Tightness in Front of Thigh (Rectus Fermoris???)

missdibs1

I have been squating heavier and deeper and also adding glute bridges (BW only since its new addition) Thus past week the top right from thigh of my right leg only is really tight and I feel it pulling even when I walk

Can someone please advise?

I tried a body weight squat last night and i could feel the same pull

chic245

Stretch, stretch and more stretching before and more importantly after your workout . Less fatigue will result.

JTick

Is it your thigh or hip? I had problems with my hip flexors when I started deepening my squats. I had to deload for a while, and stretch really well before squatting. After doing some form changes at a light weight, the pain went away and I haven't had a problem since.

JoRocka

foam rolling- lots.
I have chornically tight hip flexors.

lots of stretching- a solid warm up- like do 2-5 min warm up- then run warms ups with the bar.

My first set is bar only- for 5-8 reps
then I do 95 pounds for like 5 reps- and those both always are really uncomfortable and are necessary for getting things functional before working sets.

212019156

I get the same thing in the upper part of my quads. Its really annoying. It actually hurts to squat sometimes. The lighter warm-up sets hurt much worse then the heavy work sets. Sometimes if I do some body weight lunges as a warm-up it mitigates the problem.

Jeff

missdibs1

Is it your thigh or hip? I had problems with my hip flexors when I started deepening my squats. I had to deload for a while, and stretch really well before squatting. After doing some form changes at a light weight, the pain went away and I haven't had a problem since.

I am unsure if it is my hip flexor or quad muscles

From my reading I think I may have been leaning to far forward during my squat??? or else it is just weak glutes??

I will try deloading and stretching for sure

missdibs1

I get the same thing in the upper part of my quads. Its really annoying. It actually hurts to squat sometimes. The lighter warm-up sets hurt much worse then the heavy work sets. Sometimes if I do some body weight lunges as a warm-up it mitigates the problem.

Jeff

Yes that is what i would call it ANNOYING but not painful

but I cannot help but take it as a warning before injury (???)

I am going to get a foam roller too

timbrom

Foam roller. They're cheap, and they're amazing.

QueenBishOTUniverse

Foam roller and I'm going to add a lacrosse ball for the back side. I get tightness everywhere if I'm not spending time with those torture devices. Honestly it's to the point I feel like my warm up/stretching/foam rolling routine takes longer than my actual workout, but it really does help.

missdibs1

I will pick one up ASAP

Then I will have to read up on using it LOL

Galatea_Stone

Foam rolling and hip flexor stretches can do wonders pretty quickly. Add in Iliacus stretches and you will fell a lot better in your entire hip region.

JoRocka

Foam rolling and hip flexor stretches can do wonders pretty quickly. Add in Iliacus stretches and you will fell a lot better in your entire hip region.

excellent point.

tight hammy's often contribute to hip pain.
but yeah- roll everything on your legs except the bursa joint.

QueenBishOTUniverse

I am 100% stealing this from another MFPer who recommended it to me in a form thread, but it is absolutely amazeballs so I feel I should share.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBHzXF-mVjY

ETA: Obviously this is more for hips/glutes but in my experience it's all so connected that any tightness I have usually started there and worked it's way down the chain.

dbmata

rectum? Damn near killed him.

missdibs1

While I appreciate the giggles .......

JTick

Is it your thigh or hip? I had problems with my hip flexors when I started deepening my squats. I had to deload for a while, and stretch really well before squatting. After doing some form changes at a light weight, the pain went away and I haven't had a problem since.

I am unsure if it is my hip flexor or quad muscles

From my reading I think I may have been leaning to far forward during my squat??? or else it is just weak glutes??

I will try deloading and stretching for sure

How is your joint mobility in general? I have poor joint mobility, so when I tried to squat in a normal stance, my joints just couldn't squish together like that. I widened my stance into almost a sumo squat, and that helped as much (if not more) than stretching things out. Look up the pigeon pose in yoga...hip flexors are difficult to stretch, but that one helped a lot.

212019156

The other thing that I do that seems to help is before my squat sessions is to palpate for trigger points in my quads. A lot of times if I can find one and press the hell out of it with my thumb the tightness will subside dramatically eliminating the annoying pain. I know its going to work when I press on it and I feel the muscle actually spasm for a few moments.

Jeff

missdibs1

Great Tips thank you so very much!

Sam_I_Am77

If we're talking about your Psoas (hip flexors) it could be a couple things.

