Comments on: What is a Tensor Fasciae Latae and Why does Mine Hurt?

By: Donald Brown

Donald Brown — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:41:49 +0000

I have read all your problems associated with TFL, I am a Certified Orthopedic Massage Therapist through OMERI. I am also a Professional Disc Golf player, and play probably too much which really aggrivates my TFL from constant walking and pushing off with my left hip flexor. I suggest that you research self massage, specially the hip flexor (TFL) and use trigger point therapy or neuromuscular therapy technique to relieve the trigger points that are constantly firing. If you will take your thumb and press on the trigger point while flexing the muscle slightly and I emphasize slightly you will feel it start releasing. If you are unable to accomplish this locate a massage therapist that is certified in NMT and who also works with atheletes to work with you to relieve those trigger points. I’m 57 yrs old and have been a therapist for over 12 yrs, playing disc golf since 1984, I also have to relieve my TFL after every tournament day or else I can’t play the next day. Good luck.

By: Felicia

Felicia — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:15:39 +0000

Thanks for the detailed instructions. Please do check back and let us know if the exercises work.

By: sheila kavanagh

sheila kavanagh — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:38:39 +0000

I’m a long-distance runner, and I have just seen a physio for exactly the same pain. She gave me some exercises to do which will strengthen my vastus lateralus and medial glutes. She says that because these are weak my legs are wanting to collapse inwards too much, creating a biomechanical difficulty, totally correctable with exercise. To test if this is a problem for you, do a 30 degree squat on front of a full length mirror, keeping your knee in alignment with your hip and (the outside of) your foot. If you are wobbly in the knees the abductor muscles on the outside of the leg are weak. The same squat done with a resistance band tied just above your knees, pulling the knee out into alignment, holding each repeat for anything up to a minute, will strengthen the outside quad and glutes. There are also exercises to do lying down on your side, with the band around your knees. Bending at the knee, aligning the soles of your feet with your spine, lift the top leg up, resisting the band, not allowing your hip to rotate backwards during the movement (if your hips go out of alignment you will not be working the relevant muscles. Hold for 10 seconds each rep, then ‘pulse’ up and down slightly for 10 more, to increase the burn. Engage your abdominal/core muscles when you are doing these exercises – another version of the side raises is to do them with the bottom knee slightly off the floor, which means you engage core muscles more. My physio says I should see improvement in about 4 weeks if I do these every day. I’m on my third day doing them and am doing three sets of the side raises, two sets with the knee off the mat, and six sets of the squats, holding for up to 50 seconds each rep, alternating legs. Hope the instructions here are easy to follow, for anyone wanting to try the exercises. I’ll check back in here in a few weeks if anyone’s curious to see if it solves the problem .

By: PB

PB — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:18:59 +0000

Hi all

I’ve recently had a similar problem and the physio I went to was very thorough. He is focussing less on the healing and more on the root cause of this (and many other related issues such as shin splints and hamstring strains).

Basically the root cause is weak glutes that are not ‘firing’. Therefore the quads, calves and other muscle groups are having to make up the slack.

An easy test is to stand relaxed and have someone hang a weighted string from your hip bone. It should rest over the ankle bone (body aligned and standing straight) but if it is resting over the middle of your foot then your glutes are not firing and keeping your posture properly aligned.

So for the moment I am doing some gentle exercises to just gentle rock back into proper alignment while standing, plus another where I do a sideways hip-flexor leg lift.

By: Bryce

Bryce — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:39:23 +0000

So interesting to read all your posts, yes I read every one…Because I am a runner who has had hip pain for over a year now. Pain bad enough to stop my running. The pain is exactly on my outside hip bone, like if you are standing and put your hands on your hips, the right hip bone is right where I have burning pain. It is always bad after I’ve run. The worst was June 2010 after a half marathon, I was in so much pain after the race I could hardly stand up straight. I rested for about 4 months, used ice, ibuprofen, stretched, the pain started to fade so I gradually began to run again. The burning pain on my hip bone came back quickly. I stopped running and did stretching and bodyrock exercises(like p90x). Pain & swelling then attacked my knee so bad I couldn’t bend it.
I’m thinking it is my TFL muscle and must be the IT band too to affect my knee. It’s just miserable not being able to exercise. I have been going to a yoga class once in awhile when I can and the instructor told me to use a tennis ball and lay on it right on my side(hip/butt)and let it work in to my muscle for a few minutes. I haven’t noticed an improvement but I will keep doing it because I have no other answer. It is so depressing to not be able to run or even do regular aerobic exercise, especially when all my friends keep at it…anyways it is nice to know I’m not alone. I wish you all health & healing in 2012!