Hip pain at the bottom of the squat

[nislyj]

Stand normally, rotate your knee out about 30 degrees, then raise your knee up like you're letting out a fart in front of your friends in middle school. Whatever that hip muscle is that activated in order for you to do that hurts like a mother at the bottom of my squat. I first noticed it on Friday, and this morning was no better. As a result, I'm lucky if I can hit parallel.

Just straight hip abduction doesn't do it, and raising my knee straight ahead makes it twinge a bit, but that 30 degrees out position just makes it sing. What muscle is that? Should I be stretching it? Rolling it? Icing it?

 

[nativetroutbum]

Excellent site for trying to figure this sort of thing out: http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

You can find exercises for specific muscles and or a list of muscles worked by certain exercises complete with anatomical diagrams of the muscle.

 

[nislyj]

Thanks for that. After doing some homework, it looks like it's the tensor fascia lata that's been hurting, which I gather could be the result of a lot of sitting (desk job). I guess it also can be a byproduct of a really tight IT band, which I do have, from all the running I've done in the last year.

Next assignment is finding out how to get that sucker to loosen up.

 

[k_dean_curtis]

1. ice
2. foam roller or massage ball
3. stretching
4. rest from any exercise that hurts it till the pain goes away
5. if after a few weeks of 1 thru 4 pain is still there, see your doctor

HTH

 

[nislyj]

Cheers, k_dean_curtis.

I've been rolling the crap out of it today and this morning along with the stretching this morning and I think it's helping. I didn't think to ice. Doing that now.

I've been doing more reading and I guess it's pretty common with squatters. My slightly too wide stance didn't help. I guess that can kind of pinch the muscle between your femur and your pelvis.

 

[nislyj]

For the benefit of anyone else who might stumble along to read this.

I went back and re-read the chapter on the squat in Starting Strength, and I figured out that I was shooting my knees to far forward at the bottom of the squat, as well as dropping too quickly during the decent.

I stood a block of wood up at my toes to give my knees a reference to where they should go, as well as slowing down and tightening up on the way down, and poof, zero pain. Like magic.

Hip flexors feel much better today after just one workout of fixing these issues. I'm thinking I can continue to squat, as long as I'm doing it correctly, and my hips will heal up just fine.

 

[k_dean_curtis]

I should have originally stated, 6. Go read the SS Squat chapter good man. Follow Rippetoe's form recommendations, can't go wrong there.