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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

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!

–> LEARN MORE

 

How To Fix Knee Pain – Do These 4 Moves

How To Fix Knee Pain – Do These 4 Moves

by | Feb 25, 2021 | Blog, Butt, Exercises, Foam Rolling, injury-featured, Pain Relief, Stretches

Achy and sore knees are an all too common complaint.

And nagging knee pain can become a daily annoyance.

Knee pain can make walking up stairs or getting down on the ground uncomfortable and difficult.

It can make us fear moves like squats and lunges so much that we simply stop doing them all together.

It can hold us back from training intensely.

Knee pain can cause us to simply no longer enjoy the activities we used to love like running or jumping.

And the worst part is often we’ve done a ton of things to TRY to address the problem.

We’ve focused on all of the muscles right around our knee trying to strengthen everything to improve our knee stability.

But all too often this not only doesn’t provide lasting relief, but it actually BACKFIRES.

So if trying to strengthen the muscles right around your knees isn’t necessarily the answer, what is? How can you get rid of nagging knee pain for good?

First, there are two joints you need to be paying attention to instead of just focusing only on your knees…

Your ankles and your hips!

If there is immobility or instability at either one of these two joints, your knees are going to suffer the consequences.

All too often when we lack mobility in one area, we seek out mobility from another.

So if your ankles aren’t mobile? You’re going to search for mobility from your knees! Mobility your knees really aren’t meant to provide!

And instability at your ankles or hips is what can lead to improper alignment up and down your legs, causing muscles around your knees to even become tight and overworked, further perpetuating your aches and pains!

That’s why I want to share 4 essential exercises with you to address both ankle and hip mobility and stability issues.

 4 Must-Do Moves To Prevent Knee Pain:

Improving your range of motion and stability at both joints can help you avoid perpetuating your knee issues and even alleviate the overload.

#1: Knee-Friendly Ankle Mobility Stretch

Improving your ankle mobility, specifically your ability to dorsiflex or draw your toes up toward your shin can go a long way in preventing knee pain during squats and lunges, not to mention when you run or ride!

Especially if you are suffering from knee pain currently, many ankle mobility drills can be uncomfortable as your knee will travel even past your toes.

That’s when this Knee-Friendly Ankle Mobility Stretch comes in handy.

Because the ball of your foot is up on a block or weight, you’ve put your ankle into dorsiflexion before you even shift your weight forward.

Most ankle mobility moves require your knee to move past your toe for the full range of motion.

But because of this starting position, your knee doesn’t have to travel forward that much for a full range of motion.

This can help alleviate some pressure on your knees as you work to improve that ankle mobility.

Keeping your heel on the ground with the ball of your foot up, shift your weight forward as much as you can. If your heel starts to lift, you’ve gone too far.

Then shift back and repeat.

#2: Single Leg Toe-Raised Calf Raises

It’s key you activate any weak or underactive muscles if you want to maintain the range of motion you are working hard to build.

If you don’t establish the mind-body connection to those muscles?

You are just going to keep perpetuating the same patterns of overuse, leading to your knee pain.

Having mobile, but also STABLE ankles is key if you want to avoid injury.

That’s why it’s key after you do any mobility work that you do activation moves to strengthen weak muscles and work to maintain that range of motion.

And especially if you’ve ever had issues on just one side, you want to address the imbalance with imbalanced prehab. Which may even mean doing this move on only one side or more reps on one side at least.

I recommend having your hands on a wall or something to help you balance so you can focus not only on driving off the entire ball of your foot for the calf raise, but also so you can focus on dorsiflexing your foot as much as possible as you move to your heel.

Make sure to move slowly lifting your toes toward your shins to sit back on your heel before lowering your foot to the ground to press up onto the ball of your foot. Do not just rock and use momentum.

You can also do this as a bilateral move instead if both sides need equal attention.

#3: TFL Foam Rolling

The TFL or tensor fasciae latae is a hip flexor muscle that is a common culprit of not only hip pain, but also knee and even ankle pain.

This muscle can have a far reaching impact because of it’s connection to the knee through the IT Band.

So if you’re a runner who’s had IT Band or knee issues, you need to include this move as part of your warm up!

When the TFL becomes overactive and tight, it can also try to compensate and work when your glute medius should actually be the prime mover. This perpetuates what has been called gluteal amnesia.

