Pain: correcting surf stance

[Vumad]

I've been having a lot of left hip pain. I'm wondering if its related to too much time in surf and wakeboarding stance, left foot forward.

Has anyone had any related experiences? How severe? What were the corrections?

I see an ortho Thursday. I'm hoping its chronic posture that can be corrected with pt and not something more severe like a labral tear.

 

[Sanoman]

Been to the chiropractor a number of times because of surf stance.My hips get out of alignment.l get adjusted and try to remember not to stand that way so much.Dont know if you go or believe in going to the chiro but that helped me a ton.

 

[550/440]

Chiro is great for ski related injuries, but finding a good chiropractor is difficult... good luck!

 

[Vumad]

Pain has been progressive over the last 3ish months. Last week it was pretty bad so I went to physical therapy twice, massage therapist once and chriopractor once. Worse this week.

 

[aero92x]

Sorry to hear you are in pain. Take Advil before and after the ride! Ride both goofy and regular!

 

[mthomps]

What direction are your toes facing?

 

[Vumad]

What direction are your toes facing?

Depends on what I am doing.

Racing: front foot is usually parallel - 30* back food is anywhere from parallel to perpendicular. Stock tray width, no kicker.

Flatwater: I don't have holds, just wedges, so both feet are usually parallel.

Left leg feels super tight down the lateral side. Tried foam rolling my tfl and it band. Seems to help some. Found my glute medius with a tennis ball last night. Seemed to help too.

 

[MADMAT]

Yes I get this....try several chiros until you find a good one. I can go in to my Chiros office and walk out feeling way better! It comes back but 2 minutes with him has me feeling great for 3 weeks+....

 

[KTM434]

I've had the same issue but not with my hip, it's my lower back. The muscle surrounding my spine on my right side always gets real tight and sore after riding a lot. I rode for a straight week for the Daytona Freeride which killed me for a solid week. I've been to a chiropractor for dirtbike injuries in the past and they definitely help. For jetskis I recently bought an inversion table. After riding when my back feels tight or sore I hang upside down for a few minutes and repeat if necessary. I lay on the floor and try to stretch my back by crossing one leg over the other and do the opposite with my arms to really twist and stretch the muscles. Seems to have been working really well for me. I plan on also running a pole spring soon to help. Also when riding surf at an inlet I will sometimes switch my stance when I'm riding back through the inlet back to the cars just to stretch/work myself opposite of how I had been riding for the last hour

 

[MADMAT]

Oh yea inversion is great too! You don't need it often....but it helps....a good chiro is better though. If I could start my life over I would be a chiropractor....the good ones are friggin wizards man!!

 

[KTM434]

I agree about a chiropractor for injuries, alignment, and deep tissue massages. But I ride every Sunday and don't have the time or money to visit a chiro after every ride. I actually learned a lot by going to the chiro (I only went twice and it helped) and I'm able to stretch, crack myself if necessary. The inversion table is great for decompressing and re-aligning your spine which is usually the cause of your tight muscles. I'm no genius about that stuff but when your back muscles are killing you it's because of spine misalignment usually and just maintaining your spine and stretching your muscles prevents a lot of injuries IMO.

 

[MADMAT]

Yes the good ones are great teachers first and foremost!

 

[KTM434]

I've only had the inversion table for maybe 1-2 months but I've had nights where I could feel my back muscle getting real tight and sending sharp pains like a pinched nerve. I dragged the inversion table out and gave that a few sessions... Wasn't sure if it was too late to correct the pain since I could tell this was a situation that would last a few days with extreme pain... Stretched that night on the inversion table then slept it off and I was good to go in the morning. Just very slight soreness the next day in that same muscle that was shooting pains the night before. That's a win in my eyes. It was an $80 well spent from Craigslist. Maybe someone has more ideas to add. I've considered taking calcium and glucosomine pills for bone strength an joint health. I don't drink milk like I did when I was younger and I'd like to avoid injuries. Sometimes flat landing a big surf backflip is a little rough on the wrists

 

[MADMAT]

I wish I lived next door to my chiros office!

For me it is like 50/50.....sometimes inverting helps....sometimes need a chiro which always helps...

Your head and upper body (when upside down) are just not heavy enough to fix the problem sometimes....

Pull ups help sometimes too.....backs are so intricate man!!

I wouldn't mind some more calcium/joint help too but I have no idea what is good...

 

[Fro Diesel]

@Vumad

It could be your IT band and not your hip. It runs alongside your muscles and mine causes me problems from time to time due to sitting and clutching in traffic.

My issues have been in the knees, I went to a run clinic and they told me to focus on bringing my non dominate leg up harder and the knee pain has started to go down. When was the last time you did a good leg workout? Without a SOLiD core, your are pretty vulnerable to injury in the surf.

 

[Joker]

@KTM434 what motions cause the pain? Thoracic twisting? Bending forward? Lateral movement? Localized or radiating pain?

 

[KTM434]

I think bending forward and it's localized pain in the lower back just on the right side. I may know for sure Sunday night haha

 

[Joker]

Just to rule out an offset hip I would lay down on a table or something solid and have someone look to see if your ankles are aligned. If your hips are offset it will be apparent in your ankles.

 

[KTM434]

If it's a hip and my ankles aren't even what should I do?

 

[Joker]

Have someone grab your heal and the top of foot on the ankle that is closer to your body. Relax and have them do one quick jerk keeping the leg and body in line. You should feel a slight pop. And should fix the problem.

Disclaimer I am not a doctor of any sorts I just know a little bit about athletic injuries.