Orthopedic   Massage

Answer

This is not uncommon in active people reaching their forties, but remember, you're forty not twenty. Aside from that you should be able to continue to play. I usually explain it this way, when you're two you can touch your head to the floor without bending your knees, when you're sixteen you can touch the floor with your fingers, when your thirty-five you may touch your ankles and when your forty-six you're lucky if you can touch your knees. If there is one thing I can suggest to anyone hoping to avoid injuries its ‘stretch'.

For your problem start by having someone test the range of motion (ROM) of your psoas muscles. These are powerful core muscles that can pull on the lower (lumbar) spine. What I believe you will find is the psoas on the right will be tighter than the left causing a distortion in the lumbar spine. If this is the case a massage therapist will be able to help release the tension, with massage and stretching and balance the right and the left psoas. Stretching is an integral part of the healing process. Because of what you do both for a living and playing, all the major muscles groups in the hip area should be stretched on a regular basis. When I say stretch this is not a five minute quickie but a concentrated effort to loosen and lengthen the muscles. The muscles I refer to are the quads, hamstrings and the abductors of the hips. Stretching can be uncomfortable and for some reason after a few minutes we want to quit, don't, feel the muscle stretching, imagine the muscle fibers lengthening. This will make a difference.

My book, The Reason You're Hurting, contains details on releasing and stretching needed to begin the healing process. Publication is slated for 2011.

Yours in Healing,
Allan Drew

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