tight external rotators

[peat]

i have problems with my calves when i run. i've seen a podiatrist and he told me i have extremely tight calves. i decided to see a chiropractor because i had a feeling my hips were off. whenever i lay down my feel flop over to the side to where they are touching the bed or table. turns out my hips were way out of alignment. i've been seeing a chiro of several months. my joints pop all the time now. the good part is if i go every two weeks, i can run without pain. he told me my external rotators are extremely tight.here's the questions. should i stop doing abductor exercises on the weights at the gym? i'm wondering if that's making them more tight. my podiatrist told me to skip calf exercises because it's making it worse. i don't wanna rely on this chiro forever. since my hips always seem to be "off" when i see him, part of me wonders if maybe they too strong or too weak. maybe i should focus more on strengthing my adductors? the adductors are much stronger than the abductors (lifting 120lbs on add and 80lbs on abd).  :-/ should i have my therapist focus on the abd's more? i only know one stretch for the abductors (lying down with legs up & one crossed over the opposite knee. bring them forward until feel the stretch). thanks in advance for any thoughts and suggestions.  

 

[Elanshaw]

Go see a really good Neuromuscular Therapist..... check for certification in NMT, not just having taken a seminar.  They'll do a postural analysis and some truly focused sessions.   Good luck!Linda B. in NC

 

[like me not me :)]

tight external rotators

80lbs on abd).  :-/ should i have my therapist focus on the abd's more?

Yes.  I think you might need to stretch your external rotators more than you'd need to strengthen your adductors.  

 

[ishameluvu]

tight external rotators

thanks guys. i'll give my therapist a call and start stretching more.

 

[Kratos]

tight external rotators

The name of this thread is "tight external rotators." jillith SAID "i decided to see a chiropractor because i had a feeling my hips were off. whenever i lay down my feel flop over to the side to where they are touching the bed or table."and " he told me my external rotators are extremely tight." so:External Rotators are:   Piriformis   Gemellus Superior   Obturator internus   Gemellus Inferior   Obturator Externus   Quadratus Femoris   Gluteus Maximus   SartoriusI think it would be good to find a therapist who can address these muscles. You may also want to read up on Piriformis Syndrome.Also, you do keep your knees "soft", right?

 

[pjamies]

my therapist did work on my glutes the other day. ouch!! she got a curse word outta me.   the  piriformis was especially cranky. what do you mean keep your knees soft?

 

[Pompal 09.]

tight external rotators

Don't "lock" them.

 

[Brandi M]

i never lock my knees.   if you mean while massaging, we use a low table and squat down.

 

[Cornflakes]

First of all I think its funny that someone wants you to be referred to a "certified neuromuscular therapist"  If trained properly every massage therapists should be well vast in any form of treatment.  I went through a six month program at only the most elite school and I am not certified in NMT or sweedish massage or sports massage or medical massage, or anything...just massage, but I do have the capability and the techniques learned and the 7 qualities of touch semi- mastered to adjust my massage to any form of problem that I am presented with-be it NMT, MET work, any kind of preassure that is needed, and anything else that presents me.  I just don't have a name for it all! Massage is massage is massage.  The difference in techniques comes from manipulating the 7 qualities of touch period.   Sorry Im done going off on the general publics stereotypical ideas about massage.  Here is what I would do.  You having very short lateral rotators.  I would use an integrated technique for them which would entail a cetain form of strain/counterstrain that would give the deep six a more normal resting length.  Then, for one thing adductors are suppose to be stronger than abducctors, but possibly not to your extent.  What I would do is reset your gait pattern including abductors and adductors.  I am an avid runner myself, with very tight calves, and a reset in my gait patterns helps me tremendously.  Afterwards I feel as if my muscles are working in sync, and I feel like im moving more efficiently.  Thanks for listeningChris

 

[katlvr125]

chris, you have my full attention. i love that you are a runner too. hubby always teasing me that i'm trying to lift the weight stack on abd's and add's.   are you thinking my abd's are too strong? should i scale the weight back? i LOVE lifting heavy on the legs. the only think i don't work is my calves since my podiatrist won't let me.  how would you change the resting length of the lateral rotators? i do stretch them by laying down with leg crossed over opposite knee, and bringing them towards my chest. the right side is tighter than the left. that's really the only thing i do for them. what do you suggest to reset the gait pattern? i am a heel striker trying to conform to the ball of the foot. are you suggesting something like chirunning?thank you so much for your post.  ;D

 

