Pain in hip flexor

ShaunaMcMac

I have been having some pain in my hip flexors and so have stopped squatting for a week to give me some time to recover. However, I don't feel like there has been much improvement. The pain is relatively minor but uncomfortable while I squat (even without weight) and it's definitely in the tissue.

Has anyone ever experienced this before, and if so should I continue training or should I keep giving it a break. I don't want to lose my gains, but I don't want to do any damage either.

Thoughts?

Barbellgirl

I had the same thing happen when I started the Starting Strength program. A foam roller and stretching will help. Just google hip flexor stretches. I will warn you, rolling your hip flexors on the foam roller will hurt initially. Just keep at it. Those old fashioned hip circles will help too. Just take them slow and easy. What I found really solved the issue was to develop your glutes and posterior chain more. The hip flexors will try to pick up the slack from weak glutes. Once I focused more on the glutes, I've not had a reoccurrence of hip flexor pain.

bumblebums

I assume by "hip flexors" you mean your upper quadriceps tendons. What you are experiencing is called tendinitis--an inflammatory condition caused by repeated yanking on said tendons by the quadriceps contraction. It happens because you allow your knees to slide forward of your toes at the bottom of the squat. The hamstrings stretch--and when the muscles on one side of a bone loosen, the muscles on the other side contract. It's a reflex.

Anyway, the way to fix it is to get your knees in position early in the squat, and do not allow them to travel forward once they are in position. Look up TUBOW.

And NSAIDs. Stretching this won't help, because tendons are not benefited by stretching. Foam rolling also will not help, for the same reason. Get well soon.

ShaunaMcMac

Thanks Bumblebums, I think you are right. I'll look into getting a good TUBOW.

Is this something I can train through, or should I give it a good rest?

bumblebums

Thanks Bumblebums, I think you are right. I'll look into getting a good TUBOW.

Is this something I can train through, or should I give it a good rest?

If you took a week off already, you'll be fine once you start squatting with good form. If you have Starting Strength, I would re-read the squat chapter.