Hip Flexor pain one weighted hikes?

[Steeliedrew]

Hip Flexor pain during weighted hikes?

I've noticed over the last few years that I get hip flexor pain when hiking with weight. This past weekend I did a 15 mile 5,000' gain overnighter while shed hunting. My AMR came in around 45lbs after food and water which feels like nothing on the 26" hunting frame. I've had hip flexor pain no matter which pack I wear though. From an Alps Mountaineering 5200, Kuiu Icon Pro 5200, and the AMR. Do any of you experience hip flexor pain, and what stretches and conditioning do you do to combat the issue. My new AMR is absolutely incredible. I feel like if it wasn't for sore hip flexors, I'd be unstoppable.

Thanks!

Drew

 

[Nalgene]

Couch stretch and diagonal stretch.

 

[Steeliedrew]

Nalgene,

Thank you for the post. I got on YouTube and watched Kelly Starrett from mobilitywod do the couch stretch. It is murder on my quad on the side being stretched. Definitely something that needed attention. I'll keep working on it. At this point I can't even feel the stretch in my hip because of my quads being so tight. Haha

Edit: just tried the diagonal stretch and seem to be able to get a good stretch in the hip flexors without my quads being a burden. Thank you!

 

[mtnrunner260]

Have a massage therapist work you over including the soleus.

 

[Steeliedrew]

I may look into that because we get free deep tissue massage at work.

Also, if this thread is better suited for the nutrition/strength training forum, please feel free to drop it in there Mods. Thank You.

 

[wl704]

One of my kids is into yoga and had suggested frog or pigeon...just Google it (e.g. yoga pigeon)

 

[Bramk]

So your problem isn't necessarily a tight muscle where you need to stretch.. But more of a weak muscle. There are several exercises for your hip flexors that you can do, and I would suggest to do daily. I would also suggest finding a DC that does ART and get treatment. If you want to know more about weak/tight muscle and adhesion you can pm me. The couch stretch is perfect for your iliopsoas and would suggest doing that frequently as well. When doing that make sure to keep core flexed and not let the hips tilt forward.


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[missjordan]

Foam rolls are amazing I'd give that a try too!

 

[Steeliedrew]

One of my kids is into yoga and had suggested frog or pigeon...just Google it (e.g. yoga pigeon)

My wife is very much into yoga. I will see if she can walk me through those poses. Thank you.

So your problem isn't necessarily a tight muscle where you need to stretch.. But more of a weak muscle. There are several exercises for your hip flexors that you can do, and I would suggest to do daily. I would also suggest finding a DC that does ART and get treatment. If you want to know more about weak/tight muscle and adhesion you can pm me. The couch stretch is perfect for your iliopsoas and would suggest doing that frequently as well. When doing that make sure to keep core flexed and not let the hips tilt forward.


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I'm going to work on the couch stretch daily. Last night was the first time I've ever done it. My quads are so tight that I can get into the position for the stretch but I'm unable to bring my torso up. I'm basically bent over while doing the stretch as it feels like my quad is about to rip off of my femur. Haha. I'm sure with time and frequency I'll limber up and it will be great. I was able to get a good stretch on the hip flexors with the diagonal pose so I'll continue that as well. My hamstrings are also extremely tight which I'm guessing is playing a role.

Does anybody subscribe to MobilityWod with Kelly Starrett? I've been struggling with what I believe is intermittent bicep tendinitis for the last year and I suspect it is because I have poor internal shoulder rotation. It affects how often I'm able to shoot my bow which is lame. I'm 30 years old and would like to gain the skills to perform basic maintenance on myself so that I'm able be in the back country for another 30-40 years. that's a whole other rabbit hole though so I won't go on about that on this thread.

Thank you,

Drew

 

[wl704]

My wife is very much into yoga. I will see if she can walk me through those poses. Thank you.



I'm going to work on the couch stretch daily. Last night was the first time I've ever done it. My quads are so tight that I can get into the position for the stretch but I'm unable to bring my torso up. I'm basically bent over while doing the stretch as it feels like my quad is about to rip off of my femur. Haha. I'm sure with time and frequency I'll limber up and it will be great. I was able to get a good stretch on the hip flexors with the diagonal pose so I'll continue that as well. My hamstrings are also extremely tight which I'm guessing is playing a role.

Does anybody subscribe to MobilityWod with Kelly Starrett? I've been struggling with what I believe is intermittent bicep tendinitis for the last year and I suspect it is because I have poor internal shoulder rotation. It affects how often I'm able to shoot my bow which is lame. I'm 30 years old and would like to gain the skills to perform basic maintenance on myself so that I'm able be in the back country for another 30-40 years. that's a whole other rabbit hole though so I won't go on about that on this thread.

Thank you,

Drew

On the shoulder rotation, there are also some small muscles and tissues which might not be getting stretched and developed. I wrestled with similar problems in the past and found some shoulder rehab exercises I added into my mix. These are generally light weight and resistance oriented.

Like others have said, if you don't have a trainer or assistance with these, my advice is go especially easy.

 

[yak]

I get hip flexor pain/soreness every year. It tends to go away as I strengthen my muscles over time. The more weighted pack hikes I go on, the better they begin to feel. By the time the archery opener rolls around, I don't notice any soreness. Hope this helps, I'm sure stretching wouldn't hurt anything as well.

 

[Bughalli]

Stretching and rollers help, but it didn't solve the problem for me. Simply hiking with 45lbs of weight in your pack for training does wonders. I get the same pain for the first few training hikes, but it gets better and is gone after 5 hikes. I've carried a 45lb pack on a stairmaster as well with good results. You don't need to necessarily do a lot of elevation either, just getting your body used to holding that weight makes a big difference. Of course hiking with elevation will work more than the hip flexor muscles if you're looking to get stronger.

 

[Double Creek]

I had the same issue when I started using Kifaru packs... Mine went away after a handful of hikes. I think the packs do such a good job of transitioning weight to the hips that my hips weren't in shape for it. My shoulders were stout though.

 

[Steeliedrew]

I had the same issue when I started using Kifaru packs... Mine went away after a handful of hikes. I think the packs do such a good job of transitioning weight to the hips that my hips weren't in shape for it. My shoulders were stout though.

They are incredible packs for sure. I actually found myself messing around with my load lifters to put a little MORE weight back on my shoulders on the hike out Sunday afternoon, to help my hips out. Haha!

 

[Ray]

Daily Vita Moves

This guy has a great Youtube channel with all his videos. I don't think he has any techniques that require gear, so you can do the moves using just your body weight. His IT band muscle activation moves really fix my problems when they start pinging my leg. Mobility WOD has some similar moves for the same set of muscles but they require gear in a gym to work.

One of the movements that a trainer has asked me to do for my weak/tight hip flexors are front squats or any variation. Moving the weight out in front of the body causes the hips to work a little harder and you don't have to use as much weight as you would with a back squat for the same effect.

 

[Steeliedrew]

Daily Vita Moves

This guy has a great Youtube channel with all his videos. I don't think he has any techniques that require gear, so you can do the moves using just your body weight. His IT band muscle activation moves really fix my problems when they start pinging my leg. Mobility WOD has some similar moves for the same set of muscles but they require gear in a gym to work.


One of the movements that a trainer has asked me to do for my weak/tight hip flexors are front squats or any variation. Moving the weight out in front of the body causes the hips to work a little harder and you don't have to use as much weight as you would with a back squat for the same effect.

Thank you Ray. I'll check his videos out tonight. I have some Rubberbanditz bands that maybe I could use to do some of those front squats. I'm limited on equipment at home.