Hey guys, I have been noticing that my right foot tends to be rotated outward, more than my left foot when I walk. When squatting I would have a tough time trying to keep my feet pointed straight ahead, as my right foot would always begin to rotate outward when I’d lower down into squatting position.
After that I had the idea to just try standing with my feet pointed forward and relax my muscles, I then noticed that my right hip is rotated forward quite drastically compared to my left hip, to the point where my upper body begins facing around 330 degrees (My upper body faces left slightly) I know for sure that my right leg is a lot stronger than my left and I am working to fix that, but is this an issue that stems from other things as well?
And what are some things I can do to correct this. I wish I would have noticed this earlier, but all the reason to fix this impingement now.
I have literally the exact same thing except with my left side. Check this out as well. Lie down on your back and relax your legs. Your feet will naturally fall outwards, but see if one is noticeably straighter and one is noticeably more sideways. One side of your lower body is tighter than the other.
You might try seeing a reputable chiro in your area. As far as I know, try to be very mindful of evenness and symmetry when lifting. Don’t ever let one foot rotate outward more than the other on squat or deadlift or you will injure yourself eventually. Also, work on your flexibility (especially in your hamstrings and hips) to try and even out the muscle tightness. It is not a quick process.
How is your ankle mobility? In the Neanderthal No More series that Cressey and Robertson wrote for the main page they mention that poor ankle mobility (dorsiflexion) often translates into outwardly rotated feet. The idea being that you can’t bend at the ankle enough, so you compensate by turning your foot outward to get more range of motion.
The whole series deals with a lot of common postural problems, have a look through it and see if any of it applies to you.
[quote]Ty-fi wrote:
How is your ankle mobility? In the Neanderthal No More series that Cressey and Robertson wrote for the main page they mention that poor ankle mobility (dorsiflexion) often translates into outwardly rotated feet. The idea being that you can’t bend at the ankle enough, so you compensate by turning your foot outward to get more range of motion.
The whole series deals with a lot of common postural problems, have a look through it and see if any of it applies to you.
I would recommend you just follow that entire program regardless. By the time you get through it your problem should be fixed. It could be the ankle, but it may also be a tight hip flexor, weak glute issue. Which would then likely translate into tight adductors, weak abductors, and a rotation problem. Start with stretching the hip flexors and some simple glute activation exercises like single-leg glute bridges and fire hydrants. Then see if you feel a strength difference. Cressey is the man when it comes to this stuff.
As I was thinking about it a little more I realised that you mentioned about the problem persisting even while standing straight, hinting that ankle mobility isn’t going to be the only problem. It still might be a problem and so bears checking out. And this program still likely holds some advice that will help you out.
Keep in mind that you might need to give extra attention to exercises and stretches on one side or the other…