Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › General › Iliopsoas Tendonitis

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    • 05/19/2013 at 8:26 pm #70209
      AvatarDavid O’Connor
      Participant

      Hello everyone!  This is my first post here on mobilitywod.  I wanted to ask if anyone has ever dealt with recovering from iliopsoas tendonitis.  For about 8 months I’ve been struggling with this.  Been to physical therapy for it, and have recovered to the point of at least being able to obtain a squat position.  However, while pushing the knees out, I run into a concrete wall.  I’ve worked on a lot of areas including ankles, shins, the adductor mass, glutes, hamstrings, and psoas.  While immediately after the mwods I feel pretty good, the next day, it’s like I never did them.  Solid as a rock when I get out of bed, difficult to workout without a good 20 minutes working the psoas before I can get going with the workout.

      I’m wondering if there is something I’m missing here.  Should I be doing these kinds of mobility drills with the inflamed tendons?  Might I be over-working the areas?  I usually do one session in the morning working on some of the areas I’ll be using for my lifts that day, but nothing too strenuous.  At night, I hit the trouble areas hard.  
      I’ve made great progress since December, but just can’t seem to get any better for about 2 months now.  Any help is much appreciated!
    • 05/25/2013 at 5:31 pm #72012
      AvatarJames Elwin
      Participant

      I have bad trochanteric bursitis in my IT band on my right side and can feel my psoas snap when I’m extending my knee/hip while lying down. All of the areas you mentioned will help but I find that when I’m tight in my hips I lack external rotation which makes my IT band tight and also my iliopsoas somehow. Maybe try to mobilize your IT band around the hip and down by the knee on the outside. My TFL tends to give me fits as well since it’s a pretty good sized chunk of muscle in the outer hip area.
      Also, since the psoas is a muscle that connects to the lumbar spine try doing mobility on your quadratus lumborum, keep hitting your glutes and definitely mobilize your quads since the quad is dependent on the psoas for hip flexion, correct? I find that when I foam roll my quads the psoas gets a better stretch doing the couch stretch and don’t be afraid to go over 2 minutes/side(I know you said 20 min). Like Kelly says 2:00 is the MED but seeing change is what’s important. Sometimes I will wrap a voodoo floss band around my hip flexor which makes me engage my glutes more during the couch stretch which is a double whammie since I’m getting a better stretch out of my iliopsoas and glute activation as well.
      With regards to inflammation do you have access to a hot tub or sauna? Heat and compression do wonders for me and fish oil/krill oil will help with inflammation as well. Certain foods and especially high protein diets can put the body into an acidic state instead of alkaline so diet is definitely a factor.
      I always try to do a little mobility stuff both before and after a workout. Before helps me stay efficient during workouts and after tends to yield greater results since I’m loose and going for greater ROM is less strenuous and painful.
      15-20 minutes a day is a good amount of time to spend on mobility because obviously it’s just not feasible to tackle every troublesome area. Trust me I know it gets frustrating! Let me know if you need any further help or guidance to the wealth of knowledge that is mobilitywod. I’ve really been trying to circulate the wisdom that Kelly has imparted to me through his videos the man is a gentleman and a scholar.

    • 05/27/2013 at 11:19 pm #72030
      AvatarDavid O’Connor
      Participant

      Thanks for the reply!  I find myself having similar symptoms to the one you mentioned, but I think the only difference is that when I squat anything over 200 lbs, I can feel the right psoas swell like balloon.  Fish oil isn’t something I’ve considered yet, but it sounds like a great idea.  I’ve also thought about getting some epsom salts and sitting in the jacuzzi tub for a while.  

      I will definitely start foam rolling the quads, like you mentioned.  I have noticed that when I do the barbell smashing on the inner and anterior thigh/quad area, I feel great afterwards (until I go to bed and wake up!)  I think hitting the quads more often with less intensity might be a good idea.  Thanks for that insight!
      For the past week, I’ve started to go a lot lighter on the mob stuff pre-workout, and only hit the rough areas for a minute or two to get loose, but not try to make any drastic change right before I work out.  I will do you what you suggest and try doing some post-workout.  This is something I haven’t tried, but sounds like it may be beneficial.
      I have noticed that my IT bands are a little tight – definitely not to the point where I think there may be an injury, but they do seem like they are impinging some motion.  Do you know of any MWODs that help the IT band?  I dont’ think I’ve come across any yet.
    • 05/28/2013 at 12:58 am #72031
      AvatarJames Elwin
      Participant

      http://www.mobilitywod.com/2012/01/episode-361-pathomechanics-and-it-band-hell-part-1/

      http://www.mobilitywod.com/2012/01/episode-361-pathomechanics-and-it-band-hell-part-2/

      http://www.mobilitywod.com/2012/01/episode-361-pathomechanics-and-it-band-hell-part-3/

      Very insightful^. Definitely get used to using the search function on here it will make life a little easier.

    • 05/28/2013 at 1:03 pm #72038
      AvatarJames Elwin
      Participant

      Yes, epsom salt baths can work wonders since your body is absorbing all of that magnesium which helps with muscle tissue health as well as nerve function. And post workout is definitely a good time to get in some mobility work I know I take a few minutes before I’m actually warmed up and I don’t have to fight my muscles as much after a workout. Like I said doing it before a workout will help with efficiency while doing it post workout will lead to greater gains since you already have increased bloodflow from the workout. Flexibility becomes much less of a hassle ha.

    • 06/02/2013 at 11:46 am #72079
      AvatarDavid O’Connor
      Participant

      the epsom salt baths have been quite beneficial so far.  I still get stiff in the morning, but it works itself out rather quickly.  I have been turning a little more attention to the IT band and the tissue of the quads and around the knees.  It has helped me out a lot.  Foam rolling the quads has been a great addition.  The recent Daily Rx with the knee tack and floss highlighted some incredibly stiff tissues in the right leg.  

      Will continue with all this great work.  thanks again for all the advice!  I’ll be as good as new eventually!
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