Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › General › left hip & ankle collapse

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    • 07/29/2015 at 2:27 pm #71425
      AvatarJames Harris
      Participant

      So I’m having a problem where my left glute feels like it’s blocked or hindered and I cannot achieve regular contraction. It feels like my left glute max can’t fire and all the smaller muscles are compensating for it. When I squat I almost completely shift my weight on my right leg and I my left glute gets completely disengaged. when I try and use my left leg to stand up I get an intense amount of contraction just above my knee cap . 

       It’s as if that is the only spot that wants to contract when I stand up. A side effect of this is I can’t activate my hamstring or glute, a lot of stiffness in my shins which then prevents any proper dorsiflexion. The outside of my left calf feels consistently tight because my left foot is constantly pronated. Another thing I’ve noticed is my left medial gastrocnemius doesn’t activate and because of that when I went to run it felt like I was purely relying on my achilles whenever I went into plantarflexion(I stopped running for obvious reasons)
      EDIT: This seems to almost get rid of the pain and get glute activation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ApHQvm3D_A
    • 08/12/2015 at 10:31 am #76148
      AvatarJames Harris
      Participant

      it seems to be an external rotation issue(I think). Went to go see a massage therapist who worked on my vastus lateralis(suuper ropey), glute and hamstring which allowed me to get proper external rotation using my glute(used tfl almost exclusively for external rotation hence over developed). 

    • 08/14/2015 at 11:29 am #76160
      AvatarNathan Richer
      Participant

      yeah it’s probably weakness and/or inhibition in the glute.  there are many exercises you can do for the glutes. it sounds like a single leg glute bridge might be good, with focus on maintaining a stable pelvis as you do the bridge especially on the weak side, and then squeezing and holding the glute at the top for 5 seconds.

      single leg deadlifts are good too. again you want to make sure you can maintain the level pelvis (and proper torso position) as you bend down with the weight and then flex the glute strongly on the way up.

      couch stretch should help with removing tightness in the hip flexors to enable the glute to fire. look up couch stretch here in MWOD.
    • 08/18/2015 at 12:18 pm #76164
      AvatarJames Harris
      Participant

      the only problem i have with glute bridges is that I get somewhat pain on near my IT on the back of my leg, which I’m assuming it’s trying to do the job my glute is suppose to be doing

    • 08/19/2015 at 9:26 am #76149
      AvatarRyan Flatley
      Participant

      Hey Biggels, 

      Check your ankle and hip ROM by trying to sit and hold a pistol on the L side (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3UGl2rHz18). If you’re not able to hold it, this might explain a lot of your issues and compensatory movements. You can easily find ways to reclaim this joint position on MWOD. I would also take a look at pelvic symmetry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INBY84sqrR0). If that’s off then fix it with smashing L QL, TFL, psoas, rectus femoris, high glute medius and minimus then perform pelvic correction as seen in the video. I’d like to know if this helps so please keep me updated. 
      Best, 
      Michael Caisse, PT, DPT, Mobility Specialist, Crossfit Coach
    • 08/19/2015 at 9:34 am #76165
      AvatarJames Harris
      Participant

      Thank you Mike, I’ll be testing some of these. On a side note, I posted a youtube link on my original post and that seems to take away a lot of the problems. I wanted to try kelly’s hip symmetry but when I try and lay on my back and bring my legs to my chest, I get too much pain in my hip flexors and I have very limited movement in that position, my left shin/ankle almost always swings inwards towards my other foot. I’ll keep this updated

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