joint problem?

[Eric]

Well, I just started getting back in shape about 3 weeks ago after being out of tkd for about 3 years.
Well i was outside practicing a few different kicks, and the joint where my leg joins the hip feels like it pops really quick and its a slight pain. It happens when i do kicks or even a cartwheel. Its only in the left leg and when I walk im fine.

any ideas?
Should i just suck it up and hope it disapears?:eh:
thx.

[Papa Lazarou]

Should i just suck it up and hope it disapears?

Certainly not! Sucking it up or hoping it goes away are bad ideas. Even if some things like this fix themselves, it's not worth the risk of developing a serious and possibly permanent problem. You should find out what's going on, and avoid causing any painful popping until your sure what to do. Even slight pain can develop into more serious things.

Anyway, what exact movements cause the pop? I know about - in some detail - one particular hip popping issue. In the case I refer to, the front of the hip, above the thigh, pops during certain movements.

Some examples of when exactly the popping occurs would be useful. Specifically which kicks cause it? And which provoke the greatest pop?

[flipster]

i seem to have sorta the same problem.
It's like you described, the front of the hip.
It happens when i do an outside crescent or hook kick. It pops back if i push my hip forward.

any ideas?


btw eric sorry for hijacking your thread, but it seemed reasonable :)

[Eric]

np flipster, its usually the tornado kick that throws it out. Ive been thinking of when the pain first started and i remember forceing a butterfly stretch really far, i was curious if that might be it. Ive noticed pills on team ryouko's site called "procosa" that promote healthy joints, would this help? haha maybe im just avoiding hearing i need hip surgery from my doctor..

[flipster]

forceing a butterfly stretch...hmm sounds familiar haha
and don't worry about hip surgery...i've had something similar a while ago and it just went away after 2 months. I'd really like to know what the problem is though
maybe it's because i'm practicing kicks a lot lately?

[Sakanem]

I have a similar problem when I do roundhouse kicks, I have the feeling that my left leg is less flexible, however this flexibility is limited by the hips (or this is what it feels like). Dunno what to do :(

[Papa Lazarou]

Eric: I'd say you should completely avoid causing that pain for a while - i.e. no more tornado kicks etc. Even though it feels lame not to practice, I think you should try to rest it totally for a week or so, and then test if there's improvement. Maybe you've just pulled something and it'll repair itself (with rest). As for the pills, if you're considering them I think you should see someone qualified about the problem first since you have no Idea if they'd work or not (probably a preventative measure anyway).

flipster: It sounds like you've got the same thing as I did. A few questions though:

1. Is the popping painful?

And

2. Can you remember when it began or what caused it to begin popping?

If it's what I had then a particular muscle in the front of the hip is too tight, and is catching slightly when it slides across part or the joint.

[flipster]

the popping is a bit painful
it started when i was drilling some kicks. Over time my hip began to pop more often.

what can i do? stretch the muscle? strengthen it?

[Feddera]

omg! I got the exact same thing! It startet some months ago when I was attempting aerials. Now I feel the same thing everytime I try even a cartweel. The base of the leg sortof "pops" out of place, and it's really painful. Argh, this is so annoying, if anyone got more tips to get rid of it it'd be great!

[pete_man_man]

you need to condition with squats and the like. the problem is just a result of doing too much with a body that can only just cope with the exteme movement.

[Eric]

Yeah. Lazarou described it better than I could. the muscle is catching slightly when it slides across part of the joint. until the pain is gone for sure, ill just build strength (the squats and etc. pete mentioned.) and flexibility as much as possible. I'm actually a little relieved to hear it's really common, but it still sux. lol. But yeah, keep us posted if anyone finds out a quick/permanent solution.

[sp3ctum]

I have that too. It ruined my left leg today, which meant no kicks on the left side.
It's not common for me, though, and it only happens when I do crescent kicks with my left leg.
I applied this gel that's supposed to relieve muscle and tendon pain on it a few minutes ago. I hope the gel has magic ingredients, and the pain will go away.

[Papa Lazarou]

In my case the popping was completely painless. I could feel the shift of the muscle, but there was no pain of any sort. As far as I know, painless noises in joints are almost always harmless. With pain on the other hand there might be some inflammation or some such. If the painful activity (like kicking) is repeated, the problem will most likely worsen and could even develop into a permanent injury.

I think you should:


Stop, or avoid as much as possible, doing anything which causes the painful popping.

Work out if the muscle (if it is a muscular cause) requires either strengthening or stretching.