It can inhibit your glute medius from working correctly to support and stabilize your hip, which can also lead to further knee issues.

This simple foam rolling move is key to use even before a glute medius activation exercise as it will help you relax the TFL so it isn’t as likely to try to engage and take over.

Place a ball in the lateral side of your hip and lie slightly propped up on your side with the ball pushing in toward your hip socket.

Relax as you hold. To help the muscle relax and release itself, lift and lower your leg to tense and relax the muscle.

You can prop yourself up more or fully lie over the ball depending on how much pressure you want to create. Make sure you can actually relax as you hold. You don’t want to tense against the pressure.

You may even find standing to hold against the wall is better pressure to start.

#4: Extended ROM Side Lying Leg Raises

Improving your hip stability will help protect your knees. That’s why it is key you include moves to activate your glute medius.

The glute medius is a key hip stabilize, not to mention strengthening it will help prevent your TFL from becoming overworked!

Because a tight and overworked TFL can cause hip internal rotation and external tibial rotation, it can lead to our knees caving in during things like squats.

It can cause tracking issues so that your hips, knees and ankles aren’t all in proper alignment during even exercises like lunges.

Basically, it can lead to movement patterns that end in knee pain.

By strengthening your glute medius, you can prevent this improper movement pattern.

And that’s why moves like side lying raises or abduction exercises are so key.

By lifting this basic move off the ground to perform it on a bench instead, you can allow yourself to work through a bigger range of motion to strengthen the glute medius. This is even a great way to progress that basic move from the floor without adding loads.

Just be conscious you do actually feel your glute medius working and not your TFL taking over.

A great way to help avoid your TFL compensating is to turn your toe down toward the ground as you lift or even kick slightly back.

The internal tibial rotation can help inhibit the TFL while the kick back can slightly engage the glute maximus.

SUMMARY:

Using these four moves you can improve your ankle and hip mobility and stability to help prevent your knee from suffering the consequences of issues at these other two joints!

You can choose to include one or two of these in your warm up routine or combine all four for a quick mobility series. Even just 1-2 rounds through working for 30-45 seconds per move or side can go a long way!

Ready to say “Bye bye” to aches and pains? Check out my Injury Prevention Bundle.

Do the prehab work DAILY to keep those aches and pains away!

 

The Perfect Mobility Routine (FULL BODY FIX)

The Perfect Mobility Routine (FULL BODY FIX)

by | Feb 11, 2021 | Blog, Foam Rolling, Pain Relief, Stretches

What are the most common aches and pains we complain about?

Neck pain? Elbow pain? Shoulder pain? Lower back pain? Hip pain? Knee pain? Ankle pain?

Basically our entire body?!

Because of previous injuries and our very sedentary, repetitive movement lifestyle, all too many of us end up with a whole host of issues.

It can make you feel like you have to spend hours a day addressing every single area that hurts. Like you have to warm up just getting out of bed.

It can make you want to give up on mobility work because you just have to keep adding more and more things in!

That’s why I wanted to show you some short cuts to improving your mobility.

Often there are a few key culprits that, if we address immobility or weakness in those places, can really help alleviate aches and pain in other areas.

We have to remember that everything is connected and that often where the pain is, isn’t where the initial problem started!

So what are 3 key areas we need to target if we want to improve our full body mobility?

Before I dive into the key areas we want to work on, I do just want to highlight the importance of doing MORE than stretching when it comes to improving your mobility.

Part of becoming more mobile isn’t simply improving the flexibility of the muscles that act on a joint. It’s also about improving the stability of that joint.

Often if muscles are underactive or weak, they will not support the joint properly and that may then lead to overload of other muscles. This can then create mobility restrictions because the joint isn’t stable and muscles aren’t able to work together properly.

This overload can lead to tightness and a lack of mobility as the body tries to protect itself from further issues and injury.

This is also why your elbow can end up injured because of a lack of proper shoulder mobility or stability. We compensate and seek out mobility and stability from other areas.

It’s why, when addressing these 3 key areas of immobility and instability, we want to take a 3-step prehab approach of foam rolling, stretching and activation.

This way we can relax overactive and shortened muscles, mobilize joints and improve the stability of these areas so the correct muscles are pulling their weight!

For each of these 3 areas, I want to share a key foam rolling, stretching and activation move to help you start working on your mobility and stability!

