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The Piriformis Muscle – A Real Pain In The BUTT

The Piriformis Muscle – A Real Pain In The BUTT

by | Sep 15, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, injury-featured, Pain Relief, Stretches

Issues with this muscle can be a real pain in the butt…(yeaaaa….bad joke)

I’m taking about the piriformis muscle.

This muscle can not only literally become a pain in the butt but it can also irritate the sciatic nerve leading to pain and irritation all down your leg.

And issues with this muscle can not only arise because of overuse during exercise but even honestly often simply because we’re spending too much time seated.

The first step in preventing and alleviating piriformis aches and pains is understanding what this muscle even does and it’s location.

What Does The Piriformis Do?

The piriformis muscle is a primary hip external rotator and helps with horizontal abduction of the hip when it is flexed to 90 degrees. It also helps stabilize your SI Joint. And can even potentially act as a weak hip extensor if the glute max is underactive.

This muscle becoming short and overactive can not only lead to piriformis syndrome and sciatic nerve compression but also hip and SI Joint issues not to mention lower back and even knee aches and pains.

However, this muscle can ALSO lead to sciatic nerve compression if it becomes lengthened, which creates the interesting question of…

To stretch or not to stretch?

But before I dive into whether or not to stretch this muscle and 3 key prehab moves to include to prevent and alleviate piriformis issues, I do just want to address one thing…

Are Sciatic Pain And Piriformis Issues The Same Thing?

While yes the piriformis muscle can compress or irritate the sciatic nerve and lead to sciatic nerve pain, and this is often what is termed piriformis syndrome, you can have piriformis issues that do not lead to sciatic nerve issues and you can have sciatic nerve compression NOT caused by the piriformis.

I think it’s key we note that sciatic nerve pain doesn’t always mean the piriformis muscle is the problem.

So if you have sciatic nerve pain, it is key you do address the culprit of the irritation or sources of the compression to address your specific mobility restrictions and overactive muscles.

You do want to determine if your compression is coming from your lower back or piriformis or even ankle mobility restrictions leading to compression at another point in your leg!

But if you have determined that the piriformis muscle is the issue, the question now is…..

Should I Stretch It?

The annoying answer is…IT DEPENDS!

Often when muscles become overactive and need to be relaxed and released to alleviate the issues, the muscles become shortened.

This means that you want to foam roll AND stretch the muscle before activating the muscle it is compensating for.

When it comes to our piriformis, when it is shortened and overactive we want to foam roll and stretch it while activating our glute max and our glute medius.

However, the piriformis muscle can also irritate the sciatic nerve when it becomes LENGTHENED.

And, in this case, stretching the muscle may provide even temporary relief but also PERPETUATE the problem.

So getting assessed to determine your exact imbalances and mobility restrictions is always key, but these 3 moves are a great place to start to not only relax an overactive piriformis whether it is shortened or lengthened while activating those underactive glute muscles!

So what are the 3 prehab moves you should be including?

3 Moves To Do To Help:

#1: Piriformis Foam Rolling

To relax and release the piriformis when it is overactive, foam rolling is a key first step. This can help decrease the tension this muscle is even applying to the sciatic nerve.

A ball works best to really apply more pressure, but you can use a roller especially starting out if you can’t relax against the ball. 

To do Piriformis Foam Rolling, find the spot where the top of your back jean pocket would be.

You can then cross the ankle of that leg over the other knee as you lean into that side

When you find a tight spot, hold there and breathe. If you can’t relax as you hold, use a larger or softer ball or even the roller.

You may even find it helpful to lift and lower the leg as you hold to help the muscle relax and release itself.

Or, if more comfortable, you can even relax back onto your forearms as you hold.

#2: Bench Rotational Half Kneeling Hip Stretch

Hip mobility restrictions and even a lack of spinal mobility can often perpetuate piriformis issues.

And also because of the Piriformis’s impact on the SI joint, this Bench Rotational Half Kneeling Hip Stretch can be a key move to include in your prehab work.

To do the Bench Rotational Half Kneeling Hip Stretch, set up placing the top of your back foot on a bench and move to half kneeling on the ground. Make sure you’re not right on your knee back but actually rocked toward your thigh.

Move your front foot out so that knee is bent to about 90 degrees while allowing you to extend that back hip using your glute.

Place your opposite hand from your front foot down on the ground at your instep.

Squeeze your back glute to drive that hip into extension and place your other hand behind your head.

Rotate to bring that elbow back toward your elbow of your arm on the ground. You’re twisting away from that front leg and focusing on rotating through your spine.

The rotate that elbow up toward the ceiling, twisting toward your front leg.

Make sure to squeeze that back glute as you do and do NOT rock out on that front foot to create space.

Rotate open toward that leg then twist back toward that starting position.

You should feel that back hip and quad stretching and even a stretch in the outside of that hip and glute of your front leg.

You’ll also feel this through your spine, especially your thoracic spine.

Move slowly and make sure you don’t just flap your arm!

To modify you can do more of a Spiderman lunge variation with your hand on a bench or incline as you twist!

