Hip Flexor

my0064 · Post by **my0064** » March 18th, 2006, 1:27 am

Has anyone out there had problems with a hip flexor from rowing? I just started a few weeks ago and was making great progress, but took a week off when a hip flexor got really strained/pulled. Any ideas on how long it should be rested or when to get back on the erg?

gorow9 · Post by **gorow9** » March 19th, 2006, 8:09 pm

ask the doc or physical therapist.

when you're back STRETCH and STREGHTEN. Take a volleyball sized ball and place it between your knees and lay on your back with your knees bent, bridge your back off the floor and hold it for five seconds or so. Do a few sets of ten reps with that. If that is too easy you can put a ball or foam or something to lift your feet higher so you have to push higher. Don't forget to squeese the ball between your knees as well. Good luck.

jon · Post by **jon** » March 27th, 2006, 5:59 pm

Hiya,

you might know this already, but if it helps...

if u want to stretch your hip flexors

copy this position.... this pic is stretching the left hip flexor; and can be combined with a quad stretch by supporting the (same) ankle upwards. (sorry about the quality of the picture... googled it as didnt have a better one)

hope this is of help (ofcourse if its painful constult your Physio or sports therapist)

jon

jon · Post by **jon** » March 27th, 2006, 6:01 pm

wait... my mistake this is stretching the right hip flexor (its a little late)

Hope it helps

jon

LJWagner · Post by **LJWagner** » May 23rd, 2006, 11:12 pm

I tore my right hip flexor in college, and its bothered me off and on for ... 32 years. A running shoe store owner pointed out my gait issue about 10 years ago.

If its a bad injury, you can use a wide ACE bandage to provide support, going around your waist and doing a criss-cross to provide some lift, assisting the muscle.

Stretching it is not the problem. Gradual strengthening and continuous endurance improvement is. Its very easy to aggravate the healing muscles. After a week, I could run a couple laps, then would try "Just one more lap" at urging of others on the Crew. Yup, always retore it, and I was not the runner or rower I had been for quite a while. Increase what you do carefully. Be conscious of your gait walking and running. If you don't lift up you foot enough at the end of your stride running, you increase the stress on the muscle because you have more weight on a longer lever (your leg).
Be conscious of when it starts to hurt. Very likely you are starting to let the foot trail too much, and not using your hamstring enough to flex the foot upwards.

So:
1) strengthen the hip flexor gradually, probably using ankle weights eventually. Work up to leg swings. You won't be able to do situps for awhile either.
2) strengthen your hamstrings, so you have a more appropriate natural kick up of your foot at the end of your stride.

The need to strengthen muscles in both groups may be because of a muscle imbalance most of us have. Glutes and quads are frequently much stronger than the antagonist muscles.

michaelb · Post by **michaelb** » May 24th, 2006, 11:13 am

I like to stretch my hips before rowing, although I guess I don't do the hip flexor stretches, since the stretch I did identifies the "lateral rotators" instead:

http://www.row2k.com/physio/thoracic.html

I don't do that one anymore, since somewhere (I can't find the link) I saw an alternative stretch that involves standing, crossing your legs (cross both ways and repeat the stretch), and twisting your hips by rotating your upper body around to look backwards. This is practically easier for me to do, since the floor is frequently covered with the kids toys.

You may to check out the other rowing related stretches on that site, or on the UK site for rowing stretches:

http://www.concept2.co.uk/guide/guide.p ... _exercises

johnlvs2run · Post by **johnlvs2run** » May 24th, 2006, 11:31 am

jon wrote:if u want to stretch your hip flexors

I like this exercise. Do you have any more pictures of it.

johnlvs2run · Post by **johnlvs2run** » May 24th, 2006, 11:34 am

When I was rowing a million meters in 19 days last fall, this is the exercise that helped the most between rowing.

Then I could sit longer without my butt aching as much.

Francois · Post by **Francois** » May 24th, 2006, 3:09 pm

my0064 wrote:Has anyone out there had problems with a hip flexor from rowing? I just started a few weeks ago and was making great progress, but took a week off when a hip flexor got really strained/pulled. Any ideas on how long it should be rested or when to get back on the erg?

I got this problem from a week of running on steep hills during a holiday two years ago. It took more than a year to get rid of the pain. I have found that rowing strapless helps since you are not using as much your hip flexor to go back to the catch.
For strengthening, kicking with a kick board (in the pool) is quite good.

Sean Seamus · Post by **Sean Seamus** » May 25th, 2006, 12:27 pm

one of Xeno's videos speaks of how getting the back-tilting-forward-during-the-recovery correct (man, there's a demonstration of clumsy layman terminological ineptitude ! !)
. . . anyway . . .
doing that right, means the hamstrings rather than the hip flexors are used to assist the forward movement during the recovery

it worked for me wonderfully well

yes - I just went and found it. It is on the DVD "Indoor Rowing Workout - Technique Training"

Concept2 Forum

Hip Flexor

Hip Flexor

tore my hip right flexor, too

Re: Hip Flexor