3 Key Areas Of Immobility And Instability:

#1: Scapular Mobility And Stability

Elbow, neck, shoulder or even upper back aches and pains? You need to make sure you have proper scapular control and mobility!

So often we get focused on only improving our shoulder mobility and we forget how much the shoulders and shoulder blades really work together to power movements. We ignore our shoulder blades and the impact their proper movement can have on protecting and stabilizing our shoulders.

From moves like pull ups to push ups, we need to have proper scapular control if we want to use the correct muscles to power the movements and prevent overload of smaller muscles like our rotator cuff.

To improve your scapular mobility and control, try including these 3 moves before your upper body workouts. It will help improve your pressing as well as your pulling!

The first move you want to include in that prehab or warm up process is Levator Scapulae Foam Rolling.

The levator scapulae contributes to a few different scapular movements from elevating your shoulder blade to downwardly rotating the scapula to even performing anterior tipping.

This muscle becoming tight can be a key culprit of neck and shoulder aches and pains!

A great way to start relaxing it to alleviate aches and pains and start to restore proper scapular functioning is by using a ball to relax and release the muscle.

Find that top middle point of your shoulder blade by your spine and either lie on a ball with it right above that edge of the shoulder blade or stand pressing back into a ball against the wall there.

Hold on the spot even slightly looking away as you press into the ball. Breathe and relax as you hold.

The second move you want to include is a stretch to open up your chest as well as even mobilize your shoulders and shoulder blades.

The Suspension Trainer Snow Angel is a great move to include especially before your workout.

While we often feel like our upper back becomes tight from sitting hunched over, we can’t ignore that this posture puts our pec muscles in a perpetually shortened state. A tight pec minor can contribute to anterior tipping of the shoulder blade while a tight pec major can contribute to that internal shoulder rotation.

This can lead to neck, upper back, shoulder and even elbow aches and pains.

Especially if you want to improve your overhead press, this is a great move to include.

When you do the Suspension Trainer Snow Angels, you want to make sure you’re engaging your upper back to open your chest up as you raise your arms up overhead.

You want to extend your thoracic spine too.

By focusing on engaging your back to drive your chest open, you make sure you actually stretch your pecs instead of just seeking out more range of motion from your shoulders.

Feel your shoulder blades move as you raise your arms overhead and then lower them back down to your sides.

The third move you will want to include is an activation exercise – the Serratus Anterior Press.

Serratus anterior weakness has been linked to neck, shoulder and even upper back aches and pains as it is a primary scapular stabilizer. (STUDY: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21889362/ )

If you’re experiencing scapular winging or upper body dysfunction, strengthening the 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.

Both of these movements are key to keeping your neck and shoulders healthy during overhead pressing (not to mention this may even help prevent overload at your elbows and even lumbar spine!)

With the Serratus Anterior Press, it is key you feel yourself pulling your shoulder blade forward around your ribs as you reach out. You aren’t just doing a unilateral chest press. 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.

You want to also punch slightly up at an incline as you feel like you’re almost reaching out at the end. Focus on what you feel working over trying to simply go heavier.

#2: Hip Mobility And Stability

Lower back, hip or knee pain? Groin strains? Hamstring pulls? You need to work on your hip mobility and stability.

We’ve all been told we are spending too much time seated.

But this constant hip flexion is creating mobility restrictions at our lumbo-pelvic-hip complex that has far reaching effects. It’s not only why we can feel our lower back taking over during deadlifts by also even why we can fear knee pain from lunging!

That’s why it’s key we start by relaxing those overactive and shortened hip flexor muscles.

The first move you want to include is Rectus Femoris Foam Rolling.

This quad muscle is so key to release and lengthen because it not only flexes the hip but also extends the knee.

The direct impact it has on both joints can contribute to hip and knee pain not to mention even perpetuate quad dominance and anterior pelvic tilt, leading to lower back issues and even hamstring strains. This muscle may even impact your SI joint health and functioning because it can contribute to rotation of the pelvis.

To roll this muscle, you can use a roller or ball. The smaller and harder the trigger point tool, the more it will dig in.

Find the middle of your thigh about half way down and lie over the foam roller or ball. You can even flex and relax your quad to help the muscle relax and release.

The second move you want to include is the Side Lunge to Crescent.

Your adductors, or inner thighs, not only adduct or bring your legs together, they’re also hip flexors and hip internal rotators.