In my case, the muscle obviously needed stretching, and over time the popping lessened. I'm still working on it, but the popping is now very rare and slight (also, I know my particular case to be harmless).

It was obvious to me how to treat it when I looked at the circumstances. The muscle had become tight from fatigue caused by over-use (drilling b-kicks a lot for a few weeks, front leg raises and kicks). Also, I had almost totally neglected stretching this particular muscle. When I looked at it in these terms, it was obvious that I needed to rest and stretch that muscle.

In most cases of this kind, stretching and rest is the answer. Especially here, where people have probably been over-training a bit (with good enthusiasm), and neglecting proper stretching.
So I'd try stretching and rest.

My posts are overly long but does that help?


Edit: As for magical lotions/pills etc, I seriously would not rely on them. Even if the pain goes away, the problem could easily reoccur unless you revise your training habits. Better to treat it properly (I think with rest/stretching), than hope for a miracle.

[Rahf]

In my case the popping was completely painless. I could feel the shift of the muscle, but there was no pain of any sort. As far as I know, painless noises in joints are almost always harmless. With pain on the other hand there might be some inflammation or some such. If the painful activity (like kicking) is repeated, the problem will most likely worsen and could even develop into a permanent injury.

I think you should:


Stop, or avoid as much as possible, doing anything which causes the painful popping.

Work out if the muscle (if it is a muscular cause) requires either strengthening or stretching.


In my case, the muscle obviously needed stretching, and over time the popping lessened. I'm still working on it, but the popping is now very rare and slight (also, I know my particular case to be harmless).

It was obvious to me how to treat it when I looked at the circumstances. The muscle had become tight from fatigue caused by over-use (drilling b-kicks a lot for a few weeks, front leg raises and kicks). Also, I had almost totally neglected stretching this particular muscle. When I looked at it in these terms, it was obvious that I needed to rest and stretch that muscle.

In most cases of this kind, stretching and rest is the answer. Especially here, where people have probably been over-training a bit (with good enthusiasm), and neglecting proper stretching.
So I'd try stretching and rest.

My posts are overly long but does that help?


Edit: As for magical lotions/pills etc, I seriously would not rely on them. Even if the pain goes away, the problem could easily reoccur unless you revise your training habits. Better to treat it properly (I think with rest/stretching), than hope for a miracle.

QFT, well written.

Pills and lotions are useless in this case yer. Good for relieveing pain but that's it. It won't help your joints become stronger.

[stony_wayz]

i have this problem to and i found this stretch thats helps where you stand on a bent leg and exstend your other leg straight out to the side

[lavitz]

I've had the same problem as Papa Lazarou for a few months now. I dont feel any pain just discomfort, i stretch regularly and have been for 2 years....and the poping is still there, it feels like its at the begining of the sartorius muscle
i've gotten used to the slight discomfort, but it annoys me how i have to "tilt" my hip a bit forward after ever crescent kick to "pop" it back.

[Papa Lazarou]

The other possibility is that the muscle is too flexible - there is "play" or "give", lavitz.

A lot (maybe the majority) of popping and the like is caused by an imbalance of strength and flexibility. Most with the problem aren't flexible enough (muscle too strong/short) and need to stretch the muscle, but some are too weak (or too flexible for their strength) and need to strengthen the muscle.

[Gorka]

:dead: I've got the same problem :o

[lavitz]

so how do you strengthen said muscle?

sorry to have hijacked the thread

[Vincez]

weed

[Papa Lazarou]

Leg raises and so on I suppose if it's the psoas like mine was, lavitz. I think you should do your own research though since I can't really make a good judgement. Seems like stretching isn't it if you stretched for two years without improvement, but then again it could be that your stretching method wasn't right. You should find out for sure whether it needs strengthening, stretching (or rest), or some other approach through your own research (or trial and error - that can work too).

Might want to ask somewhere else for the strength exercises too - I'm basically clueless when it comes to them.

[shreddakj]

I have a similar problem with the snaps and pops in the hip. I went to the doctor about a pain in the ball joint of my hip, and also asked him about this popping. He said the popping is caused by the tendon sliding over a bony part in the hip, and there is nothing that you can do about it really, and its pretty harmless, but if it starts to hurt, you GOTTA rest and strengthen it for a while.
I'm going to physio tomorrow about the sharp pains in my hip/femur joint. Will post tomorrow about how the physio goes and what he says about it. This might be very relevant!

[shreddakj]

The Physio told me that I have strained my abductors, which was causing pain. perhaps if you have groin pains too you should strengthen your abductors.