Inactive glutes

wheeler585

Hi since July I had to stop racing, as I was waking up with rock hard hip flexors tight i.t bands and stiff back. Just thought I had over done it, so took a week off the bike, but just couldn't shake it off and it got progressively worse! In the end I got an mri scan, got diagnosed with a hernia. To confirm this I followed it with a ultrasound, this came back negative! After 6 months of faffing around and crippling pain, I've been told I have a slightly tilted pelvis, and my glutes are not firing, hence the rock hard quads hip and burning it bands.

Has anyone else had this problem, if so how long did it take to get the bad boy glutes firing again??

Leeuw

I've got a very similar problem - non-firing glutes, IT band issues, tilted pelvis, unbalanced quads/calves/hamstrings. Mine are getting a lot better since seeing a physio who specialises in trigger point massage - hurts like a b*stard, but the sessions, and continual stretching/strengthening are doing the trick.

Had two sessions so far and lower back pain has now gone and everything else improving!

wheeler585

Hi, sounds identical to what I've had mate, been an absolute twat ha.

What kinda strengthening exercises you been doing, I've just been doing bridges and one legged squats and planks, and shed loads of stretching ie lunges. Slowly getting better, but still waking up with tight hip flexors and back, do you find driving is a big no no?

Leeuw

At the moment, I'm just doing Glute Clams and Glute Scrunchs - it's all such a mess apparently I need to get some kind of base strength before doing too much more. If you're not familiar with these two...

Glute Clams - lie on your side, knees bent a little. Raise your knee keeping your feet in contact - so you look like a clam! Hold for 6 secs and do sets of 10.

Glute Scrunchs - just stand and squeeze your butt/glutes as hard as poss for a count of 10 - and repeat a few times.

I also have to use one of the foam follers for my calfs and IT band - and only stretch my right hand IT band and hamstring as that's the side that's worse (and the lower/dropped side of my pelvis) - my physio has said not to do any other stretching or strength work until I'd done this for a few weeks. He also said lunges weren't a good idea as you're not isolating the right muscles

He also suggested no other stretching as most problems are caused by over stretched muscles that can't hold things in place properly in every day life - kind of makes sense.

And yes, driving is a big no no - glad I have a 20min drive to work (would cycle but no easy motorway free route!!).

Leeuw

Oh, and mine really started off as a visit to sort out a shouder/rhomboid problem - when he saw me walk in he started o my pelvis/back/legs!!

wheeler585

Might sound like I'm doing to much hardcore glute strengthening then, funny you talk about shoulder and rhomboid pain, this is how mine reared its head. Been racing with painful hamstrings stiff neck and tight quads for a good yr, bit the bullet in the end and refered myself to the physio. Sounds like you have a good physio, there quite hard to find, been to a few, and they couldn't diagnose me, in the end I kinda diagnose myself. Did your physio tell you how long till your back on the bike, and fully corrected ?

Sadly with my job, I do a lot of driving, absoloutly cripples me, played hell with my psoas muscle, which has kinda prolonged the injury, maybe over stretching to

wheeler585

Just tried them clams, and they seem a great exercise, feel the glutes and hips burning, so must be doing something. Much appreciated

Leeuw

I was really lucky with my physio - my wife had back/hip issues and saw a dirt cheap Sports Massage offer on Groupon, and went for it - she got on really well, so I thought I'd give it a try.

My shoulder/back is that nagging ache between my shoulder blades and messed up rotator cuff, and sharp lower back pain when I've been in one position for a while. Most of the shoulder/rhomboid problem is from overstretched muscles - how often do you sit with your arms in front of you? When driving, when riding, when using a computer, eating etc etc - pretty much all day!

So today's daily exercise for you is.... (drum roll)... a tennis ball. Hold a tennis ball between the wall and your rhomboids and move around until you manage to move the ball so it sits right on a trigger point - you know, that really painful knotty lump - then lean hard against it and hold for as long as you can stand. Then move on to the next trigger point. But don't do any stretching for this area, the muscles are already overstretched, so don't make them any longer.

Another goddie is to stretch your pec'sso they can move back and take pressure off the rhomboids. If you stand in a doorway, lift one arm so the upper arm is horizontal, with your forearm vertical with hand up. Then place forearm against the door frame and push forward so you can feel the pec's stretching - then hold for 10. Repeat on both sides several times.

