# Hip Pain Limitations



## ynnad (Sep 9, 2008)

Greetings! I'm a 35 year old male who just started TKD with my kids. We are loving it. We've been going about 3 months now. I am pretty flexible and athletic. I played basketball and soccer. My flat footed front kick goes beyond 6 ft, (my height). I can almost do the front splits. HOWEVER, side kicks and round kicks are limited by pain in my hips. At first they were limited by my inner thighs. Through side stretching though I am getting increasingly more flexible there. However, the pain that has developed in my hips is hindering my range. It seems to be inner and front, almost including my groin. Are these normal growing pains that will subside? Are there stretches or exercises that would help this? It doesn't seem to be an injury, as it is both hips equally. 

Thanks, Notreadytobeoldyet


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## jkembry (Sep 9, 2008)

Boy.... I can relate to that.  I am having the same issues with crescent kicks and it forces me to keep them low....even after a year of training.  I did have an injury that set me back about 6 months and am taking it much slower this time around.


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## terryl965 (Sep 9, 2008)

Please what I am going to say is strickly my opinion as a Martial Artist and not a doctor. The pain you are feeling is normal for alot of folks, with time will come more motion with the hip one thing you can try doing is turning on that back foot and use more butt and thigh in the kick instead of the hip. This will still generate power but the side kick becomes more of a one quarter back kick. Remember also doing a step behind or in front will help with those hips turning. Best of luck.


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## MA-Caver (Sep 9, 2008)

What Terry said I'll give a nod to in support, and add that if you haven't done the type of movements that TKD is requiring (now) to do then your body has to become accustomed to it. Particularly for an adult. With kids their bodies are still supple and muscles still highly more flexible than ours so they're able to twist bend and do all kinds of stuff that leave us whimpering on our couches or armchairs hours after class... sometimes with a heating pad or ice bag on the affected area. That will happen until your body becomes accustomed to it. 
If you've had a previous injury/surgery on the area (less than 5 years ago or so) then probably it's a good idea to talk about it with your primary care or orthopedics specialist about what you're doing and whether or not you should or what you can do to make it better. 
I've had hip surgery myself before and had to do that long hard road of getting back to where I can move like I used to. My (step) mother just had hip replacement surgery and is struggling with trying to move around. But the pain of her recovery has shocked her enough where she isn't doing what she NEEDS to do to make that new hip function like it COULD. Alibet she's 80 yrs old too and it was the only option for her unless she would've been willing to be confined to a wheel chair.


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## ynnad (Sep 10, 2008)

Thanks for the comments. Turning on my back foot first and shooting from my butt does help and opens my hip up a bit. I noticed yesterday, trying to find the actual source of pain, that it is most piercing when I get to the point where my weight is most on the hip joint and I push up a little with my calf to get that little extra height and momentum at the beginning of the kick. I began to wonder if the issue is not so much range-of-motion as much as it is needing to develop those deep stabilizer muscles around the hip area? Thanks again.


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## howard (Sep 10, 2008)

Ynad,

I'd suggest that you do some research about myofascial trigger points. Certain muscles that you use intensely in TKD kicking and the associated stretching, like the gluteus muscles and the adductors in the inner thigh, are pretty susceptible to trigger points. Trigger points in those muscles can "refer" pain deep into the hip joint. I'm speaking from experience here.

If you can find a well-informed chiropractor who can diagnose you correctly, he/she can treat you with ultrasound to break up the trigger points. I wouldn't waste my time on MDs if I were you... I did for nearly 18 months and got exactly nowhere. Good chiropractors and massage therapists are your best bet.

Good luck to you.


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