#3: Wall Side Lying Mini Band Lateral Raise

Your piriformis can become overworked because your glute max and medius are underactive, not only on that same side but even on your opposite side.

That’s why unilateral activation work can become so key.

And because your piriformis assists with horizontal abduction when your hip is flexed to 90 degrees, it can be key to work on activating your glute medius while your hip is extended.

That’s why this Wall Side Lying Mini Band Lateral Raise is such an amazing move to include.

This move works on hip extension to engage your glute max while also working to improve your hips stability and glute medius activation.

To do this exercise, place a mini band around your thighs above your knees. Start light and focus on that control and mind-body connection to really feel your glutes working.

You can bend that bottom leg to help you stabilize and set up lying on your side with your back to the wall. You want to set up a few inches out from the wall so you can kick back slightly into the wall.

Lift your top leg up a few inches off your bottom leg and make sure you do NOT rotate that toe open. You do not want to externally rotate your hip or you’ll engage that piriformis more.

Feel the side of your butt engage as you lift just a bit to create tension through the band. Then drive your heel back into the wall.

From this position, slide your heel up the wall abducting your leg. Perform this lateral raise but do not rotate your hip open to raise up higher.

Lift up and then, keeping tension back into the wall, slowly slide the leg down. Do not lower completely down and lose tension on the band. You want your glute working the entire time.

Focus on feeling your glute medius lifting against the band as you feel your glute max working as you drive your heel back into the wall extending your hip.

SUMMARY:

If you’ve been suffering from piriformis issues, get on that prehab work! Start addressing this overactive muscle while activating those underactive glutes.

Even start with just 45 seconds per move per side for a quick mobility series.

For the complete prehab process to address aches and pains from head to toe, check out my Injury Prevention Bundle:

–> The Injury Prevent Pack

Are You Lunging WRONG? 3 Tips To FIX Your Lunge

Are You Lunging WRONG? 3 Tips To FIX Your Lunge

by | Sep 1, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

The lunge, in all its many forms, is so often blamed for knee pain.

But moves are only as good as their implementation. And we need to understand there is a difference between going through the motions and mimicking proper form and actually getting the correct muscles working.

Too often we end up demonizing this amazing move instead of learning to properly control it and load muscles correctly.

And that overload is what leads to the pain. When you don’t engage the correct muscles to power the movement can prevent us from seeing the full benefit of all the amazing lunge variations out there.

We don’t take time to see all of the tweaks to form we can make to work around previous injuries, adjust to our specific builds and mobility restrictions not to mention even us variations based on our specific needs and goals.

That’s why I want to share 3 key form cues I use to help client’s get more out of this amazing move while avoiding those common mistakes we often make that lead to aches and pains.

Because we have to remember that form isn’t as binary as we make it out to be. There are so many slight adjustments we can make to get more out of exercises so they fit our needs and goals!

 

3 Key Cues To Improve Your Lunge Form:

#1: Maintain A More Vertical Shin Angle:

Ever hear someone say “You’re knee can’t go over your toes during lunging.”

This isn’t completely true, BUT we need to understand why this statement came about.

When our knee does travel further forward over our foot, there will be more loading of our quads. This is what, especially if we have previous knee issues or a lack of ankle mobility, can lead to lunges causing knee pain.

So while you can actually INTENTIONALLY preform lunge variations this way to strengthen your quads, you do want to know the drawbacks.

You also want to make sure you have the proper ankle mobility to do this variation while keeping your heel firmly planted on the ground.

Since so many of us struggle to activate our glutes, not to mention lack ideal ankle and even hip mobility, it may be helpful for us to avoid this positioning and instead focus more on maintaining a more vertical shin angle with our front lower leg.

When you maintain that more vertical shin angle, you can actually engage your glutes more and make the move slightly more hip dominant. This can be key to help you avoid overloading your quads and therefore your knees.

It can also simply be a tweak you use to target those glutes more during your lunge work.

So if you struggle with quad dominance and getting your glutes to work, focus on that knee being aligned over your ankle as you lunge, whether doing a static lunge, reverse lunge or even front lunge!

#2: Keep Your Weight Centered:

Too often when we are moving forward or backward in a lunge, we let ourselves actually become off balance which can lead to us overloading the muscles that support our knees.

Even though with lunges you can move in every direction, you want to be conscious to truly keep your weight more centered so you can smoothly push back to standing with no stutter steps.

You want to correctly engage your front AND back legs as they are both working together even if different muscles in each leg are working to different extents.

One of the best ways to help learn how to keep your weight centered is by first making sure you’ve mastered that static lunge or split squat.

To do this move, start half kneeling on the ground with your back knee about under your hip and your front knee over your ankle so your shin is vertical. Push the ball of your back foot and your entire front foot into the ground. Even think about your front foot as a tripod, two points in the ball of your foot and one in your heel.

Squeeze your back glute and make sure to drive through both feet as you push up to standing. Make sure you use that front glute to prevent your front knee from caving in.

Focus on pushing the ground away to stand then controlling that lower down.

