Muscular pain

[gwinity]

Following on from Cherrybaby's Stomach hurting thread, I'd like to ask about other dance-related muscular pain.

For the last few weeks, I've had really sore hip muscles*, and I've no idea what I've done to them. Nothing in my routine has changed. I do warmup and cooldown stretches when dancing, and try to stretch them at othertimes but nothing seems to help. And it is affecting my dancing: pretty much all muscular hip movement - circles, fig8's, shimmies anything - is weaker because of it. My teacher has picked up on it, and we both know I can do better, but I haven't mentioned the pain because, well, I just haven't.

It's holiday time, so there are no classes at the moment, but when they start back again, I want to be back to form. Any idea (a) what I might have done and (b) how I can fix it or work through it?


(* slight back-story: I've had issues in the past with the muscles running down the oustide of my thighs causing knee problems. The stretches my physio gave me for that aren't helping the hips. Neither are anti-inflammatory ointments or heat packs.)

 

[KuteNurse]

Give yourself a break and rest up. Take ibuprofen and eat lots of protein. (Protein helps repair damaged tissues.) See if that doesnt help. Maybe you pulled something or you were overdoing it. Never ignore pain during exercise. If you don't get better or you notice pain even though you are not exercising see your doctor. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.

 

[Kharmine]

I agree with da KuteNurse -- give your body a rest as it clearly seems to be in some trouble.

I'd recommend adding a lot of Vitamin C for cellular healing, wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes -- and get a good, professional massage.

And if it doesn't at least ease up after that, get a medical exam to see if it's more than muscle fatigue.

 

[charity]

is the pain from the leg or nearer to the pelvis perhaps? because sometimes i get achy in the piriformis and it makes the hip 8's and other moves really stiff.

i get this problem from not tucking in my pelvis like i should, i'm slightly sway backed and i get lazy with it.

the side muscle on the outside of your leg from hip to knee? i know it would seem your leg muscles control your hip movements but if i recall right hip (pelvis) stability is controlled by muscles that run from your pelvis to your pelvis or pelvis to femur (closer to the top where the thigh bone meets the pelvis). (its been a while so dont quote me on this)

have you told the doc his stretches arent working? i'd try some figure 4 stretches (search online and i'm sure you will find demo's), hip pushes, or search sparkpeople they usually have good exercises. try each lower body exercise briefly, when you feel the pull, you know you're in the right spot. then tell your doc when i do such and such exercise it helps or even show him and he should be able to isolate the muscle in question.

or like already suggested take some time off but if its already been a recurring problem, i would say see your doc again. my computer is acting up, ugh...

 

[charity]

do you have problems with your hips snapping? cause i do but that has to do with the iliotibial tract. and i dont think there is much you can do to correct it.

are you working a lot more on shimmies? the quads are a big muscle and the vastus lateralis runs on the outside, but i would think with a shimmy the hip moves up and down, so the inside and outside works but you're only feeling pain on the outside?

though i think when i do (correction when i try) shimmies i feel it there too. but like i said i let my pelvis flop out of position and when i retuck it and start using my butt squeezes it takes some pressure off the quads.

sorry i cant help, i even opened a book. i will ask my friend, she does physical therapy..

 

[gwinity]

Thank you so much for the support and suggestions. One more week, then it's back into classes again (and it's about time I got another massage)

Charity, the pain is a muscular ache, on the outside of both hips, from about the hip bone itself to where the leg joins (if that makes sense). I have problems with my iliotibial band(s) which are really tight and pull my kneecaps slightly out of alignment, so I don't know if this is a related problem, or not, but what helps the knee doesn't seem to help the hip. I haven't seen the physio about it yet, but if it continues or gets worse after classes go back, I think I'm going to have to.

What do you mean by hips "snapping"? My knees have always popped, but never the hips - they've always been really stable. And as for extra shimmies/drills, I first noticed it (three, four weeks ago) when we were working on fast travelling shimmies... hmm...:think:

 

[charity]

the snapping i refer to is more like a popping in my hips. my jaw does it to. i've got problems with my tendons/ligaments, i think. my quads and hamstrings are always very tight, but when it comes to the joints my knees are always twisting out, i roll my ankles constantly but without hardly any pain, i can twist my shoulders out, my hips pop in and out. its not so painful as it is scary because i think any moment its going to roll back in on a nerve.

i cant get a doc to take me seriously though. they say its nothing, blah blah blah. so i just keep going on. .

 

[Madeline]

Your hip muscles might just be tired from overuse, and are tightening up to protect themselves from injury. Stretching might prolong it.

If I do certain ballet moves, such as raising my leg straight up in front and lower it down, it makes connective tissues in my hips pop and slide in the most disgusting way. I think this is because I naturally have no turnout. It’s called snapping hip syndrome.

