Sharp pain in hip when doing lunges (taken some pics to better explain)

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

ive been doing yoga for about 4 months now and i have noticed one of my hips (right) is more stiff that the other. Its slowly lossening up but i have a horrible sharp pain, feels like a nerve when i go into a lunge. Its hard to explain but i just feels like its not meant to move that way and that its going to pop out of place if i go any further into the stretch.

Now i can do a lunge on the right side if i allow my knee to come out a little but if i try to keep it inline with my arms it really hurts

some pics will better explain it i guess

keeping my leg slightly outward i dont feel any sort of pain

if i bring my leg in i feel a pain like a nerve or cartilage or something is caught in my hip socket

as you can see i think maybe my hip sockets are aligned differently, this is as far as i can twist my feet. you notice the right leg i can bend more outward which i guess is why its hard for me to keep my right leg/hip inwards

#2

Hello Peco,

would you mind retaking the third shot here and doing so from a slightly higher angle AND pulling your pant legs up above the knee cap please.

gordon

#3

thanks for the reply

ive tried to capture it as best as i can

#4

So the other day i was rolling through one of the astanga series and i get to this posture

(heck I can’t find a picture)

Your sitting on your bum right? and you pull the leg towards your face. I.e your trying to put your shin on your forehead while sitting straight up - pulling your one leg towards your face with your hands.

k?

So I was doing that.

Right Leg. Fine and dandy.

Get to the Left leg and I pull on that thing and I’m like

I’m gonna try and make it as pretty as a picture.

Sitting up straight. pull that leg back.

and

POP!

But it was a goood pop - not the kind that hurts - but like - relief - right there in my left hip socket…

I’ve had that kinda thing happen in the lower back a time or two . . .

a nice POP

#5

ah yes i forgot to mention this, i have sometimes experienced this pop in my right thigh and its doesnt hurt as much after it happens to do lunges but there is still some slight aggrevation

#6

Looks like you have really tight external rotators in your right hip. This can put a lot of stress on the hip flexor, mainly the psoas and the tfl, which can cause a ‘pinching’ feel in the hip when you pull the knee toward your chest.

In what ways do you find you have limited movement? Do you know which muscles in your legs and hips are tight?

You can start by stretching those external rotators… the main one is called the piriformis. Here’s a video on how to stretch it:

http://doyogawithme.com/content/piriformis-stretch

It may be really uncomforable when you try the stretch, so if it is, do it very gently at first, until the discomfort starts to subside.

It would also be a good idea to stretch your quad and IT band, since they will also be tightening as a result of the external rotation on your right side. Here’s a great stretch for the quad:

http://doyogawithme.com/content/quadricep-stretch-against-wall

and here are two stretches for the IT band:

http://doyogawithme.com/content/it-band-stretch-against-wall

http://doyogawithme.com/content/it-band-stretch-seated

#7

[QUOTE=DoYogaWithMe;54236]

[/QUOTE]

thanks for the detailed reply, i was checking out your site today, very very good, and all for free too. Keep up the good work.

to answer your question about limited movement i guess its just the pain and the fact that im scared to go any deeper into the stretch because it feels like the hip is going to pop out of the socket.

the pain is just around the inside of the hip socket.

I guess its just a flexibilty problem, few weeks ago i couldnt even bend down while in the lunge to place both hands flat on the floor, as you can see from the picture i can now do that, but going deeper and coming up out of the lunge is where i feel the pain. i guess pinching is a good word to describe it.

i will incorporate those stretches into my routine. Ive been doing the same routine since i started.

I just watched this and copied him - amazon.com/Yoga-Class-Flexibility-Fitness-Relaxation/dp/B000NTMI9Y

Should you change our routine every now and then or just stick with the same routine until you can complete it with ease to go onto more advanced routines?

#8

Dear DoYogaWithMe,

Thank you very much for sharing your teaching over the internet, I find them useful !

Question on the Seated IT Band Stretch Video. When I bent forward / downward toward the floor, do I
(i) bent from the hip joints or waists as you instructed ? and
(ii) continue pushing the bent knee toward the floor or hold it fixed in position ?

Namaste

#9

peco… thanks for the kind words. It’s great to be able to provide such a site for people.

The pain could be coming from the joint structure itself (such as worn cartilage), and you wouldn’t really know until someone knowledgeable has a close look or you get an x-ray. In response to your last question, a routine is good to keep yourself motivated and to develop a workout that is specific to your body, but your body will change, so you have to honor that. Listen close and respond to what your body is telling you. And never move into pain…

antaraayaah… in that stretch you want to bend forward from the hips, with a flat back, and yes, you can encourage the knee down, as long as there is no discomfort in the knee.