Looking for insight.

[Ben Allanson]

Hello,

In need of some advice from some like minded people. Ive been trying to get back in shape for about 7 months now but am having some problems with a nagging muscle problem. My left glute has been having muscle spasms, mild discomfort, and tingling. Its gotten to the point where Im not sure what else to do. Icing the area has helped but it still comes back. Ive been wanting to start advancing my strength training but am worried about injuring myself further. I started a deadlift program but stopped. While I was getting stronger every week the feeling in my glute never went away. Because of this I had to completely change my game plan. I have a sporting event coming up in 4 months that I am trying super hard to be in top form for. Ive decided to put most of my focus on mobility and very light strength training if that’s even possible. I try to go heavier on the full body less risky exercises. This change is what led me to gymnastic bodies. And Im really excited about this new direction. Im excited again about the plan coming together in front of me. Im actually confident I can reach my goals once again. So Im asking for any help or advice about how to resolve this type of injury.

 

I know my mobility sucks which has been a major factor. But over the last 6-7 months ive been stretching my ass off and rolling out my muscles as much as I can to get rid of the tight muscles and trigger points. I should mention that I lifted heavy when I was in my early 20s with little to no stretching or acknowledgment of mobility’s importance. Now Im 30 years old  5’ 10” and 164lbs, and have finally seen the light. Took me awhile to figure it out on my own.

 

So ill start at my toes with where I am today. In a squat my right ankle is way tighter than my left. My left quad is way tighter than my right. And my upper right back is always a little trigger pointy even when I roll it out often. The back problem I think could have been a catalyst not sure if I did something to it lifting heavy younger or what but that’s what started acting up first years ago and is still there today.

 

Right now my entire health lifestyle is basically one day of intense soccer, 3 days of full body strength training. 5 exercises each day 3-5 reps(going pretty light and not doing anything to really stress my glute too much). Gymnastic Bodies Fundamentals course. I stretch and roll out my muscles about 5 days a week on average. Im on ketogenic diet and reaching my nutrition goals.

 

Im not sure if I just need to keep pressing forward and at some point all the mobility work im doing will get it back in balance? If anyone has any knowledge on this subject Im in need for sure.

 

Thanks in advance,

Ben A

[Gabor Kulcsar]

Speaking from experience, you can save years of trouble by investing some time and money into proper sports massage therapy. Mobility exercises and self massage help to some extent, but progress is slow and you must know exactly what you are doing. Also, there are some spots where you just cannot get to by yourself, not even with a lacrosse ball.

As an example, my shoulder extension was severly limited by tight pecs and biceps and hunching forward, it took about 2-3 months of fortnightly treatments to get to a point where I can now easily sit down and touch my pinkies behind my back with straight hands, the only limiting factor being my elbow sensitivity. I also could not externally rotate my hands more than about 10 degrees due to rotator cuff issues, now I can do 45 degrees or more. Getting here on my own would have taken years, if ever.

Do you know how to diagnose yourself? I thought my hip-related issues were caused by tight hip flexors. In 5 minutes the therapist showed that the actual causes are tight quads and glutes. Another 30 mins and I had greatly improved hip mobility, even if only temporarily. Worth every penny, in my opinion. I even cried at some point, yes, massage can be really painful  

 

[Ben Allanson]

Im planning on going to the doctor and seeing if they can refer me to a physical therapist of some sort. Ive been to them many times for other problems in the past and always ended up leaving thinking I could have just looked that up and done it myself. I will try again though and possibly try a different therapist. I just thought if I really hammered down on the problem and put a lot of mobility work in I could resolve the issue. Thanks for the advice Gabor. Anyone else have any info? Supple Leopard made me believe I could heel myself!

 

[Gabor Kulcsar]

As I heard someone say, don't go to a therapist unless he/she can deadlift more than you can! I found the therapist I'm currently visiting in my crossfit gym...

Doctors are getting more and more useless unless you are able to pinpoint your problem with a laser pointer and the doctor happens to be an expert of that very specific field. I tried to get a mysterious jaw pain fixed: dentist said it's not a tooth-related issue and sent me on to an ear specialist, ear specialist said it's nothing to do with my ears and sent back to the dentist... etc, etc. 

[Ben Allanson]

Haha I like that saying. Pavel. I wish they were easy to find :). Im going to keep doing what I'm doing for now and try to get into a therapist. Trying to research and figure out whats going on. Maybe I have lazy glute?!