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I have recurrent plantar fasciitis which appears to me to be a downstream effect of very tight hip flexors. I'm wondering if there's even any point trying to loosen them up; I work in the periphery of health care and it's my understanding once a muscle develops a contracture, it's irreversible.
A while back I was into Crossfit stuff and did the 'couch stretch' pretty diligently, and really didn't see any effect. I guess the 'gliders vs gazelles' video shows pretty fast running is possible even with a shuffling gait, but in my head it seems like the plantar fasciitis would be improved if I could swing my leg back further.
Side to side movements. I had totally inflexible hip flexors and started officiating high school football on the wing positions and all you do is side to side movements along the sidelines and my hip flexors have opened way up.
I am a 57 year old guy and I have very tight hip flexors and found that swinging my legs across the front of my body really helped. I do one set with the toes pointed in and another with the toes pointed out (a set is 15x for each leg). I'll try to find the video where I picked this up.
I am not a health care provider. Then why do PTs prescribe things like couch stretches? Mine seem better and low back with stretches and strengthening the gluteus. In some cases it takes at least a 3 minute stretch to cause some improvement. I am no spring chicken and I have to do daily maintenance. A tight hip flexor stretched a little bit then going back to desk job or an aero position on bike, well seems like more damage than good but you have to fight back against bad habits and create more muscle balance.
Several good websites like Steady State, old Mobility Wod, Upright health, and RunSmartonline all include some good youtubes.
But I have heard of some masters runners , age group phenoms, who don't stretch that much. If ones believes some of the genetic research, some folks are more susceptible to injury. I sent my DNA in and they pegged me pretty good as highly injury prone.
Maybe some PTs on the board will respond. Good luck
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tyrod1: Oct 31, 19 13:14
well I'll try some lateral stretches, thanks for the ideas
Muscles can be stretched. I am 52 and just for fun I wanted to be able to sit on the floor, spread my legs and touch the floor in front of me with my chest, like my kids can. At first I could lean just a bit but over time I was able to go all the way down. The key with stretches is to be consistent, every day. The stretch must not hurt, on a pain scale 1 to 10, 10 being screaming pain :-), you wan tot be about 2. Hold the stretch for 30 sec, then ease up, take 10-20 sec break and repeat, you will likely be able to go a bit further. Don't hold your breath. Same goes for my hip flexor, it actually eased my back pain a lot.