Program 3 - Difficulty Relaxing and Pain Day After

[Ryan_F]

Hello,

I have just bought the OBP Course and have been doing it as recommended - follow a program and then have one day rest.

Firstly - Program 1 was fantastic - it felt good and alleviated my back pain for a few days.  I didn't find program two as useful, but I am suspecting that I didn't do it correctly, as I didn't really feel much stretch when I was doing it.

I did program 3 two days ago, and it didn't feel great.  I have no doubt that my hip flexors are incredibly tight.  I have tried this particular stretch - the floor hip flexor stretch - a number of times before (from both Overcome Neck and Back Pain book and also YouTube videos) and I have had the same result - pain in the stretch, cannot relax whilst in the stretch and then potentially worse back pain the day after.  I felt the same when having a partner sit on my back.

I'm not trying to 'dis' this stretch as I know that many people find it fantastic and the hip flexor stretch.  I am just wondering whether there is something else that is tight that I need to stretch first before I can even start to get my hip flexors to stretch.  I think I remember hearing once somewhere here that rectus femoris needs to be loosened before the hip flexors will begin to behave but I am not sure of this (I'm not the best at anatomy either, I have a feeling that this muscle is a hip flexor but I am not sure).

Any suggestions?  I really want to be able to start loosening my hip flexors but I do not have a partner to help and I am an 80kg male who is reasonably strong (tight)  in the legs (I think).

[Nathan]

Hi Ryan,

Just FYI, I've moved your post into our brand-spanking-new OBP forum 

On 12/23/2020 at 5:15 PM, Frac said:

I didn't find program two as useful, but I am suspecting that I didn't do it correctly, as I didn't really feel much stretch when I was doing it.

Perhaps. Perhaps not. It could very possibly be form-related issues, but it would be far more surprising if all programs were equally beneficial. This would mean that you had no imbalances or weak/strong points, which is unlikely. You might simply need the stretches from program two less (at this point). Make note of this. You're learning about your body.

On 12/23/2020 at 5:15 PM, Frac said:

Any suggestions?

Yes, rectus femoris is correct. I would recommend using the OBP course as presented (with any modifications necessary for individual differences, etc., of course) at least the first time around. This is generally best practice when starting with any program. You might also consider posting a form check to see if we can help identify any possible form-related causes. That said, the wall-quad/couch stretch is a great stretch that can help loosen things up and make the floor HF stretch more accessible. You could give it a try to see how it feels for you.