1. One, they're tight and you need some self myofacial release and stretching

2. Your hamstrings and lower back are tight when squatting so they're compensating for the

2. They're over-compensating for a weak muscle, possibly your hamstrings; strengthen your hamstrings

3. Is your back sore too? There can be a relationship between tight hip flexors and lower back pain, may need to strengthen your back

4. Don't forget to stretch your groin and adductors. Checkout Joe DeFranco's Limber 11; it's a rather complete lower body stretching routine that I'm sure will help you.

missdibs1

Thank you I will check this stretching routine when i get home

My back does not hurt

Sam_I_Am77

Thank you I will check this stretching routine when i get home

My back does not hurt

Lucky you! I was just pointing out various possibilities. For a smaller muscle group, the hip flexors are quite important and involved.

missdibs1

I am pretty syre this manifested from improper stretching and muscle imbalance

missdibs1

Ok when I got home yesterday

i warmed up,stretched, exeercised, and then stretched some more (all of this post massage). No discomfort AT ALL during weights/hiits But, immediately after , wham tight "quad" again (hip flexor IDK) I am so perplexed!

and now today once again i feel this tightness when walking ONLY when walking if I deep BW squat I feel a slight pull/ sit and stand nothing / but walk = pull pull pull

what is this ????

Sam_I_Am77

Ok when I got home yesterday

i warmed up,stretched, exeercised, and then stretched some more (all of this post massage). No discomfort AT ALL during weights/hiits But, immediately after , wham tight "quad" again (hip flexor IDK) I am so perplexed!

and now today once again i feel this tightness when walking ONLY when walking if I deep BW squat I feel a slight pull/ sit and stand nothing / but walk = pull pull pull

what is this ????

I think you will need to take at least a week off from training, if not more, and just focus on stretching & mobility for now. I know it's hard, but you're not competing in anything (I'm assuming at least) so why push yourself into a spot that can make it worse. Train what you can train without pain and don't do things that cause you pain. If it doesn't get better, find a Sports Med doctor.

It's hard for me to tell exactly what's wrong, but refer to the list I provided before and work on that stuff, minus the back issue I guess. LOL. If you can without pain... work on your adductor, hamstring, and lower back strength instead of squatting for now. Do Agile 8 or Limber 11 (both Joe DeFranco) twice a day.

QueenBishOTUniverse

Ok when I got home yesterday

i warmed up,stretched, exeercised, and then stretched some more (all of this post massage). No discomfort AT ALL during weights/hiits But, immediately after , wham tight "quad" again (hip flexor IDK) I am so perplexed!

and now today once again i feel this tightness when walking ONLY when walking if I deep BW squat I feel a slight pull/ sit and stand nothing / but walk = pull pull pull

what is this ????

I think you will need to take at least a week off from training, if not more, and just focus on stretching & mobility for now. I know it's hard, but you're not competing in anything (I'm assuming at least) so why push yourself into a spot that can make it worse. Train what you can train without pain and don't do things that cause you pain. If it doesn't get better, find a Sports Med doctor.

It's hard for me to tell exactly what's wrong, but refer to the list I provided before and work on that stuff, minus the back issue I guess. LOL. If you can without pain... work on your adductor, hamstring, and lower back strength instead of squatting for now. Do Agile 8 or Limber 11 (both Joe DeFranco) twice a day.

I don't know, I'm lifting and running right now and I'm pretty much just always tight, not painful, just tight. I've injured things before so I understand being cautious about this, but honestly muscle tightness has always just been a constant issue for me. I did my run this morning just fine, but by the time I got back home I was having to baby step from the car into the house because everything had cooled and locked up. I've just accepted that trigger point work and really good stretching has to be a part of my daily routine. Usually though once I warm everything back up the tightness backs off.

So OP, here's my question, are you experiencing this tightness at all times, or is it worse after you've been sitting or holding the same position for long periods? Does it get better after you've started using the muscle again and warming it up? If so, I would say that while you might want to back off your load a little to give your muscles more recovery time, you should be ok as long as you are warming up and stretching properly and making sure you are keeping plenty hydrated and watching your electrolyte intake (the electrolytes are actually a big issue for me in keeping my muscles from turning in to solid knots).

Sam_I_Am77

Ok when I got home yesterday

i warmed up,stretched, exeercised, and then stretched some more (all of this post massage). No discomfort AT ALL during weights/hiits But, immediately after , wham tight "quad" again (hip flexor IDK) I am so perplexed!

and now today once again i feel this tightness when walking ONLY when walking if I deep BW squat I feel a slight pull/ sit and stand nothing / but walk = pull pull pull

what is this ????

I think you will need to take at least a week off from training, if not more, and just focus on stretching & mobility for now. I know it's hard, but you're not competing in anything (I'm assuming at least) so why push yourself into a spot that can make it worse. Train what you can train without pain and don't do things that cause you pain. If it doesn't get better, find a Sports Med doctor.

It's hard for me to tell exactly what's wrong, but refer to the list I provided before and work on that stuff, minus the back issue I guess. LOL. If you can without pain... work on your adductor, hamstring, and lower back strength instead of squatting for now. Do Agile 8 or Limber 11 (both Joe DeFranco) twice a day.

