I recently noticed that when I’m standing relaxed, my hips are twisted to the left a good ten degrees so that my right hip is about an inch and a half forward of my left. I believe it’s from my years as a thrower. Throwing uses a forceful hip twist to the left and never to the right, so it’s caused an imbalance. I find that I have to purposely rotate my hips to stand straight and it’s very hard to get them turned to the right past the midline.
I also noticed that I squat/deadlift off to one side. I can prevent it from starting the motion with my hips straightened and forcing them to remain straight throughout the lift and my numbers have gone up a bit since.
My question is: What muscle(s) is out of balance, and how do I fix it??
X2, I also noticed I have a very slight tilt to the left in the hip/low spine area. Allthough I was not a thrower, I did toss the discus for several years in HS track just cause I could throw it as far as most of our “throwers”. I think my tilt might actually be from my golf swing. I hit the ball like you would post up on a shot put.
Stack up my left leg and fire my hips through pulling my shoulders and arms along. Also I notice when I do get low back pain it is always low and on the right side. I would be interested if anyone has any input. I tinkered with hip mobility drills a little but never got into a routine. If thats the answer than I guess I just need to get into a routine.
I hear that foam rollers are for pussies. I hear the manly thing to do is to get some like 2inch/3inch diameter pvc pipe. Also seems more convenient somehow.
[quote]Eli B wrote:
I hear that foam rollers are for pussies. I hear the manly thing to do is to get some like 2inch/3inch diameter pvc pipe. Also seems more convenient somehow.[/quote]
It all depends on which type and brand of foam roller you get. Some break down and do not hold their form very well. Others work great. The PVC pipe is great for somebody who has been working on their soft tissue quality for a while and whose body is capable of handling the increase pressure that PVC pipe will give. Some people aren’t quite ready for PVC pipe for a variety of reasons - too painful being one of the top reasons. Also, I don’t think being overly aggressive with foam rolling is always the best solution. Don’t get me wrong, I consider myself a fairly aggressive practitioner, but you can’t always been so aggressive and it is good to have a balance between a lighter SMR session and a more invasive SMR session.
Here is a link to Mike Reinold’s blog where he recently graded and rated a handful of foam rollers and self massage tools. Great information for anybody looking to buy one but unsure of which one to get.
[quote]Eli B wrote:
The PVC pipe is great for somebody who has been working on their soft tissue quality for a while and whose body is capable of handling the increase pressure that PVC pipe will give. Some people aren’t quite ready for PVC pipe for a variety of reasons - too painful being one of the top reasons. Also, I don’t think being overly aggressive with foam rolling is always the best solution. [/quote]
x2
Don’t jump into a pvc pipe if you haven’t rolled, or if its already too much foam rolling it. You don’t want to make shit worse for your thighs. Work up to it.
Well I have some PVC pipe, both 3 and 4 inch dia out in my garage left over from some projects. I am too poor and cheap to go buy a foam roller so should I just start out rolling my hams and glutes with the 4 incher? I could just control how mych weight I apply to adjust the pressure level. Seriously I have never tried it and I only have hardwood floors in my house is that a problem? Is it better to do it on carpet? Shit I’m going to have to google some instructional videos.
[quote]Vegita wrote:
Well I have some PVC pipe, both 3 and 4 inch dia out in my garage left over from some projects. I am too poor and cheap to go buy a foam roller so should I just start out rolling my hams and glutes with the 4 incher? I could just control how mych weight I apply to adjust the pressure level. Seriously I have never tried it and I only have hardwood floors in my house is that a problem? Is it better to do it on carpet? Shit I’m going to have to google some instructional videos.
V[/quote]
You can use either the 3 or 4" PVC pipe. The 3" will be more intense since there is a smaller surface area and more pin-point pressure. You can attempt to just not allow so much pressure to be placed down on the PVC pipe and I don’t think it will matter if you are on carpet or hardwood floor, but I have never taken notice on the difference when performing SMR on both surfaces.
Basically it is a 5" PVC pipe with a 1" layer of foam around it. To make your own for pretty cheap, use your PVC pipe and go buy a big swimming noodle (http://www3.shopping.com/-swimming+noodles). You should be able to find them at a pool store or maybe a walmart. Just will have to trim and thin out the inside of the noodle in order to have it fit around the PVC pipe. You may have to buy 2 noodles and combine them together to fit around the PVC pipe.