You may find you want to shift forward instead of driving straight up, which is often what happens when we add movement to the lunge and creates the knee overload.

So first you must learn to control this static lunge and build mobility to perform it properly BEFORE you progress to adding in more movement.

Regress to progress!

Then as you begin to introduce movement, you can keep the lunges more shallow to focus on that weight being centered. Even implementing a PAUSE at the bottom as you do begin to lunge longer and deeper can be a great way to get to assess where your weight is and correct any shifts.

Remember you have to earn those harder variations. You don’t want to just mimic movements. You want to make sure the correct muscles are working!

#3: Focus On Your Foot’s Connection To The Ground (Back AND Front Feet):

Our feet are our foundation. Instability there creates instability up our entire legs.

That’s why it’s key you start your lunges by focusing on your feet. And not just the foot of your moving leg but both feet to engage the muscles of both legs correctly.

When you move through any lunge, think about that front foot as that tripod as you sink. Drive off your entire foot to stand back up.

Note if you are rocking out or in on your foot or if you find your foot turning in or out. You’ll notice small changes in the muscles you’re using and even your knee alignment.

By really focusing on driving off that entire foot, you’ll better use the muscles of your legs and glutes correctly and even avoid any knee overload. You’ll help yourself keep your weight more centered.

By focusing on your foot’s connection to the ground you can also avoid your knee collapsing in which can be a huge source of knee aches and pains.

And then don’t ignore your back foot as well.

While you may only be on the ball of that back foot, proper tension into the ground can help you better use that glute to drive the hip extension of that back leg.

It can also help you avoid knee pain in that back leg.

If you aren’t conscious you may find that back knee turning out as you rock in toward your back toe. This can overwork the rectus femoris, the quad muscle that not only directly connects to your knee but also your hip, and lead to not only knee but also hip issues.

Being conscious of our feet can help us better recruit the muscles of our lower body. It all starts at that foundation!

SUMMARY:

Focus on what you feel working not just on making the movement look correct. We need those proper recruitment patterns to drive those movement patterns or we put ourselves at greater risk for overload, compensations and injuries.

Use these 3 cues to help yourself avoid knee aches and pains from lunging and get more out of this amazing lower body move!

Working to improve your mobility and stability?

Check out my Injury Prevention Pack!

3 Moves To FIX Hip Pain – The Ankle-Butt Connection

3 Moves To FIX Hip Pain – The Ankle-Butt Connection

by | Aug 17, 2021 | Blog, Butt, Core, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Pain Relief

Suffering from hip pain?

Frustrated because you feel like you’re doing all the proper rehab work, foam rolling and stretching the muscles around your hips while activating your glutes, but nothing seems to be adding up?

What if that’s because the original culprit of your pain, the area that lead to the overload, is not anywhere near your hip?

What if you keep overloading the same muscles because of a mobility restriction or instability at your foundation?

What if it’s even the result of an ache or pain from over a decade ago?

Like say that ankle sprain you never really did anything about and just rested until it felt better?

What if the whole cause of your hip pain is due to that Ankle-Butt Connection?!

Before I discuss how to improve your ankle mobility and stability to alleviate and prevent your hip aches and pains, I want to discuss that ankle-butt connection and why it’s so important.

The Importance Of The Ankle Butt Connection:

Your feet and ankles are your foundation.

Immobility or instability there can create movement compensations up your entire kinetic chain, resulting in not only hip but even knee, lower back and SI joint aches and pains.

Especially immobility or instability due to a previous injury.

When we get injured, there is a disruption to our natural recruitment patterns or our mind-body connection.

We often aren’t able to call on muscles as efficiently or effectively as we once could, unless we take time to rebuild.

Also, we often compensate as we avoid using the area to rest it, limping around or using crutches, and then, when we first get back to training, we all too often just jump right back in as if nothing happened.

But there have been changes potentially to our ankle range of motion and our ability to stabilize that we can’t ignore, even if there is no longer pain.

It’s why an ankle injury from years ago we’ve forgotten about can later lead to hip pain.

Without knowing it, we’ve created a crack in our foundation that is now affecting our entire structure.

It’s why you NEED to make sure to re-establish that proper mind-body connection.

And in the case of previous ankle injuries and issues, that means addressing not only your ankle mobility and stability but also the impact that ankle injury had on your GLUTES!

A 2006 study found that subjects with chronic ankle sprains had weaker hip abduction strength on the involved side. (1)

We have to remember that everything is connected. And perpetual overuse builds up to issues over time.

So while you may be wishing you could go back in time right now and address the injury when it happened, it’s still not to late to do the prehab work you need!

What are 3 moves you can do to improve your ankle mobility and stability so all of your glute activation work actually pays off?

3 Ankle Mobility And Stability Moves:

Move #1: Peroneal Foam Rolling:

Peroneal tightness can be linked to flat feet and ankle mobility restrictions which can lead to your knee collapsing in during exercises like the squat.

This compensation can lead to your TFL becoming overloaded and overworked and your glute medius activation work not paying off!