[Yellowdog]

Hey  just got back from a run myself, and thank you for not getting mad at my last post.Well  your adds are suppose to be 30 percent stronger than your abds, but your abds may be a little too strong which is why I suggested the gat reset.  Unfortunately this is a very long drawn out technique and it would be very diffucult to explain how to do it.  Darn it!  I wish I could, becasue I have personally seen great results from this.  One day at class, we took an assesment of our instructors running gait and he tended to lead with his left side, and was less mobile on his right side.  After that I personally reset gis gait pattern9including abds and adds)  and we took his running gait assesment again.  It was a 180 degree difference I tell you.  He ran very smooth and efficient, and he noted that he was less winded afterwards as well.  It was awesome!!I wish I could reset your gait or at least explain it to you.  I have the information in a book that I have.  I could photo copy it for you, but I wouldn't know how to get it to you.  It's really quit amazing!You could use any number of muscle energy techniques to obtain a more normal resting length for your lateral rotators though.  What I would do is a form of strain/counterstrain.  I have had great results by using this: Lay supine and see where your feet rest on the table.(If you have tight lateral rotators your feet will probably be flopped over to the side).  Have somebody exagerate that distortion by pushing the foot into a more laterally rotated position, and just have them hold it there for a good minute or more with no help from you.  Then you are going to push your foot in the opposite direction against your helpers pressure until your foot is completely medially rotated, and have your helper hold that position for a minute or more.  It should feel like a stretch.  Your deep six should have a more normal resting length after this.Any number of METs would work fine as well im sure.It's good that you stretch them out. Keep doing that.  I hope all goes well ;DChris

 

[Chris]

cffoster245 WROTE:"Massage is massage is massage.  The difference in techniques comes from manipulating the 7 qualities of touch period."--------------------------------------------------------------1. I've thrown away a lot of money on massages that did not address my pain. 2. What are the "7 qualities"?

 

[sevenmoreminutes7]

7 qualities of touch are  Depth of pressure, Drag, Duration,  Rythm, speed, direction, and frequency.  Yes, but if one knows how to effectively manipulate these 7 qualities of touch, one would be able to do ANY kind of technique on anybody. The 7 Qs of touch is huge!!!!  Shame on schools who don't have any idea as to what they even are...

 

[neale]

I agree with you silenceinthemist... Stretchching the calves and peroneals may be just chasing the problem.  Any kind of tilt of the pelvis can be created by a number of muscular inbalances including psoas, hamstrings, adductors, ITT, and more.   The key I believe would be to find out what is imbalanced by assesment, and do whatever is nessesary to achieve a more normal balance among these muscles

 

[Ava is Dank <3]

What I meant about massage is massage is massage is that there's really no such thing in my opinion as medical massage this or sports massage that.  I simply meant that all these "modalities" are just a manipulation of the seven QsChris......

 

[shiva11]

tight external rotators

Is there a specific reason you are training your abductors and adductors separately?Jay

 

[shaken & stirred]

tight external rotators

Is there a specific reason you are training your abductors and adductors separately?

Jay

i'm using the machines at  the gym.  

 

[tigris]

tight external rotators

I agree with you silenceinthemist... Stretchching the calves and peroneals may be just chasing the problem.  Any kind of tilt of the pelvis can be created by a number of muscular inbalances including psoas, hamstrings, adductors, ITT, and more.   The key I believe would be to find out what is imbalanced by assesment, and do whatever is nessesary to achieve a more normal balance among these muscles

wow! get buried at work for a few days and you post explodes!   i do know my hamstrings are tight. my ITBs are fine. i had problems with them a few years ago, but i'm good about stretching them. i've never had an MT work on my psoas.  maybe i should find someone who does muscle testing to find some of my imbalances. during my CAT scan a couple days ago (surfing accident from riding the Katrina swell) i noticed my left foot was lying laterally rotated on the table while the right foot was straight up. i guess i better call the chiropractor back.  

 

[Pompal 09.]

tight external rotators

Is there a specific reason you are training your abductors and adductors separately?

Jay

i'm using the machines at  the gym.  

Actually, the reason I'm asking is because there is no real reason to train these muscles without specific intent, such as a weakness in a primary movement eg. Squats.

Compound movements will work considerably better. I find these exercises somewhat useless and lead to more problems.

Jay

 

[HOSS]

tight external rotators

I wish I could reset your gait or at least explain it to you.  I have the information in a book that I have.  

Would you tell us the name of the book?