Only sore in one hip! Urgent!

[swan#7]

I'm having a huge issue right now. I'm stronger in my left leg, but my right leg has always had better turnout. It's farther down in frogs/supine frogs/butterfly, but in general less flexible than my left.

This year I've been really focusing on engaging my turnout muscles by making sure I use both my inner thighs and my glutes to hold my turnout. Lately, I've been more sore in my right leg. It's really weird because I've been trying to work my left leg more because turnout isn't as natural, but I don't feel it! I just keep getting this sore feeling under and on the side of my hips.

Today I was doing the clam on the reformer, and I told my pilates teacher that I could relax my right side when I was doing my left leg clams. She said it may be because I have an uneven piriformis or because I'm sitting on one side. I have an issue with being too far back in my heels, and I usually get corrected on this when I'm on my right side. I don't know if this has something to do with it? Either way, I'm really confused and almost want to feel sore in my other leg now! Can anyone help/has anyone experienced this?

[Victoria Leigh]

Welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers swan#7!

 

We can't really tell why one side is sore without working with you, but you have two positive things going for you, the Pilates teacher, and your knowledge that you tend to sit back in your heels. Correcting that should make a great deal of difference in everything. Your ballet teacher should be working on that with you, but also the Pilates teacher should be able to help. We are all different in terms of being better on one side or the other for various things, just like being left handed or right handed. Our bodies are not symmetrical, so, you have to learn correct alignment and weight placement in order to be able to work all of the muscles equally and not harm them by being in a place where one side takes too much strain.

[swan#7]

My teacher has been working on getting me on my leg a lot. Just to clarify, standing correctly is when you're so far foward you can go to releve without shifting weight? Whenever my teacher corrects me I feel like I'm going to fall over! I asked my other ballet teacher about it, and she thought it may have to do with an uneven leg length. I guess I'll just need to keep working on fixing my placement.

[Victoria Leigh]

You should have your weight forward enough to not be sitting in your heels, even though they are on the floor. But standing correctly involves a whole lot more than than. There is a great 'pinned' topic on the Adult Ballet Students Forum which explains, in great detail, correct alignment. It is written by one of our teachers, Clara 76, and it might help you a lot to read it!