It is an important muscle to pay attention to because if just one side becomes short and overactive, which is why foam rolling is so important for this muscle, it can lead to a functional leg length discrepancy (you may “think” one leg is shorter when it is actually muscle tightness causing the symptoms) and a weight shift during bilateral, or two-legged, movements.

To roll out your Peroneal, a ball or small roller works best although you can use a larger foam roller.

Take a ball and place it on the ground with the side of your lower leg on top, starting just below the outside side of your knee.

Press your lower leg down into the ball with your hand.

Hold and relax. You can even circle your foot and ankle to help the muscle relax and release.

Then move it to another spot slightly lower down on your lower leg.

Move #2: Bear Squat To Foot Stretch:

What we often don’t realize is that even our BIG TOE can get “locked up.”

And that lack of mobility can not only impact our lunging but even our walking and running.

That’s why the Bear Squat to Foot Stretch is so key to include.

It will stretch our your toes and improve your calf flexibility and ankle mobility, improving specifically your dorsiflexion (your ability to bring your toes closer to your shin).

This stretch can even help you SQUAT deeper if you’ve felt like your range of motion when squatting is limited.

To do this stretch, start kneeling on the ground with your feet flexed. Sit back on your heels. Rock side to side to stretch your feet.

Then lean forward and place your hands down on the ground. Push your butt up into the air, driving your heels down to the ground.

Relax your calves and try to get your heels down to the ground. You can pedal your feet to focus on each side independently.

Pause then lower your knees back down to the ground and sit back on your heels.

Make sure that as you drive your butt up, you are pressing yourself back so that your driving your heels down.

You can walk your hands in just a little bit closer to your knees to help you feel the stretch a little bit more too.

If you can’t sit back on your heels from that kneeling position, you can do a version of this against the wall barefoot. Place the ball of your foot on the wall to extend your toes.

Then drive your knee forward toward the wall keeping your heel on the ground. Pause then relax out and repeat.

Move #3: Calf Raise Circles:

When you do the basic calf raise, have you ever noticed you tend to rock out on your feet? Or maybe you slightly rock in?

These compensations can result in there still being instability, or even overworked muscles, in your lower leg.

That’s why I love Calf Raise Circles.

This variation is a great way to make sure you’re improving your ankle stability while addressing each aspect of your lower leg.

To do Circle Calf Raises, start standing with your feet about hip-width apart. You can face a wall or table or hold on to a pole if you need a little help balancing so that you can really focus on circling.

Don’t get ego in this move and end up rushing through just because you’re trying not to hold on.

Then start to circle by rocking to the outside of your feet. Slowly come forward toward your pinky toe. Then come up onto your toes slowly circling from your pinky toe toward your big toe.

Come up as high onto your toes/balls of your feet as you can.

Then reach your big toe and circle in toward the inside of your feet as you lower your heel down.

Then come back up, this time starting with the big toe and circling out toward your pinky toe before coming down on the outsides of your feet.

Repeat circling back up and in.

To progress this move, try extending the range of motion, performing it off a plate weight or step.

But really focus on feeling each part of that circle!

SUMMARY:

Create a solid foundation by using these 3 moves to improve your foot and ankle mobility and stability. It can help you prevent the overload perpetuating your hip pain!

For a great 5 minute foot and ankle mobility series using these 3 moves, and some other bonus ones, check out this series – The 5-Minute Foot And Ankle RStoration Series.

The Common ENEMY of Your Hips and Shoulders: The Lats

The Common ENEMY of Your Hips and Shoulders: The Lats

by | Jul 31, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Pain Relief, Stretches

Everything is connected.

And all too often the point of pain is NOT where the problem is.

That is why, when you have aches and pains, especially nagging ones that you can’t seem to get rid of, you need to start searching further away from the point of pain.

Take for instance SHOULDER pain.

Often the first “rehab” exercises we start to include focus on shoulder mobility and strengthening of those muscles around the joint.

And this is a great place to start!

But what if, despite you doing all of the proper rehab work, things just aren’t fully getting better?

Or what if you continue to suffer from flare ups that don’t seem to be triggered by any specific upper body exercises that you can identify?

What if the actual culprit of your shoulder pain is an issue at your lumbo-pelvic-hip complex?

That’s right…what if that lower back pain or anterior pelvic tilt or SI joint issue you’ve been having is CONNECTED to your shoulder pain?!

What if your lower back, hips and shoulders have a shared “enemy”?

And what if that shared “enemy” is your LATS or the Latissimus Dorsi!

Because BOTH of these areas are affected by that one muscle.

YUP!

While we often just think of our lats as a big back muscle, playing a role in our upper body functioning, they can also affect our SI joint via their attachment to the thoracolumbar fascia and even affect the alignment of our pelvis!

So while it may seem crazy, working to correct imbalances at your hip complex could help relax tight and overactive lats and help you alleviate your shoulder aches and pains!

So how exactly are the lats a common enemy of both your hip complex AND your shoulders and what can you do to start correcting the problem?

