popping hips

[Jody Holeton]

Dear all,

Does anybody here have their hips pop?
I am assuming this is from all the leg stretching I used to do in TKD.

[gmanry]

Jody,

You are certainly not the first to mention the popping hips problem in conjunction with TKD or kicking in general.

I had a problem in my teens when something in my hip would slip out of place and it would lock up completely. I used to have to slide down a wall to sit, and then I could "pop" it back in to place. My doctor said it was because I stretched while I was going through a growth phase. I may have outpaced my joints ability to keep up.

Now, in my 30's, I am finding that paying attention to the real angles through which my hips operate is very important. To the front, to the back, and to the side don't cut it as an explanation.
The hip is a bowl shaped girdle with those lovely ball and socket joints. Just analyzing an upward knee lift is useful. What is your support foot doing? Is it aiding in your hips opening to the right angle so you can lift that knee or are you working the hip flexors against the rest of the hip joint too much?

These nagging injuries are often an excellent opportunity to learn about all the little things you are doing that tear your joints up over time.

Also, as I said in the crackling knee thread, get on those hip machines at a gym or do hip abductor and adductor exercises like flies and side leg raises with light ankle weights and moderate to high reps (slowly). These exercises are often neglected by many, especially men, and they are critical to good kicking, throwing, and just about everything else, as the hips and the abdomen are the center of movement.

I hope this helps. If it is a persistent and serious problem for you, definitely go to a doctor.

[Chuck.Gordon]

Yes. Left hip. At will. All the time.

Em says it's your IT band ... I think, maybe if you take the tympani out of it, it'll stop popping, but she just laughs and jams her elbow in three inches deep into my thigh ...

Sigh.

Chuck