Anyone have a good recommendation for an effective TFL stretch? I really need to work mine as my ITB is not 100% recovered.
Thanks.
I got therapy for my TFL this year after an injury. I don’t really know about stretching it. That wasn’t the ticket to recovery.
My TFL problems came from a tight hamstring and ITB band. I think anything that stretches the IT band will stretch the TFL.
Why do you think you need to stretch it? Is it injured? Massage helps, either from someone else or via a tennis ball. Seems like the key would be fixing the IT band and hamstring, which, incidently, I still have not done.
Art, my TFL just feels sore. I’ve been lying on the tennis ball, and I’d like to stretch it a bit after treating it with the tennis ball.
I think my ITB has been screwed up because of a messed up hamstring and TFL, kind of opposite of you.
Incidentally, I’ve been getting Graston done by my chiro, and will ask him to use this technique on my TFL next time I see him, hoping it works.
The best input I can offer was that when my TFL was injured, any ITB band stretched was brutally painful.
Cross left straight leg behind bent at the knee right leg. Put weight on left leg. Sag left hip toward wall and support with left arm. Feel splitting pain in TFL.
Switch sides and repeat.
Good luck.
OUCH!!! sounds terrible. Can’t wait to try it.
Any one else got any other stretches?
When I hurt my TFL, that stretch hurt so bad as opposed to the hurt so good feeling you get when you are doing the right thing. I hope you know what I mean by that superfically meaningless statement, because I have no clue how to say it better.
I guess I am trying to say be careful. Hard stretches only further injure already injured areas.
Mike & all,
Sit on the floor, both legs straight out in front of you. Now cross the bad leg over your good leg, so the foot of your bad leg is flat on the ground outside the knee of your good leg. Twist your shoulders and upper body toward your bed leg. You should feel the stretch in your TFL. To add a little oomph, place your good side elbow against your bad leg knee and push the knee away from your shoulders.
To add even more, roll backwards onto your back with your bad knee still bent, so you make a figure 4. By pulling your good knee against your ankle, pull your bad knee towards your head. That’ll get your TFL and your glutes too.
Hope that makes even the slightest bit of sense. Happy stretching.
Lee Silverman
JackRabbit Sports
Park Slope Brooklyn
bummer, man
.
Art, yes I get the “hurt so good” thing, but it can be confusing. I did the stretch, and there wasn’t any PAIN, but was a little tightness in the TFL, no real discomfort in the ITB. That happens with another stretch I do.
Lee, your stretch you offer is interesting. Is there anywhere online that has a picture of it or diagram? I appreciate you writing it out, but it is a bit confusing.
Thanks.
foam rollers
http://www.smiweb.org/guides/pdf/roller_guide.pdf
I am going to go use mine before I go to bed.