THE LAT CONNECTION:

Ok…your lats aren’t really your enemy…

It’s almost the case of you “blame the messenger”…or the messenger becoming more involved than they should be!

Because our lats are really a bridge between our upper and lower body.

They play a role in stabilizing our shoulders, scapulae (shoulder blades), lumbar spine, sacroiliac joint as well as our pelvis.

The lats have a far reaching impact and affect a TON of structures and movements!

They are a bridge that can perpetuate distortions and compensations from one hemisphere to the other.

They can become tight and overactive due to other muscular imbalances and weaknesses and then lead to aches and pains in the other region.

And for this reason they can be a common “enemy” of both our upper body and lumbo-pelvic-hip complex and SI joint.

Of course the real “enemy” is our rounded-shoulder, flexed posture created by sitting hunched over our technology for 9 hours a day.

A posture that leads to muscles, like the lats becoming tight and overactive, and muscles, like our glutes, becoming underactive.

Underactive glutes can lead to anterior pelvic tilt, hip hikes (if one side is underactive especially) and tight, overactive lats that perpetuate the pain and create upper body dysfunction as well.

Lat tightness can itself create a hip hike on the same side as the tight lat and anterior pelvic tilt and SI joint issues as well.

Both the glute and lat need to work together to protect us and make sure we have the proper mobility and stability.

If these muscles aren’t working well together, this distortion can show up as upper body, specifically even, shoulder aches and pains.

And the lats also can have a DIRECT impact on our shoulder health.

Tight lats can contribute to internally rotated shoulders, or that rounded shoulder posture, as well as restricted shoulder flexion aka your ability to reach overhead.

Ever wonder why you struggle to get your arms overhead to press and end up arching your lower back to compensate?

Tight lats may be part of the problem.

Tight, overactive lats can restrict proper shoulder mobility, negatively impact your shoulder stability, and even impact your scapular mobility as well (and this may be holding you back too from achieving that first full pull up not to mention a culprit of shoulder, upper back and even neck pain!)

Basically, you need to address lat tightness, both tightness of both lats and even an imbalance between the two, and then further investigate if there are distortions at your hip complex or SI joint or actually in your upper body, that may be perpetuating the tightness!

Here are 3 moves to help you get started making sure this “bridge” is functioning well!

3 MOVES TO TRY TODAY TO IMPROVE YOUR SHOULDER AND HIP HEALTH:

These 3 moves will start addressing lat tightness and overactivity while also working to engage them in a productive way to help alleviate and prevent shoulder AND hip aches and pains.

These are perfect moves to include as a restorative session after a long day at work or as part of your warm up for you upper body, or potentially even LOWER BODY, lifting session.

Exercise #1 Half-Kneeling TFL and Lat Stretch:

Want to address hip and shoulder issues in one stretch? Try this Half Kneeling TFL and Lat Stretch!

The TFL can commonly be tight as well which can further inhibit proper glute functioning. So this hip stretch with the reach across is a great way to address lat and TFL tightness in one movement.

To do this stretch set up half kneeling in front of a wall. Squeeze that back glute as you reach your hands overhead on the wall. While leaning slightly forward to reach up the wall, make sure to engage your glute to keep your hip extended.

Reach your arms away from the knee that is back and over and across that front knee. Even turn the palm of the hand in back away from the wall so your palm is facing back. This external shoulder rotation will further stretch your lat. Pause then walk your hands back center and repeat reaching across as you keep that back glute engaged.

Feel the stretch down your side and down the side of your hip.

Exercise #2 Lat Foam Rolling:

A key first step in making sure our lats are functioning correctly is relaxing them when they are overactive. A great way to do this so we can better mobilize the shoulder joint is by foam rolling. You can even include this move before the Half-Kneeling TFL and Lat Stretch. When you do, you’ll be surprised even by how much better of a stretch you get!

Place a roller to the side behind your armpit and lie on your side over the roller. Reach your hand overhead with your palm facing up to stretch your lat as you roll.

Hold on any tight spots as you reach your arm overhead then lower it down in front of your chest. Repeat the slow arm movement as you hold.

Then move the roller to another spot, working down the side of your back and shoulder blade. Then switch sides.

You can also use a ball if you know your exact trigger points and want to apply more pressure or even need to roll out against a wall because you can’t get down on the ground.

Exercise #3 Wall Hip Dips:

Wall Hip Dips are a great way to address unilateral lat issues, or issues only on one side, especially at our lumbo-pelvic-hip complex. This is a great move to help improve your pelvic alignment.

This move is a very modified version of something like the side plank hip dips and is focused on really making sure you’re activating the correct muscles, including your glute medius and obliques, while helping improve your lat flexibility and SI Joint alignment.

To do Wall Hip Dips, stand with your side to the wall and lean into the wall with your upper arm against the wall. You can bend your elbow to 90 degrees to place the back of your forearm against the wall too so you aren’t trying to cheat and rock off the wall.

Your feet should be about a foot from the wall and only a few inches apart at most.

Then drop your hip toward the wall. Do not rotate, but just move laterally.