The only exception to this is the posterior fibers of the adductor magnus, which can contribute to hip external rotation and hip extension. This muscle can become overworked especially if our glutes are weak!

And all too often the adductors become tight and overworked just like your other hip flexor muscles.

Your adductors becoming overworked can potentially contribute to anterior pelvic tilt and lower back aches and pains not to mention groin strains, hip pain and even knee pain.

Specifically the gracilis can have an impact on your knee and even your lower leg!

That’s why this dynamic stretch is the perfect way to warm up your legs while working to improve your hip mobility.

Make sure that as you do the side lunge portion you aren’t turning your toes in or out. You want them to be parallel to really stretch out your adductors. Keep one leg straight as you hinge at the hips to load that other glute. Watch that your knee, ankle and hip are all in line. Also make sure your heels are down.

When you shift to the other side, pause before turning into the crescent lunge. When you come up in the crescent, focus on that front knee being in line with your hip and ankle and your back glute engaging to extend that back hip.

You want to be conscious to use your glutes to drive that hip extension and not just arch your back as you come up in the lunge.

The third move you want to include to activate your glutes and improve your hip stability is Side Shift Skaters.

All too often our glutes are underactive and not properly stabilizing our pelvis or hips. This can lead to lower back, hip, knee and even ankle and foot aches and pain. It can even create dysfunction up your trunk that can impact your shoulders.

It’s why it’s key we include glute activation moves in our routines to improve that hip stability. And it’s even better when we can include unilateral moves to correct imbalances while also working on our balance.

With Side Shift Skaters, you’re going to work on activating not only your glute max to improve hip extension, but also your glute medius to improve your hip stability and prevent unwanted movement in that frontal plane (or your pelvis shifting out to the side as you balance).

Strengthening your glute medius can not only improve glute max functioning but it can also help you improve your running gait and help you avoid knee injuries and issues from improper lunging or squatting patterns.

With this move, focus on crossing the leg behind as you hinge at the hips to push your butt back.

You want to pop the hip to the side so that as you stand up you not only extend your hip using your glute, but also then push the pelvis level using that glute medius.

While you want to be focused on working your glutes in this move, don’t ignore your foot’s connection to the ground. Think about driving the ground away as you come to balance on one leg to even create better activation up your entire leg!

#3: Ankle Mobility And Stability

Plantar Fasciitis. Ankle sprains. These issues are all too common.

Yet all too often we simply rest these injuries then jump back into what we were doing.

We never address WHY we had the problems in the first place OR even work to prevent future problems from the injuries themselves.

Injuries interrupt our natural recruitment patterns and can create mobility restrictions. We can’t ignore them!

It’s why prehab work to work on ankle mobility and stability is so key. Your feet are your foundation. Issues there can lead to compensations up your entire kinetic chain!

If you want to squat lower and have a more efficient running gait? You need to pay attention to your feet and ankles!

The first move you want to include is Peroneal Foam Rolling.

Tightness of this muscle can lead to what looks like a leg length discrepancy or even a weight shift during squatting, which can result in not only ankle issues but also knee, hip and lower back pain.

That’s why it’s key you start your mobility routine by relaxing this often shortened and overactive muscle, even focusing potentially on just one side.

A ball works best for this move although you can use a roller. You will want to press the outside of your lower leg down into the ball and hold as you even circle your foot. Don’t roll quickly but move the ball down the outside of your lower leg to target different trigger points, holding when you find one.

The second move to include is a great stretch to improve both the mobility of your feet but also your ankles – the Bear Squat to Foot Stretch.

Improving your dorsiflexion and big toe extension is more important than you think. It’s not only key to your foot and ankle health, but it can impact your gait and full hip and knee range of motion.

So often when our prehab work isn’t adding up for other areas, it’s because the culprit is actually at our foundation.

That’s why the Bear Squat to Foot Stretch is such a key move to include in your warm up routine. When you sit back on your feet, you want to extend your toes. Only sit back as far as you can while relaxing into the stretch. You can rock slightly side to side before putting your hands down on the ground to drive your heels down.

This isn’t about creating a pretty downward dog as you lift your butt up to drive your heels down.

Your hands will be in closer so you can focus on that ankle mobility. When you drive your heels down you’re working on your ankle dorsiflexion or the ability to bring your foot closer to your shin. You can pedal your feet then sit back and repeat the foot stretch.

The third move to include is a move to activate your calf but by working it through an increased range of motion.

