I had only been a few weeks back to the gym after baby #2. It was SO good to be back. I felt weaker than usual – to be expected when I’m still only a few months post-partum – but my head was clear, I was in the company of adults (wow!), and I was out of the house. Three things that were sorely lacking in my life.
And then I felt it.
My right knee started complaining. At first it was just during warm up when I was still cold. Then it was in specific movements like deep side lunges. Then it was in almost everything I did that involved my right leg. Which was everything.
I had made the mistake so common when we first head back to the gym. Overly eager to get back into working out, I had skipped a critical step. Specifically, the “waking up my sleeping muscles” step.
You’d think that just working out and doing the basic warm up would do this, but I know better. After years of working with injury prevention and rehab specialist Laura Coleman, I know that there are certain muscles in my body that need a little more prodding than a typical workout will provide.
And it’s not just me. Many people have issues with these exact same muscles.
Can you guess which ones I’m talking about?
No, it’s not the biggies like your quads or even your glutes (although those often need a lil’ extra encouragement too).
It’s your hip flexors.
I’m not a biomechanics specialist, so I’m going to let Laura take over from here. Check out this simple exercise to see if your hip flexors are working properly.
Were your hip flexors working? Mine weren’t. But once I woke them up and got them back online again, all that right knee pain disappeared no matter what I did at the gym.
I’ve found this works for all sorts of leg and back pain, so give it a try! Let me know your results in the comments below.
Laura Coleman rocked my world a few years back when she helped me get to the root of all the knee and lower-back issues I’d had since my teens. In just a couple of sessions, Laura put me on a simple program of rehab exercises (unlike any I’d ever seen before) that brought my body back into alignment and actually fixed the problem that no physiotherapist, massage therapist, or chiropractor had ever been able to solve. I was hooked! We’ve been terrific friends and shared many clients since, and I’m delighted that she has offered to share her wisdom with all of you via this Fitness Friday video series. Laura lives in Portland, OR with her two gorgeous daughters. She works her magic at Club Sport and with clients all over the continent via the magic of technology (aka Skype). Check out her blog and website here.
