Pain in right hip flexor area during grand jete

[Guest sdj3]

I get a bad pain right below my right hip bone (the leg extending to the back) nearly everytime I grand jete or saut de chat (sp?) to my left. This has been happening ever since I started taking ballet classes again after 5 years off. The pain usually persists for one or two minutes, then wanes. It is a sudden pain, that feels tight and very sore, making it difficult to put weight on my right leg. I never have this problem with the other leg to the right. My left leg is slightly stronger and more flexible, but that is the only difference I can sense. My right hip has always been tighter than the left. I'm always completely warmed up before doing these jumps, so that's not the issue. I stretch my hip flexors slowly and carefully before and during class (only periodically during class, I try not to over-stretch).

 

Any ideas why, or how to help?

[lampwick]

I have no advice to add other than the careful stretching and warming-up that you mentioned, but I can offer some sympathy. My right psoas muscle gives me a lot of problems too. I'm still trying to figure it all out.

 

I often get a sensation like my leg is actually dislocating from the hip socket when I stretch. It can also "pop" out during cambre forward and saut de chat left (the force of my "taking off" leg seems to pull it out. When it does this, my psoas muscle really feels strained. In my case, it seems like my joints are a bit loose and I need to build strength. A PT told me I actually have very weak hip flexors and need to work on strengthening them (Most people are too tight!)

 

PT or some supervised Pilates could help. You probably need someone to look you over and try to figure out how your pelvis is situated and how you're using it in ballet. You may need to build up the network of muscles around your hips in a very specific way for stability.

 

I've gotten ultrasound and massage done on my psoas muscle a couple of times and this took away the pain completely. Strangely, it also got rid of some persistant hamstring pain as well. If I don't get it "worked on", the pain seems to come back. I can alleviate it a bit on my own with stretching and flexing hips in certain directions (too individual to explain on-line), but the pain is a bit stubborn at the moment.

 

I've learned a lot about my own body by going to the chiropractor and working with a Pilates instructor on some issues. Your ballet teacher may be able to come up with some ideas for things that may help you.

good luck.

[hart]

Please forgive my ignorance, but is a hip flexor and psoas the same thing?

[lampwick]

Hip flexor muscles are the Iliacus, Psoas major, and quadricep femoris muscle. From my (limited) understanding, the psoas is the big powerful one that attaches to the lower back.

[scoop]

Wow, it's funny what a rash of right hip problems we have on the board at the moment! My hip, which had been aching for a while, recently popped during grand jetes -- it was exactly that dislocating feeling you described, lampwick -- and I could barely put any weight on it afterward.

 

My doctor thinks it's tendinitis -- basically an inflamation of the hip muscles -- and the only solution for that, she says, is ice, anti-inflammatories and taking a couple weeks off. We both were surprised at how quickly -- several days -- the pain went away.

 

I've started back in class, but very slowly -- I'm not pushing my turnout, and I'm not doing much jumping yet. What I'm trying to do is really pay attention to what's going on with my body during class and figure out what I might be doing wrong -- it's odd that it's only the right hip because I've never noticed a difference in strength or flexibility on either side. I'll probably eventually see a physical therapist or some other specialist, but I feel like I don't have enough information yet.

 

sdj3, have you seen anyone about this yet? You probably should before it gets worse.

[Guest sdj3]

Thanks for the advice. I have made an appointment with my doctor to get a PT referral (what a waste of time and copay ). Anyway, I'll let you all know what the PT says. In the meantime, I guess I'll just be extra vigilant about proper hip placement and usage.

[Garyecht]

Going to the doctor for a diagnosis is the right thing to do. My experience with these kinds of injuries, however, is that sometimes doctors cannot come up with an accurate diagnosis or effective treatment for these kinds of injuries. You figure this out after a few weeks when pain persists despite treatment. If that turns out to be the case, usually you are on your own to find an effective treatment. A side benefit to this is that you often wind up knowing more than the professionals about your body and its reaction to both activates and treatment.

[Guest sdj3]

According to xrays, my PT says I have arthritis in my hip. He has prescribed a low dosage anti-inflammatory, and did some ultra-sound. He said it is actually common in dancers because of the extreme stress we place on our joints. Anyway, I'm going to try the anti-inflammatory for a few weeks to see if that alone will do the job.

[scoop]

Oh, sorry to hear about the arthritis. Seems like all the -itises are treated with anti-inflammatories. Best of luck getting back to pain-free dancing -- let us know how you do.

[lampwick]

sdj3

That is too bad about the arthritis. I've been rather in denial about that myself and blaming the pain on everything else. Tight psoas, weak psoas, muscle imbalance, poor posture, bad weather....The ultrasound might actually help...it seems to alleviate the pains I get in my hips. The worst is when I spend too long sitting down at work. Getting up is not fun.

 

Somebody suggested undenatured type 2 collagen suppliments to me. They are supposed to be good for joint health. I may try them myself though the cost seems a bit steep for the good stuff. Maybe worth asking you doctor about.

 

You were brave to get the x ray.