If we don’t strengthen through the range of motion we are trying to create, we won’t maintain that new found ROM.

That’s why Plate Weight Eccentric Calf Raises are a great move to include.

Eccentric focused calf raises have been shown to be great for helping with achilles tendon issues not to mention heel pain and plantar fasciitis. And this can have a far reaching impact because studies have shown that Achilles tedinopathy may impact glute activation. (STUDY: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/24121244)

And by performing this move through a bigger range of motion than off the ground, you’ll help to really strengthen and maintain that mobility you’ve worked hard to build with the rolling and stretching. You’ll be strong through that full range of dorsiflexion to plantar flexion.

With this move make sure you don’t rock in or out on your feet.

Pause at the bottom as well to release tension and not use momentum. And make sure to very slowly lower down to spend more time under tension.

If you don’t have a plate weight, you can do it off a step or box even. If you even have an imbalance, you can do this as a unilateral variation instead too.

SUMMARY:

Whether you need to address mobility and stability issues in all 3 areas, or even simply one, you can combine the foam rolling, stretching and activation moves into a quick prehab or warm up routine.

Spending just 30-45 seconds per move, or per side, you can use all of these to get in an amazing head to toe mobility routine that’s under 11 minutes!

Want help improving your posture, getting rid of aches and pains and dialing in your overall routine to achieve freaking amazing and sustainable results?!

Uhm heck yes! OF COURSE!

I mean? Honestly? WHO DOESN’T!?

If you need help dialing in your prehab, workouts and nutrition so they all work together in one comprehensive plan?

Check out my online one on one coaching program!

I’m a corrective exercise NERD and I want to help you move and feel your best!

(I’m also a control freak so I love getting to tweak things and hold you accountability daily while actually TEACHING you what you need to attain LASTING results.)

–> Online One On One Coaching

How to FIX Low Back Pain – Do These 4 Moves

How to FIX Low Back Pain – Do These 4 Moves

by | Feb 4, 2021 | Blog, Butt, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief, Stretches

If you’ve ever suffered from lower back aches and pains?

You aren’t alone.

Lower back pain is one of the most common injuries, with at least 80% of Americans suffering from lower back pain at some point in their life.

And the worst part? All too often it becomes a continual annoyance.

However, too often in our attempt to prevent future issues, we do exactly the WRONG thing,

So what do you need to STOP doing if you want to truly keep your lower back from continually aching?

And what should you be doing instead?

First let me go over what is often actually occurring leading to nagging lower back aches and pains.

While there can be many different causes, and you always want to get checked out whenever possible to determine what is causing your pain, often our issues stem from our lower back becoming overworked and overloaded.

This occurs because of postural distortions from our modern lifestyles and even compensations and imbalances caused by previous injuries.

That ankle or knee injury you had years ago?

That can create a sequence of events that finally led to overload and your lower back suffering the effects of the build up.

But instead of addressing these others areas of immobility or weakness?

We instead only focus on the point of pain – our lower back.

And often we assume our lower back hurts because it is weak.

We believe that weakness is why it fatigues during moves and why we often feel it during core work.

So what do we do?

We find moves to strengthen it – like Supermans.

But this is often exactly what we should NOT be doing!

While supermans have their place in a proper core strengthening routine, too often we turn to moves like this when we have lower back aches and pains.

And all these moves do is further overload and overwork our already tired back.

They perpetuate the overuse instead of addressing what is actually weak and the areas that actually lack immobility.

So what moves should you be doing instead?

4 Key Moves To Fix Lower Back Pain:

When you’re suffering from lower back pain there are 4 key things you need to address, thoracic mobility, hip mobility, ab activation and glute activation.

You need to make sure you aren’t seeking out extra mobility from your lumbar spine that should be coming from your thoracic spine or hips.

You also want to make sure that your abs and glutes are strong to protect your lower back and prevent it from becoming overworked.

Here are 4 great moves to help you address these 4 keys and avoid lower back aches and pains in the future!

#1: Kneeling Thoracic Extension Stretch

 kneeling-lat-and-thoracic-stretch

Ever realize you’re constantly hunching over? Whether it’s over your computer, in a car or even just while sitting watching TV?

This constant flexion can lead to limited thoracic extension and thoracic mobility in general. And when our thoracic spine doesn’t extend properly, we may then seek out mobility from other areas to help us mimic proper movement during an exercise.

