You Can Enjoy Pain Free Living From Home
Author: Julie Donnelly, LMT –The Pain Relief Expert
Editor: Dr. Steve Chaney
You may not be an Irish dancer like the woman who sent this question, but if you are a runner, golfer, or you play tennis – or if you are just having chronic hip pain – you’ll find answers to the cause of your pain, and what you can do to resolve it!
The Cause of Bridget’s Chronic Hip Pain
I received this question recently.
I am a competitive Irish dancer. I love what I do, it is my passion. I am 40 years old and I have been Irish dancing since I was 35.
The pillar of Irish dancing is core muscles and hamstrings. The better I have gotten with my dancing, the worst my everyday pain in my high hamstrings right at the hip joint (Bicep Femoris). I have been in pain for 4 years now. It only gets worse.can you please advise.
Bridget
Obviously “Bridget” is overusing all of her muscles. She doesn’t have a “chronic hip pain condition” she has overuse syndrome, and it CAN be reversed easily. It’s just a matter of discovering what is causing the pain, finding the source of the pain, and then eliminating it with simple self-treatments.
My Answer For Bridget’s Chronic Hip Pain
Hi,
I LOVE Irish dancing, and I’ve always appreciated how grueling it is for the dancers from their hips to their feet. I’m happy to tell you that it is easy to treat each of the muscles, but it’s more than just your hip joint and hamstrings. This chronic hip pain pattern actually starts from your quadriceps, specifically your rectus femoris.
It will help you follow this discussion if you first read my article on hip joint pain relief . You’ll see that your quadriceps cause your leg to go straight after you bend your knee, so it is being repetitively strained from all of the dancing.
The rectus femoris is the only one of the four quadriceps that originates on the tip of your pelvis, so when it is being repetitively strained – and therefore shortening – it is pulling DOWN on your pelvis and UP on your knee.
As your pelvis rotates down from this strain, it causes the muscles of your hamstrings to become OVERSTRETCHED. The worst thing to do is to stretch your hamstrings without first treating the muscles that have caused your pelvis to rotate.
The overstretching occurs because the origin of your hamstrings are on the base of your pelvis. So as your posterior pelvis is pulling your hamstrings, which have their own spasms occurring and are tying the fibers into knots, they are now being overstretched as the pelvis moves.
The muscles of your hip become involved because they are twisted as your pelvis pulls them down in the front, and contracts them as your pelvis moves up in the back. This puts a great strain on the top of your thigh bone, called the greater trochanter.
You need to do your self-treatments in a specific way to sequentially release your muscles in a manner that will reverse the domino-effect your rectus femoris is putting on your pelvis. As you release each muscle in what is called the Julstro Protocol , your pelvis will be able to release.
As a dancer, I suggest you self-treat each of the muscles regularly, even daily. This will force out the toxins that are created as you dance for hours, and will enable your muscles to heal while you sleep so you’ll be fresh in the morning and not carrying around yesterday’s pain.
You can release all of the muscles that are causing your chronic hip pain, and you’ll find that you’re dancing better, with more flexibility, and you’ll also feel stronger.
Wishing you well,
Julie Donnelly
About The Author
Julie Donnelly is a Deep Muscle Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience specializing in the treatment of chronic joint pain and sports injuries. She has worked extensively with elite athletes and patients who have been unsuccessful at finding relief through the more conventional therapies.
She has been widely published, both on – and off – line, in magazines, newsletters, and newspapers around the country. She is also often chosen to speak at national conventions, medical schools, and health facilities nationwide.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.