And another... Lie flat on your back, and lift both arms into the position described above, and try to keep as much of your hamstrings, back, shoulder, arms on the ground as possible - you should feel both pec's stretching.

As far as being back on my bike, I already am. I'm an ex-racer, so don't spend much time in the saddle these days - but as long as I concentrate on not tucking myself in too much, I'm allowed to ride (the tuck really stretches the rhomboids which isn't good at the mo).

And when will I be fully corrected? Never! But that's only because everyday life aggravates the rhomboids, pelvis and hamstrings - it's all much better after only a couple of sessions, and I do the exercises as often as I can - but I think my physio will be retiring on my contribution

wheeler585

Ha thanks for all that, been pretty much doing all them, rhomboid and balls a great one! I'm kinda still off the bike at the mo, don't wanna rush back to soon, like I've done a few times already!

Surely you will get better, this isn't music to my ears ha, I'm only 32 can't give up racing now, thought it was something you could recover from no? Did you ever get an aching sensation in you lower abs? Just wondering if my psoas is tight as well, or if its just my hip flexors, which have took a right beating with this. Did you also have to have any other physio on hips or hamstrings due to overloading or being imbalenced?

Sorry about questions, your the first person I've met who has had this problem

jouxplan

I had a very similar issue for about 6 years. It finally resolved earlier this year when I visited an osteopath. He found that my pelvis was both tilted and twisted. After several sessions with him (which involved him re-setting everything by, frankly, dry humping me in his office - well, it felt like it), everything became level and the twist was gone. Suddenly my cycling (and drumming - I'm a serious drummer) improved tremendously. I've had the best year on a bike for as long as I can remember.

So I recommend a good osteopath / chiropracter. It may work wonders

wheeler585

Bloody hell, 6 yrs is a long time, how do you think your pelvis become twisted? Did you go for an MRI, or could he tell just by looking. I had an MRI, but didn't show any distortion, I have a slight anteria tilt,,but this was due to my quads and hip flexors being so dominant over my glutes. We're you given any exercises?

wheeler585

I know a female osteopath, so the dry humping just sounds like an added bonus

jouxplan

wheeler585 wrote:

Bloody hell, 6 yrs is a long time, how do you think your pelvis become twisted? Did you go for an MRI, or could he tell just by looking. I had an MRI, but didn't show any distortion, I have a slight anteria tilt,,but this was due to my quads and hip flexors being so dominant over my glutes. We're you given any exercises?

Tell me about it! It is not clear how or when it happened, but we think it was a gradual thing, and associated (a) with my very badly pronating right foot and inadequate arch support and (b) the hammering my lower back, pelvis and right leg took when drumming (I have been playing for 40 years and play at a pretty advanced level). Both the drumming and cycling suffered and became progressively more difficult as my pelvis moved out of alignment.

I did go for an MRI, but that was only because my Osteo wanted to be certain that my problems were not also related to a slipped disk - he did not want to re-set my pelvis until he was sure that the disks were ok. He found the distortion during his own examination - he did not use the MRI for that. No, I was not given exercises as such, other than stretches.

Now that my pelvis is corrected, and staying that way (apparently it does happen that people can go back out of alignment quickly, if their ligaments etc are especially loose), and I have adequately supported my arch and sorted my bike position, I am cycling very smoothly and powerfully. I'm also way more comfortable with my bass drum technique

jouxplan

wheeler585 wrote:

I know a female osteopath, so the dry humping just sounds like an added bonus

I envy you

Leeuw

Sorry wheeler585, been offline for a while for several reasons - but Happy New Year!!

According to my physio, I'll never be "fixed" but that's mainly because most of my issues are back related, and until I stop overstretching my rhomboids etc, I'll never get fully "fixed" - so until I stop using a computer, cycling, driving, writing, eating etc (or all those things that require me to use my arms in front of my body), I'll never be completely "fixed". But, we're on a course of preventative maintenance and I will be able to ride etc, but just need to keep up the exercises and stretches.

And to echo jouxplan, my pelvis is slightly twisted too - I've known this for years and had various treatments before. It gets put back straight then slips out over a period of time - again, mostly through things that can't be avoided. But my current rhomboid/glutes/hamstring work will help as we're leveling up all the connected bits, so the pelvis shouldn't go astray again - hopefully!

And they say sport is good for you