Squashed frog impingement

[Chris GST]

Hi,

during squashed frog stretch I am finding a strong impingement type feeling in the back of my hip joint. The feeling increases with an increase in posterior tilt.

What causes this, is it a hip positioning issue within the joint capsule?

What stretches would people advise to solve this and stop it happening in the future?

Thanks,

Chris

[Kit_L]

I believe that this feeling is two things: the first is cramping in the external rotators behind the hip joint (they switch on to help get the legs wider, but like every other muscle in the body, liable to cramp in this ROM); the other is the greater trochanter is squashing tight tissues there that need to slow out of the way for the thighs to widen. This used to happen to me every time I tried it.

One possible solution is to alternate attempts at the squashed frog with this exercise, which open out that space behind the hip and stretches the cramping muscles:

I would do this before doing the squashed frog, then so the SF, then redo this one, and report back. Think of them as pose–counterpose.

[Chris GST]

Thanks, I will give that a go over the next few sessions and report back.

[Chris GST]

Hi Kit,

Pretty sure this was an issue with greater trochanter now. I've been adding piriformis stretches to my daily limber as well as your suggestion when going through a full stretch session. Also worked some of the trigger points around the glutes. Squashed frog is now doable and pain free even when adding ppt.

Thanks for your help.

Chris

I've now had more progress in 3weeks of your mastery series than 6months of another well know stretch series!

[Kit_L]

Chris, I am not surprised, at all. Please tell all your friends! 

[Matt Hill]

I could hug you guys. 

This has just solved a tight line in my body I have been struggling to unlock for around 2 years (a source of great mental frustration). I was starting to submit to the 'fact' that I would just have to live with this.

I have ventured many methods to release this tension, but have never found the key to the lock. I have even done this position before in some yoga classes, but apparently it was taught in an incorrect manner.

The cue to pull the hip to the floor changed everything. I got a strong sensation into the TFL & Iliacus on the side with knee on the ground & into the piriformis/glutes on the other side. Exactly where I knew I was tight, but haven't been able to target with other positions!

I've also suffered from hip impingement, it got really bad at one point where sitting/walking was a chore. While it is become more manageable nowadays after lots of work, it is still present as a pinching sensation in deep ROM. 

2minutes in this stretch & I re-tested a deeper hip flexor stretch - no pinching!

I then retested a deep squat - the pinching has almost completely disappeared!

I'm quite excited to see how the next few months unfold now. My body is going to be a much happier place. 

Many thanks.

 

 

[Kit_L]

On 3/10/2018 at 7:42 PM, Matt Hill said:

The cue to pull the hip to the floor changed everything.

This is interesting and if the culprit is the external rotators (not only piriformis), then working on the big p. pose once you are loose enough should change this forever. And it is not that you were taught in an incorrect manner on the yoga classes, necessarily (although most people do cheat in this position by at least unweighting the hip, and in the limit case, letting it come off the ground completely, to the extent that the lumbar spine is flexed laterally), it is that the teachers are not taught the necessity of this cue.

The cues are the system; My Iyengar would have described this simply as "the work you do in the pose".

When you try the advanced p. pose (I will link to a free one below), concentrate on mastering the initial lean over the mid-shin line rather than the foot/ankle. In the beginning the latter direction will be too hard and you will move into the position via flexing the lumbar spine. All movement forward from the start position needs to come from the hip, not the back. Doing the halfway alignment (so, pointing your chest to the middle of the lower leg, the 'mid-shin line') will be significantly easier. 

Speaking most generally about what is often diagnosed as "impingement": if on the front or inside the hip joint, most often hip flexors. If at the back or side of hip, most often external rotators. Many people stop exercising because they have been told they have an impingement, when they have very tight muscles which simple can't flow/move out of the way to achieve a position.

Oh, and hugs are always welcome!