 

[charity]

what is turn-out? that makes sense about the connective tissue. i always thought that if you suddenly and strenuously use a muscle to the point that the muscle grows faster than the connective tissue is able to stretch, then that will cause pressure against your muscle. like carpal tunnel syndrome. which makes your movement stiff too. i developed this theory when doing an excess of bicep curls for 3 months.

if i plant my foot with minimal sideways pressure i can push my hip out of joint. same is true of my knees, i cant sleep on my side with my legs stacked or my bottom knee dislocates. etc etc. i honestly dont believe there is a solution to this type of problem.



gwinity to bad you dont have even more time to heal.
..

 

[Madeline]

Turnout is a ballet term that describes the ideal outward rotation of the hips so that the feet can point in opposite directions.

 

[Kharmine]

Gwinty & Charity, I strongly suggest you both try a good massage therapist.

For lower rates than you usually get from an independent pro, check around for a massage school that has a student clinic (advanced students who work under supervision while they acquire hours of practice for certification), or your local YMCA.

I once studied shiatsu and have found that I can relieve pain in many dancers' feet and legs with just one long session. Most of 'em didn't wear the right shoes or had posture problems or ignored pain once too often. The massage relieved the pain and talking to the dancers helped reveal what they were doing that might have caused their problems.

The ones with serious or chronic problems I referred to more experienced professionals, or even a medical doctor to check out. I've even recommended acupuncture when conventional treatment didn't seem to help. Acupuncture can be terrific for circulation problems, chronic pain and mysterious ailments that elude diagnosis.

 

[gwinity]

I'm planning on going to the physio in the next week or so, as my hips are still playing up: mayas are seriously unattractive when the dancer is wincing in pain!!! (not to mention how stiff they're getting with a desk job) A full-body massage is on the cards for this weekend. And lots of yoga, to try and stretch them out a bit.

The problem has been compounded by being ill over the past few weeks (so I'm not in top form anyway), which may or may not be a contributing factor in the whole thing to begin with...:wall:

(Looks like this is my year for illness and injury!)

 

[KuteNurse]

I'm planning on going to the physio in the next week or so, as my hips are still playing up: mayas are seriously unattractive when the dancer is wincing in pain!!! (not to mention how stiff they're getting with a desk job) A full-body massage is on the cards for this weekend. And lots of yoga, to try and stretch them out a bit.

The problem has been compounded by being ill over the past few weeks (so I'm not in top form anyway), which may or may not be a contributing factor in the whole thing to begin with...:wall:

(Looks like this is my year for illness and injury!)

Awww...Rest up and relax for a bit and start up slowly making to stretch your hip areas well before practicing...Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Jayms_fallen_angel]

It could just be you've used it so much. It may just need a bit of rest.

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

Someone suggested this, but you can EASILY overstretch those "hip" muscles if you're sliding the hip out too far to the side without pulling in the low abs.

Try a hip slide from side to side -- are you feeling pain on the farthest part of the slide? If so, you are probably overstretched. In order to prevent this, be SURE to keep your low abs pulled in -- or your bottom "tucked" -- because that way the obliques (the muscles on the side of your ab) will prevent you from from going too far. When you feel a pull in your obliques, that's the maximum amount of distance you should go on the slide.

Regular practice will of course increase your range of motion and increase the distance your obliques will let you slide.

 

[belly_dancer]

I have had trouble with my ITB (illio-tibial bands... sorry for bad spelling!!) when I 1st started dancing.... no more.... with your mayas, do you lift your heels off the ground???
is so the range of motion is coming from below the hip, NOT the torso...
keep your heels on the ground , your butt tucked (tailbone pointing towards ground, lower back long, pelvis pulled up, thereby shortening lower abs)
the maya is the best test for this... try sliding out and then pushing the hip DOWN (stretching the muscles in your torso, NOT your ITB (which will get a stretch if you lift your hip UP (usually w/ the heel off the ground!), then out & down....
(sooooo hard to explain in writing, wish I could just show you@!!!)
so.. if by chance your pain is the same I used to experience... this may help!

 

[gwinity]

Update:

I finally went to see the physio. This morning. (I know, I know...!) The pain in my hips was getting well beyond manageable, and interfereing in more than just my dancing.

Murphy's Law in action, the moment I booked the appointment, all pain went away courtesy of yoga. (It did return again after BD, though...)

But see the physio I did, and while she was pleased with my overall condition, the hips presented a problem. It wasn't muscular after all, or if it was, it's turned into an overuse injury/bursitis because I was stupid enough to try and dance through it. I learned a valuable lesson.

My physio is lovely, though, and she'll be putting me through all sorts of torture devices to get be back to the condition I should have been in all year. And she hasn't told me to quit dancing! :dance:

 

[Kharmine]

...But see the physio I did, and while she was pleased with my overall condition, the hips presented a problem. It wasn't muscular after all, or if it was, it's turned into an overuse injury/bursitis because I was stupid enough to try and dance through it. I learned a valuable lesson...And she hasn't told me to quit dancing! :dance:

Good on you for getting a proper diagnosis! Once you know what the real problem is it's easier to focus on meeting what it needs. Sounds like the yoga is helping, too. Good luck on successful therapy!