So if you’ve ever noticed you arch your lower back to keep your chest up as you squat or you arch your lower back to press better overhead, you may need to work on that thoracic extension!

A perfect move to do just that is the Kneeling Thoracic Extension and lat stretch.

To do the Kneeling Thoracic Extension Stretch, kneel on the ground and place your elbows up on a box or bench in front of you. Set up far enough back that you can drop your chest toward the ground, extending your shoulders, as you sit your butt back toward your heels.

Pull a towel tight between your hands to help you avoid your shoulders rotating open as you lower your chest toward the ground.

Then drop your chest toward the ground, focusing on extending your upper back. Brace your abs and make sure you aren’t just arching your lower back as you press your chest down.

You may feel a stretch down the backs of your arms and the sides of your back. Pause for a second then relax out and repeat.

If you can’t get down on the ground, you can also do this as a half wall hang, placing your hands up on a wall in front of you.

#2: Lying Bench Hip Stretch

Stretch out your hip flexors as you activate your glutes to improve your hip extension with the Lying Bench Hip Stretch.

The psoas, a hip flexor muscle, plays a key role in our posture and pelvic positioning. When this muscle becomes tight it can limit hip mobility, which can lead to underactive glutes and your lower back becoming overworked.

Often to compensate for the lack of proper hip mobility, you’ll arch your back during moves. And because your glutes are weak? You’ll try to compensate by using your lower back to lift.

That’s why this a great hip stretch to include. It can really help you relax the psoas as you activate your glutes to control that hip extension.

To do the Lying Bench Hip Stretch, lie back on a bench with your butt right at the edge of the bench. Let one leg hang down toward the ground with your knee bent around 90 degrees as you hug the other knee in toward your chest. Wrap your hands around your shin, right below your knee to hug it in.

As you hug that knee in, squeeze the glute of the leg hanging down to really drive your hip into extension almost as if you’re pressing the heel of that foot through the ground.

Pause then tuck that knee up toward your chest before extending the foot back down toward the ground.

As you extend your hip, squeeze your glute and pause before repeating.

#3: Lying Jacks

If your glutes are underactive and weak, your lower back and hamstrings will try to pick up the slack and work when they shouldn’t.

And either of those muscle groups becoming overworked can perpetuate your lower back aches and pains.

That’s why it is key you activate your glutes so they engage correctly during compound lifts and when you run.

With the Lying, you’ll target not only your glute max, but also your glute medius. This will be key to improving your hip stability.

And you learn how to engage those glutes to even control hip hyperextension. Too often we allow our lower back to become the prime mover in this movement, when really our glutes should be in control.

To do this move, place a mini band around your legs above your knees. Lie on the bench and press your hips down into the bench.

Engage your glutes to lift your legs to about parallel to the ground. Make sure you’re pressing down into the bench and using your glutes over arching your back.

Holding at the top press your legs out and open against the band. Control the press open then bring your legs back together and repeat.

To modify you can do this off the ground. Just make sure you are truly lifting using those glutes and not arching your lower back just to get up higher!

#4: Anti-Rotational Dead Bugs

Being able to avoid unwanted rotation and correctly brace your abs is also key to protecting your lower back. If our abs are weak, our lower back may engage to help us perform the movement.

Anti-Rotational Dead Bugs is a key move to include to help you activate not only your abs but also your obliques to fight rotation and protect your lower back.

To do Anti-Rotational Dead Bugs, anchor a band down low and hold one handle in both hands so your side is to the anchor point. Lie flat on your back with your hands gripping the handle extended straight up toward the ceiling.

Make sure not to shrug.

Engage your abs with a posterior pelvic tilt, tucking your hips slightly up toward your ribs as you lift your feet up off the ground.

Fighting the urge to rotate toward the anchor point, keep your hands pressed out directly above the center of your chest. As you hold, extend one leg out as you keep the other knee tucked in. Slowly bicycle your legs, extending the other out as you tuck your other knee in.

Move slowly. This move is best done for time on each side!

SUMMARY:

If you’re sick of lower back aches and pains, STOP allowing it to become overworked. Improve your thoracic and hip mobility while learning how to correctly engage and recruit your abs and glutes to protect your lower back!

Ready to eliminate aches and pains?! Check out my Injury Prevention Pack.

Foam Roll + Stretch + Activate!