Then engage your glute and oblique closest to the wall to raise your hip back up. Feel your oblique and glute work to move into almost a “side plank” position.
Then dip back toward the wall to almost feel a stretch down that side closest to the wall.

The further out from the wall, the more mobility you need. So start closer and move away as you can control the move without rotating or letting your shoulder come off the wall.

SUMMARY:

Remember, the point of pain isn’t always where the problem is! And overload can occur because of immobility or instability at a joint further away from our pain than we’d expect.

It’s why we need to pay attention to muscles and their different attachment points.

It’s why big muscles, like our lats, that bridge from our hips to our shoulders, need to get some extra TLC at times!

Try including these 3 moves as part of your warm up before your next workout if you’ve had shoulder or hip aches and pains you just can’t seem to get rid of!

Looking for 10 minute series to improve your mobility, flexibility and stability from head to toe?

Check out my Injury Prevention Pack:

–> LEARN MORE

Exercises For Hip Pain RELIEF (5 Daily Hip Pain Moves)

Exercises For Hip Pain RELIEF (5 Daily Hip Pain Moves)

by | Jul 15, 2021 | Blog, Butt, Core, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Pain Relief, Stretches, Uncategorized

Unfortunately hip pain is an all too common complaint.

And the best rehab is prehab – preventing those injuries before they really build up by recognizing and addressing those “minor” aches and pains.

Too often we simply try to push through a sore hip. We accept a limited range of motion.

We just keep training hard because it “loosens up” as we go or “only hurts at specific times.”

But those little nagging aches and pains are what end up resulting in injuries.

That’s why I wanted to share 5 moves you could include in your warm ups and weekly routine to prevent those annoying little aches and pains from ever resulting in an injury!

Best to act BEFORE the problems really occur!

So what are those 5 prehab moves?

 

5 Exercises For Hip Pain:

Rectus Femoris Foam Rolling:

The psoas is the sexy hip flexor muscle to talk about, but this hip flexor muscle, which is also a quad muscle, can directly impact both the hip AND the knee so it is a key muscle to pay attention to – it’s the Rectus Femoris.

Tightness of this muscle will not only hinder proper glute activation but lead to lower back, hip and knee issues.

It may be why you had a knee issue on one side and now have hip pain!

So because of the impact this muscle has on multiple joints it is a key muscle to include in your prehab routine.

Usually this muscle becomes short and overactive, which is why it is key you start by relaxing and releasing it through foam rolling.

That will then allow you to better activate your glutes and improve your hip extension and mobility.

If you have had issues or injuries on only one side, you may find you only need to address tightness on one side.

To roll out the Rectus Femoris, place a ball in the middle of your quad. You can also use a roller to reduce the pressure on the muscle. While you want to apply pressure to help the muscle relax as you hold, if the pressure is too much and you tense against it, you won’t benefit. So start with a softer ball or foam roller instead.

Hold and then even tense the muscle and relax as you hold to help it release.

Spend at least 30 seconds on any tight spots you find and hold up to 1 minute.

Piriformis Foam Rolling:

Piriformis issues are all too common these days and are often linked with the fact that we simply spend far too much time seated. Not to mention many of us even choose to do exercise activities, like cycling that still keep us in that seated position!

So it is key we address the fact that this muscle can become tight and shortened and then lead to issues like hip pain and even sciatic compression BEFORE the problems really occur.

That’s why I like to include some foam rolling for the piriformis in my prehab or warm up routines.

A ball works best to really apply more pressure, but you can use a roller especially starting out. You want to find the spot where the top of your back jean pocket would be.

If you use a roller, cross one ankle over the other knee to really help address tightness of the muscle as you lean into that side.

You can then push your knee open and relax out as you hold on the spot.

If you’re using a ball, you may find it helpful to lift and lower the leg as you hold.

Just make sure you breathe and relax as you hold.

Single Leg Hip Thruster:

After starting to relax overactive muscles, you want to start to stretch and work the hip through a full range of motion.

And a great way to do this while also activating our glutes, which are commonly UNDERACTIVE is through activation moves like the Single Leg Hip Thruster with Knee Hug!

Activation moves like this stretch out tight hip flexors through a process called reciprocal inhibition. Basically by engaging your glute to drive your hip into extension you stretch out that shortened hip flexor.

So especially if you’re short on time, you can use this move to stretch and activate all in one!

To do this move, you’ll hug one knee in toward your chest as you set up with your back on a bench. You can look down slightly toward your knees. This cervical flexion can actually help with glute engagement and can help you avoid arching your back.

Use that posterior pelvic tilt to brace your abs as you drive up. Squeeze your glute to extend your hip and avoid arching your lower back to get up higher.

Relax back down and repeat.

Unilateral moves like this are key if you have one side that is weaker or tighter; however, it also makes the exercise harder.

You may find you start with the glute bridge variation of this OR even an 80/20 hip thruster so that you reduce the resistance on that single leg.

You want to make sure your glute is the prime mover and that you don’t feel your hamstrings or quads compensating instead.

