct when reading this post is to ask, how is your other hip is performing?.  Does the other hip have better IR than ER?  Just wondering if there is some compensation happening behind the scenes.

I have the same issues. One thing I’ve read and props to brent brookbush for this. But he claims the TFL may have a big impact on hip internal rotation, especially in a 90/90 position. Theoretically the tfl causes a superior migration of the femoral head and stops proper internal rotation. Try releasing and then stretching the tfl into hip extension and external rotation and then retest your internal rotation. Works wonders for me! Goodluck all

As well as that I forgot to add. In hip flexion and internal rotation the adductors can act as external rotators in a synergistic fashion. Rolling the adductors out can also have a massive effect!

Yeah, but are you totally convinced it is only a joint capsule issue, Michael?

Can I ask about bad IR stretching, what are the common mistakes people do when they try to stretch for better IR?

in the last week i’ve discovered the value of putting the femur head in the back of the hip socket. if i sit for any amount of time and depending how i sit and what i sit in, it can easily cause the femur heads to drift fwd. 

hmm got it – certainly your flexibility suggests you should have decent IR too.

questions/comments:

Increase lateral trunk stability and it will free up in due time. Address the cause of the stifness rather than treating the symptoms

Don’t disregard possible structural limitations. Look up hip retrotorsion. It can be assessed using the craigs test

Yes Yes yes  – the issue of femoral retroversion is real.  I for one was measured by 3D CT scan and found that my left femur is 20 degrees more retroverted than what is deemed normal.  This will cause boney restriction against internal rotation and increased range in external rotation.  The opposite is true for femoral ante version that is a boney block.  I understand one should not try to force past a boney/structural block as this will likely result in damaging the soft tissue/laburm etc.  If someone has extreme range in one direction and nearly no range in the other, there is a good chance you are dealing with a boney/sturctual issue and not strictly muscular one.  

Could someone explain the 2-man IR stretch?

I’d like to echo what Ryan Saplan and Christian Mcervale have said and I believe what Kelly has shown in a couple of MWOD episodes and Daily RXes. My right foot has a tendency to turn out and I lack hip IR on my right leg. From a structural standpoint my right pelvis is tipped forward (anterior pelvic tilt) and also medially. So if you think about it my femur starts out internally rotated because the pelvis isn’t in the right place. From my experience the pelvis position is influenced by a tight psoas, QL, and adductor on my right side. However, I’ve been stuck in this position for so long I lack the proper motor control to do most normal movements. Instead of my glutes helping to control hip extension and also stabalize my hip during normal gait my hip extension comes from my adductor, erectors, and QL. 

How do you work on lateral trunk stability?

Michael, it is interesting that I too walk with my feet straight so nobody suspected significant femoral retroversion.  As it turns out my sockets are anteverted and I guess I found a way to compensate in gait… but I have always had large ROM in external rotation (i.e.: can sit lotus no problem – even stand on head and get into that posture).  The one thing that did occur though was my most retroverted leg developed a pronation on that foot.  K-Star would say that’s a compensatory issue too — so instead of walking duck footed I medially rotate at the ankle.  I do agree with you that gradual and consistent strengthening of the internal rotators is probably the way to go.  Even if they are activated in an isometric way I think that will go a long way toward balancing us out so the deep laterals don’t always have the upper-hand!

Robyblee – in your instance it may be an incidence of tibial anteversion that has resulted in your femoral retrotorsion not presenting at your feet. Its rare but not out of the question

Id suggest everyone assess tfl glut med extensibility. Whilst both internal rotators post g.med fibers), dont discount the anterior/superior joint reaction force they cause. Essentially this results in a reduced level of congruency between the femoral head and acetebulum and can significantly reduced hip internal rotation.

.

Old thread, but how is this issue for you now Michael?

Sorry for the double post and repeated cut and pastes in my replies, I’m having a lot of trouble editing my posts and cutting pasting.

Hi Michael,

Hope the issue is solved. 

If not I think you
need to go back to iron_tiger’s post.  You have answered some of his
questions but you have dismissed a lot as well.  It’s one thing for YOU
yourself to have a look at your movement patterns, it’s another for a
trained professional.  Additionally, if you’ve been trying the same
thing with no results (ie. stretching external rotators and hip capsule)
then you’re probably looking in the wrong area. 

As many have
said it’s very difficult to treat your condition without seeing you in
person.  That includes myself.  However, to give you an idea of other
areas to look at, consider this article

http://deansomerset.com/side-plank-internal-rotation-question-answered/

“Specifically
relating to the hip, this could be a centration issue where the body is
resisting forces to alter the joint position of the hip, especially in a
state where the glutes are less active than the hamstrings or low back
in hip extension movements.  If the femoral head is consistently being
pushed forward by the action of the hamstrings on the joint, the
internal rotation function of the psoas, adductors, glutes as well as a
bunch of others I can’t think of right now, will be kicked up to resist
further forward glide, and will therefore reduce internal rotation
through passive motion.”

The cut and paste function doesn’t seem
to be working for me but there is a lot more great information in
there.  I don’t like to pick and choose things that could be wrong with
your hip; like I said no one can really tell without examining you.  So
the above example isn’t so much what could be wrong with your hip but
more an example of the fact that the hip is a complex structure and you
should really have a professional look at it for you.  If that fails
then at least look beyond just the hip capsule, external and internal
rotators; as mentioned in this article.