Hp tightness and related problems...fix?

mindstar · Jun 13, 2009

Hey everyone...

I have really tight hips that are not allowing me to hit depth on squats without rounding my lower back. Because of this, my legs are obviously suffering and my lower back, though strong, is getting sore. My hips also cause my quads to be really tight which gives me knee pain. According to my PT, the issue in my back (due to my hips) is interfering with the signals to my left hamstring which is really weak and less developed than my right.

Now, I've got a stretching regimine down to losen my hips up, but I was just wondering if anyone else on here has/had the same problem and what you might have done to overcome it? It's actually really beginning to bug me, even on light squats, I can't hit depth without my pelvis rolling forward.

Thoughts?

oh, and from waht I've gleaned from my pt, the tight hips are a result of my acl reconstruction like 4 years ago...and I've just been powering through this whole time, probably doing myself a disservice (though I didn't notice anything was wrong.)

myosin · Jun 13, 2009

Several factors...

The problem with squat depth and hip tightness does seem to be coming up more lately. I wonder how much it has to do with our increased sedenatary lifestyles, particularly those who are behind a computer most of the day.

Anyhow- in a situation like this, there really are several factors you have to look into.

1) What is your "normal" anatomy? What I mean is, some people are just born with different "angles" in their bones and joints. Sometimes to force it into a "textbook normal" range/angle, you actually end up doing more harm than good. So, sometimes the better option is work around the issue. Which leads to...

2) Could you squat fully before, or this is new? If it's new, it could be more of a muscular issue which is more correctible and appropriate to do.

3) Your body is a chain. Examine/test your anatomy/form. For example, a tight soleus muscle is going to significantly affect the quality of your depth. Tight ileopsoas is going to throw your hips into an anterior tilt making it harder to stay upright "in the hole." Perhaps your PT can go through and test you from the ankle up. It's really not all that hard to do.

4) What are you considering a "full squat"? Some say it's butt to the ground, just past parrallel, etc. My point is, if your lower leg, femur and pelvis are hitting just past 90 degree's, you really are hitting your legs very well.

myosin · Jun 13, 2009

Other thought...

Sorry Mindstar,

What other kind of leg work are you doing? The squat is the staple of my leg routine but really, many BB's develop some nice wheels without squatting.

If your problem is just tight muscles, the Smith machine squat is not a bad option (I know, I know, some people hate the Smith machine- but, time and a place for most everything).