Hinged 3-Way Hip Circles:

It’s key we not only work on hip extension but also abduction and even flexion. Basically we want to make sure we mobilize our hip through a full range of motion while building stability through that full ROM.

That’s why this Hinged 3-Way Hip Circle move is so amazing.

You can do a version of this move fully standing and balancing, which is a great option IF you really want to focus on that balance element. You can also do it quadruped.

Even implementing all three over a progression can help you get the best results.

I find using the balance assist and slightly hinged position though really helps to better activate the glute through both the extension and even abduction for most people.

Lean forward against a wall or on a chair or bar for support.

Drive your leg back first. Think less about how high you kick up and almost think about stopping the lift with your glute. Feel yourself squeeze your glute.

Then bend your knee as you lift your leg out to the side. Focus on really feeling that glute lift over rotating away to lift up higher.

Fight to keep your lower leg parallel to the ground. We tend to either want to raise our foot up higher and internally rotate our hip (use the TFL) or externally rotate our hip (which can utilize more piriformis) so really focus on that glute medius.

Then with the knee bent, drive your knee in toward your chest and even round slightly to feel your abs.

We aren’t just mobilizing the hip but also activating muscles to improve our hip stability!

With this move you’re hitting your glute max, medius and even your abs!

Side Lying Series:

The glute medius is key to improving our hip stability and even our glute max activation, which is why it’s essential we include activation exercises for it.

Strengthening this muscle will help us avoid hip pain and even help us lift more and run faster!

One of the simplest but most killer activation series for it, is the Side Lying Series. It is key though that you avoid letting your TFL take over.

Using a slight internal rotation of that lower leg, so turning the toe down toward the ground is key.

Do not let your body rotate open. AND if you’ve had piriformis issues, definitely be careful you don’t start to turn that toe open or externally rotate your hip.

So often we want to allow our TFL or piriformis to compensate for that glute medius.

You’ll then lift the leg up at least 8-10 inches off the bottom leg. This will engage the glute before you even start.

You’ll then run through all, or a combination of side lying moves on one side before switching. Do not rush through or disengage by lowering your leg.

You can do the side lying leg raise, front kicks, back kicks, front to back kicks and then even the bicycle.

All of these hit different aspects of the glute medius AND work it while in both hip flexion and extension.

This series is amazing for runner’s especially using the bicycle because it works on that hip mobility through a full gait motion.

SUMMARY:

The best way to avoid annoying chronic hip pain is to do prehab or those mobility and activation moves to address common postural distortions or previous injuries BEFORE pain adds up.

These moves can be used in your warm up to even help you get more out of your workouts by improving your range of motion and helping you prep proper recruitment patterns BEFORE you lift or run.

If you’re looking to prevent ankle, knee, hip and lower back aches and pains, check out my BOOTY BURNER program!

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STOP Torturing Your Rotator Cuff (Do This Instead)

STOP Torturing Your Rotator Cuff (Do This Instead)

by | Jul 8, 2021 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, injury-featured, Pain Relief

Rotator cuff injuries are all too common.

And often when a muscle gets injured we blame it for being weak.

So in our attempts to recovery we include a ton of moves to work and strengthen those muscles.

But what if this extra strengthening work is actually holding you back?

What if these exercises are actually perpetuating the issues long-term instead of addressing the true culprit of the problem?

Because so often muscles, like our rotator cuff, become injured because they are actually OVERWORKED and OVERUSED.

These smaller, weaker muscles end up overstrained and overworked because of joint mobility restrictions and other muscles not pulling their weight.

That’s why rotator cuff injuries especially are becoming more and more common.

That’s why a proper recovery and mobility program can’t just focus on rotator cuff strengthening moves.

It actually needs to focus on your thoracic, scapular and shoulder mobility as well as proper engagement of the larger muscles of your upper back as well as your serratus anterior.

But before we dive into the moves you need to include, it’s key we have a better understanding of the muscles that make up our rotator cuff and what they do.

What does your rotator cuff do?

While each of the 4 rotator cuff muscles does contribute to a different joint action, all four muscles play an important role in stabilizing your shoulder, which is a ball and socket joint.

A great way of understanding the importance of these muscles and their role in shoulder stability is to think of your shoulder as a golf ball on a tee. Your rotator cuff muscles hold that golf ball in place so it doesn’t rotate off the tee.

However because each rotator cuff muscle does contributes to a different joint action, it can be helpful for your recovery to know which one is injured and have a better understanding of how they function.

What are the 4 muscles of your rotator cuff?

– Supraspinatus 
– Infraspinatus
– Teres Minor
– Subscapularis 

The Supraspinatus abducts the shoulder or helps you raise your arm out to the side.

The Infraspinatus and Teres Minor externally rotate the shoulder. For a visual example of this, place your elbow in by your side and bent it to 90 degrees with your hand out in front of you. Then open your arm out to the side. That movement is external rotation.

The Subscapularis, on the other hand, internally rotates your shoulder. So if your elbow was bent in the same position, your hand would move in toward your body.