I don't know, I'm lifting and running right now and I'm pretty much just always tight, not painful, just tight. I've injured things before so I understand being cautious about this, but honestly muscle tightness has always just been a constant issue for me. I did my run this morning just fine, but by the time I got back home I was having to baby step from the car into the house because everything had cooled and locked up. I've just accepted that trigger point work and really good stretching has to be a part of my daily routine. Usually though once I warm everything back up the tightness backs off.

So OP, here's my question, are you experiencing this tightness at all times, or is it worse after you've been sitting or holding the same position for long periods? Does it get better after you've started using the muscle again and warming it up? If so, I would say that while you might want to back off your load a little to give your muscles more recovery time, you should be ok as long as you are warming up and stretching properly and making sure you are keeping plenty hydrated and watching your electrolyte intake (the electrolytes are actually a big issue for me in keeping my muscles from turning in to solid knots).

Here's the thing and most people don't realize this; is that when a muscle is tight it's not moving correctly. If a muscle isn't moving correctly then other muscles have to overcompensate for it. When this happens, you can put yourself into the "cumulative injury cycle" and you're just going to keep screwing yourself up until you stop and fix the problem. Meaning, not only will injury occur to the muscle that's already not right; she can injure other muscles as well. If she's experiencing pain, she might be there already. I'm assuming she's not a professional or Olympic athlete, so why not take the time away from what's causing a problem to fix it and train what she can train?

QueenBishOTUniverse

Here's the thing and most people don't realize this; is that when a muscle is tight it's not moving correctly. If a muscle isn't moving correctly then other muscles have to overcompensate for it. When this happens, you can put yourself into the "cumulative injury cycle" and you're just going to keep screwing yourself up until you stop and fix the problem. Meaning, not only will injury occur to the muscle that's already not right; she can injure other muscles as well. If she's experiencing pain, she might be there already. I'm assuming she's not a professional or Olympic athlete, so why not take the time away from what's causing a problem to fix it and train what she can train?

I understand this, what I'm saying is it wouldn't matter how much time I took off, as soon as I started training again, I would be tight again, but that's AFTER my workouts. I make damn sure I am not tight DURING my workouts.

missdibs1

Ok when I got home yesterday

i warmed up,stretched, exeercised, and then stretched some more (all of this post massage). No discomfort AT ALL during weights/hiits But, immediately after , wham tight "quad" again (hip flexor IDK) I am so perplexed!

and now today once again i feel this tightness when walking ONLY when walking if I deep BW squat I feel a slight pull/ sit and stand nothing / but walk = pull pull pull

what is this ????

I think you will need to take at least a week off from training, if not more, and just focus on stretching & mobility for now. I know it's hard, but you're not competing in anything (I'm assuming at least) so why push yourself into a spot that can make it worse. Train what you can train without pain and don't do things that cause you pain. If it doesn't get better, find a Sports Med doctor.

It's hard for me to tell exactly what's wrong, but refer to the list I provided before and work on that stuff, minus the back issue I guess. LOL. If you can without pain... work on your adductor, hamstring, and lower back strength instead of squatting for now. Do Agile 8 or Limber 11 (both Joe DeFranco) twice a day.

I don't know, I'm lifting and running right now and I'm pretty much just always tight, not painful, just tight. I've injured things before so I understand being cautious about this, but honestly muscle tightness has always just been a constant issue for me. I did my run this morning just fine, but by the time I got back home I was having to baby step from the car into the house because everything had cooled and locked up. I've just accepted that trigger point work and really good stretching has to be a part of my daily routine. Usually though once I warm everything back up the tightness backs off.

So OP, here's my question, are you experiencing this tightness at all times, or is it worse after you've been sitting or holding the same position for long periods? Does it get better after you've started using the muscle again and warming it up? If so, I would say that while you might want to back off your load a little to give your muscles more recovery time, you should be ok as long as you are warming up and stretching properly and making sure you are keeping plenty hydrated and watching your electrolyte intake (the electrolytes are actually a big issue for me in keeping my muscles from turning in to solid knots).

Zero pain

No discomfort while exercising at all not a twinge

it is the day after I am super tight to the point I feel it when I walk

I will admit throughout the course of today I have felt it less (but I am busy working) lol

missdibs1

Ok I will try and rest up this weekend

I will stretch and see what happens

Def getting the foam roller

Sam_I_Am77

Ok I will try and rest up this weekend

I will stretch and see what happens

Def getting the foam roller

Good idea Your body definitely needs a chance to loosen up. If you can, do Agile 8 or Limber 11 twice each day and see how you feel Monday.

missdibs1

Omg I love foam rolling. Love it!!