Zero Internal Rotation At The Hip

I'm fairly new to gymnastics training, having been a track athlete and soccer player for many years.  I've struggled with some squat variations and have realised that I have absolutely no internal rotation of the femur.  Any internal rotation apparent in the foot comes from the knee.  The furthest I can rotate my femur is to have my knee facing directly forwards.   I have no problem with external rotation and can get my feet to form a 180 degree angle with my heels touching.

One issue I have is that any way that I can think of to try and apply pressure to the leg to force some internal rotation will put a great deal of stress on the knee.

If anyone has any advice then I would be more than willing to experiment within reason and very grateful.

You need to work out if the lack of internal rotation is due to the muscular system (tightness in the external rotator muscles or weakness in internal rotation) or due to the structure of your bones or joints. Does it feel like a muscle is being stretched at the end of your range, or does it feel like you bones/joints just don't go very far?

It's true that most methods of applying external force to internally rotate the hip usually involve flexing the knee to 90 degrees and using the lower leg as a lever, which does transmit force through the knee. But if you haven't had any problems with your knee ligaments before, then you shouldn't really expect any problems as long as you're not overly forceful with your stretches.

Plus you can always try use your own muscles to internally rotate, by doing this kind of thing: http://www.lhup.edu/yingram/jennifer/LEMMT/GintrotSP.jpg Your hips will internally rotate more when your hips are flexed.

Thanks very much for the reply, I'm loathe to blame the structure of my joints, because that seems like a bit of an easy way out - although it could potentially be the case, I'd like to explore every other avenue first before admitting defeat!  I don't really get a stretching sensation, just one of discomfort if I try hard to rotate the joint - and a feeling akin to mild cramp if I use my leg/hip musculature to rotate the joint inwardly.

I've never had any problems with the lateral ligaments, but a prolonged battle with patella tendonitis a few years ago has left me very wary of knee problems in general.

PatrickMeniru said:

(...) I'm loathe to blame the structure of my joints, because that seems like a bit of an easy way out - although it could potentially be the case, I'd like to explore every other avenue first before admitting defeat!(...)

That's good thinking Patrick

I have a follow up question here.  I also have very limited internal rotation, but I also have been confirmed to have somewhat retroverted hips.  In other words, my bony structures will limit hip internal rotation, but I could get more than I have.  What would you recommend in my situation?

Joshdog said:

I have a follow up question here.  I also have very limited internal rotation, but I also have been confirmed to have somewhat retroverted hips.  In other words, my bony structures will limit hip internal rotation, but I could get more than I have.  What would you recommend in my situation?

same for me here.

Bump

I would roll and stretch what you can. 

i've been stuck in the same(and worsening) anterior pelvic tilt position since i could remember. (I always saw my stomach bulging outwards)

and for the first time in years, i don't get those lower back pains, middle of nowhere glute nerve pain or knee pain and I can see my abdominals. 

something i'm going to start doing is Kit Laughlins calve exercise. I noticed that i have an exaggeration of internal hip rotation when I stand with my balance on my big toe, moving it out to my little toe more has cause cramps in my shin and calves from time to time. that's just walking.

part of this is poor mobility and also habits put in place by said lack of mobility. consult with your doctor and see how much you can squeeze out of a mobility exercise. 

also, on the side, do your own anatomy research, if you have Hip doubts, study what the hip really is(i was unaware that glute muscles played such an important role with my situation, so i read up on what they do, how they are impinged, how to activate them, etc)

then you can make a small group of these exercises to use as a warm up, have one in your workout and perhaps a few as a cooldown to use as a stretch. 

I've been lagging behind on my training but something that has not lagged behind is my ongoing improving mobility due to not sitting down when i could be standing up, minding my balance on my feet, where my pelvis sits when i walk, even how i perform the exercises on F1. 

so make a balance between asking for an educated opinion, educate yourself so that your choice of questions can be more direct instead of "general". there is only so many ways to do a skeletal muscle movement, so success is imminent. 

edit: also, get comfortable with trigger points as well. find the muscles you are trying to move, find trigger points, work on them and the muscles around them.