Your rotator cuff muscles are also made up of mainly type I muscle fibers. So if you are working to strengthen them to improve your shoulder stability, higher reps and lower loads will be key.

But remember, while keeping these muscles strong for stability is key, if that golf ball isn’t properly aligned on that tee, or other muscles aren’t pulling their weight, your rotator cuff can easily become overworked which can lead to injury.

That’s why you want to include these 4 exercises to foam roll, stretch and activate and keep your shoulders healthy and happy! These moves will help you work on your thoracic, shoulder and scapular mobility and stability.

They are important to include in your upper body training routines if you have a desk job especially and can easily be combined even into a quick warm up before your workouts.

4 KEY MOVES TO DO INSTEAD TO PREVENT ROTATOR CUFF OVERUSE INJURIES

EXERCISE #1: Chest Foam Rolling

Your pec minor and major can become shortened and tight, especially if you spend a ton of time hunched over throughout the day.

This can lead to both internal shoulder rotation but also anterior tipping and downward rotation of our shoulder blades and create overuse of the rotator cuff.

That’s why it’s key we first use foam rolling to relax this overactive muscle!

To roll out your chest, you can use a larger ball against the ground or a smaller ball in a doorway.

Start with the ball just inside your shoulder joint and under your collarbone. You will not roll back and forth but hold and relax as you apply pressure. Be careful and very gentle if you start to work the ball toward your sternum.

As you hold with the ball pressing in to your chest just inside your shoulder, you can lift your arm overhead and slowly lower it down if standing in a doorway or rolling out against a pole.

If you’re lying on the ground, you can make a snow angel movement as you hold to help create tension and then relax to help the muscle relax and release itself.

EXERCISE #2: Active Foam Roller Star Stretch

Spinal mobility is key so that we don’t seek out extra mobility from our shoulders to perform exercises like the overhead press, which can strain our rotator cuff.

Proper spinal mobility also allows us to have proper scapular movement so we properly engage the muscles of our upper back to support our shoulders.

That’s why the Active Foam Roller Star Stretch is a great move to include.

Place a foam roller or block on the ground to one side.

Lie on your back with the roller running parallel to your body and bend your knee on the side further from the roller to about 90 degrees.

Pull your knee across your body to place it on the roller with your opposite hand as you place your other hand behind your head so your elbow is open and out.

Rotate that elbow in front of your face to touch the elbow down to the ground in front of you.

Then lift the elbow up as you rotate your chest open toward the ceiling. Rotate through your spine as you try to touch your shoulder open to the ground.

Focus on twisting through your spine without letting your knee come up off the roller. Open up, pause and then rotate back closed. Repeat all reps on one side before switching. Do not just flap your arm.

EXERCISE #3: Lying W Pulldowns

To help support your shoulders and improve your posture, you then want to activate the muscles of your upper back, like your mid and lower traps especially.

A great way to improve your shoulder health and target these muscles, as well as your lats, is with activation moves like the Lying W Pulldowns that work on retraction and scapular depression.

To do Lying W Pull Downs, lie face down on the ground with your arms extended overhead, thumbs facing up toward the ceiling as if giving a thumbs up. Engage your upper back to lift your face and arms just off of the ground. You can also put a towel under your forehead if you struggle with engaging your neck.

Then begin to bend your elbows, pulling them down and in toward your sides.

Feel your shoulder blades pinch slightly together as you pull them down. Feel yourself initiate the movement by the movement of your shoulder blades.

Pull your elbows down and in as if you pulled your chest up to a pull up bar.

Then keeping your hands off the ground, extend your arms straight out toward the wall in front of you. Reach out overhead the bring your hands back down and in.

Feel your back and even your lats as you pull your elbows back down and in to your sides.

EXERCISE #4: Serratus Anterior Press

The serratus anterior is a primary scapular stabilizer and weakness of this muscle has been linked to neck, shoulder and even upper back aches and pains.

A strong serratus anterior is key as it will help posteriorly tip the shoulder blade as well as help you perform proper upward rotation of the shoulder blade. It will help you avoid those rotator cuff muscles becoming overworked!

To strengthen your Serratus Anterior include the Serratus Anterior Press in your activation routine.

Start in a staggered stance with the opposite foot forward from the hand holding the band in at your chest.

Then press the band out from your chest and slightly up. Feel yourself pulling your shoulder blade forward around your ribs as you reach out. You aren’t just doing a unilateral chest press.

Then slowly bring your hand back in toward your chest. Do not rotate toward the anchor point.

You want to focus on the movement being felt around your ribs as you protract your shoulder blade or pull it away from your spine.

SUMMARY:

To keep those shoulders healthy and happy and avoid rotator cuff issues, try combining these 4 moves into a quick mobility routine or use them as a warm up, performing 30-45 seconds per move or side.

With these moves remember you are working to improve your shoulder, scapular and thoracic mobility while activating the muscles of your upper back to help prevent those rotator muscles from becoming injured because they’re overworked.

We want to make sure we’re addressing the underlying cause of the injury and not just torturing our rotator cuff more!