Side Leg Raises and Leg Turnout

I've made an interesting observation while performing the new Foundation One lower body exercises, which start with assisted squats and have a side leg raises as the mobility component. 

For a long time I've known that I have a turnout in my right leg, which seems to come both from the hip joint as well as from below the knee.  If I lie on my back and look down at my feet, the right foot and knee point much further to the outside than the left. If I get the knees pointing in the same direction, the right foot still points further out than the left.

This turnout makes it nearly impossible for me to squat with good form, and I think it also responsible for some forefoot pain I get after any sort of running/tennis etc. (I think because the wrong parts of my foot are taking the impact).  So it's a priority for me to get this straightened out ASAP!

Anyway, I've noticed with the leg raise that I can only raise my right ("bad") leg about 45 degrees if my foot is pointed straight ahead, whereas on the left ("good") leg, I can go up to more than 75 degrees. If I turn my right foot out during the leg raise, something opens up in the hip and I can go up higher. 

My question is:  Does this tell you anatomy geniuses out there anything about the underlying cause of my leg turnout? And what I can do to fix it quickly as possible? (I should note that I don't feel any kind of impingement or pain when raising the right leg). 

Any tips would be appreciated!

Thanks

Dennis 

Hi Dennis,

Some of the medical professionals may have more to say about this. Imbalances are normal and I have been fortunate to befriend some outstanding physios to help me work on things like this. There is nothing like have an experienced professional look at these types of issues. 

I have a tennis player (student, 67 years old) who came to me (I am a performance coach for tennis people) with both feet/legs extremely externally rotated. With feet like this, you cannot have a proper mechanics of your running/walking stride in the foot, and like you said, your knee(s) get too much stress. Can get overuse injuries. Plus you cannot perform (run/tennis) at your maximum.  I just kept working with  him on correcting the external rotation by letting him to walk with feet more turned in… it was not a fast process, but he did it over the years. Also actively work the internal rotation of that "bad" leg. You can do also different internal rotation strengthening exercises for that leg in the cable machine. Or with rubber bands. Always pay attention when you stand/walk/squat to have the feet mirrored (left and right approximately the same angle)… it is going to take some time, but better slow process than nothing  I would still maybe advise with somebody in your town, who can see you how you move and maybe guide you for a while in those exercises. 

12 hours ago, Everett Carroll said:

Hi Dennis,

Some of the medical professionals may have more to say about this. Imbalances are normal and I have been fortunate to befriend some outstanding physios to help me work on things like this. There is nothing like have an experienced professional look at these types of issues. 

Honestly it seems really hard to find professional PTs who deal with complex issues. Every encounter I've had with a PT involves them picking on your worst problem and then pulling the standard exercises/stretches out of their playbook and giving those to you. 

The last PT I saw I really liked. He had me doing olympic lifts with fairly light weight while really concentrating on my form in the squat, but after a few months of this I didn't see much improvement... maybe I'm too impatient. 

If you're someone like me with a turned out right leg, pronated right foot, bit of a twist in the torso, shoulder rolled forward...  holy crap, where to begin?!  

Trying to straighten yourself out is pretty overwhelming, and I doubt a majority of PTs or orthopedists are used to dealing with that sort of thing. Especially if like me you're not in a lot of pain, just trying to optimize your flexibility and mobility and ensure you're going to be moving and feeling well into old age. 

6 hours ago, Dennis Drenner said:

I doubt a majority of PTs or orthopedists are used to dealing with that sort of thing

Now here i'd like to contradict; all physios working in the musculoscelettal sector *are* confronted with these kind of things (imbalances/leg axes). The problem more often is that we have to deal with people who are not willing to give effort over a longer period of time, specially once the pain is gone.... People like you are the raisins in our daily life ;-)

But now to your problem: there might be a structural difference in your hips (with structural i mean that your bones might have grown in different angles). Nontheless, every case has a certain potential for improvement!
Have you tried swivel hips (internal rotation) and the pidgeon stretches to loosen the external rotators? And the front/middle stretch series sure will help too, but i do not know them in detail.
 

7 hours ago, Dennis Drenner said:

The last PT I saw I really liked. He had me doing olympic lifts with fairly light weight while really concentrating on my form in the squat, but after a few months of this I didn't see much improvement... maybe I'm too impatient. 

That example I mentioned, my 67-year old client… it took about 4 years to get all his things (that he accumulated over 60 years) together to at least a certain level. He is still working on it. It may take a little longer for you than a few months. However, there can be a break-through that you will feel a jump in your improvement... I would just keep doing all the things you were doing, plus add all the new things, and consciously , every day, every step, every movement, pay attention to your "bad leg"and try to make it move more the right way. 

23 hours ago, Petra Dvorak said:

Now here i'd like to contradict; all physios working in the musculoscelettal sector *are* confronted with these kind of things (imbalances/leg axes). The problem more often is that we have to deal with people who are not willing to give effort over a longer period of time, specially once the pain is gone.... People like you are the raisins in our daily life ;-)

But now to your problem: there might be a structural difference in your hips (with structural i mean that your bones might have grown in different angles). Nontheless, every case has a certain potential for improvement!
Have you tried swivel hips (internal rotation) and the pidgeon stretches to loosen the external rotators? And the front/middle stretch series sure will help too, but i do not know them in detail.
 

Petra- 

My apologies! You've convinced me that I've simply been too impatient with allowing the exercises my PT prescribed to work (and so not keeping up with them consistently).  I am sure you are right that PTs deal with lots of non-compliant patients, myself included though I may be more committed than some.  

D