3 Techniques for Eliminating Tensor Fasciae Latae Pain

3 Techniques for Eliminating Tensor Fasciae Latae Pain
Grown used to an aching pain on the side of your hip? Just accepted that the soreness is there to stay? It’s likely tensor fascia latae pain – a common complaint that can be eased with a little knowledge and these clever techniques. What is the Tensor Fasciae Latae? The word tensor fasciae latae is kind of a mouthful, so let’s break it down. Basically, that jumble of words means a wide band that can be tightened or stretched. This muscle starts on the front of your pelvis’ iliac crest and runs down the side of your thigh to connect with your iliotibial tract – or your IT band, as you might have heard it called [1]. Your tensor fasciae latae (TFL) has a lot of biomechanical functions and plays a key role in the way you move and get around. It works to abduct and flex your hip and to internally rotate your leg when the hip is flexed. Your TFL also works to help steady your torso over your thighs. This is a particularly important function when it comes to walking. Your TFL balances both your body weight and the leg that isn’t bearing weight as you walk [2]. So, thanks to your TFL, you can do a lot of cool stuff while staying well balanced over your feet. TFL Synergists There are two main problems that people face with their TFL – inhibition and facilitation. Inhibition basically means that the muscle isn’t working when it should, while facilitation means that it’s over-working. You can also think of these issues as under activation and over activation. Facilitation occurs because other muscles that do similar jobs to the TFL aren’t working properly. When these muscles, known as synergists, become under activated and inhibited, your TFL can go into overdrive to pick up the slack. A lot of muscles share these responsibilities, but here are the prime movers for actions in your hip that are shared by the TFL [3]: Hip abduction: gluteus medius Hip internal rotation: gluteus minimus Hip flexion: iliopsoas and rectus femoris So, for example, if your iliopsoas becomes inhibited and doesn’t work like should to flex your hip, in addition to atrophying due to lack of use, your TFL will become overactive and likely tighten up [4]. This overactivity and tightening of your TFL can lead to pain and swelling because the muscle is working hard but never recovers… … so much so that studies have shown that in people with pain, their TFL is up to two and a half times the size of a normal TFL [5]! A Vicious Cycle of Soreness When your TFL works more than it should, surrounding muscles are further inhibited because they’re lazy and think, “Why work when the TFL is doing everything?” Over time, the TFL will have to work even more and experience greater facilitation. This facilitation and overuse of your TFL is just like what happens to your muscles after a hard workout (especially if it’s been a while) – delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). DOMS is that sensation of stiff and sore muscles you feel a day or two after an intense session at the gym. Only in the case of tensor fascia latae pain, it’s not a good workout that’s causing the pain. It’s chronic overuse. This is bad because, unlike your workouts which are targeted and purposeful, this is just an ongoing, unintentional ache. And unlike workouts, which you (hopefully) are spacing out to give yourself time to recover, your TFL isn’t getting this kind treatment. In other words, you wouldn’t do 1RM squats or train only your upper body every day. But, if your TFL is over-facilitated, it’s getting a major workout day-in, day-out without any recovery or rest days. Your TFL becomes chronically overworked and because it’s never given the chance to recover, chronically painful. Because of the root causes of TFL pain, effective treatments have to address the improper muscle use behind the tightness, swelling, and chronic soreness – and not just try to mask the symptoms that result. Getting to the Root of Tensor Fascia Latae Pain When I was studying Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo, one of my co-op work placements was at a physio/chiro clinic where Active Release Techniques (ART) were heavily used. This was back in 2000 so ART was an emerging form of manual therapy at the time and I saw some of the patients get some great results from it. One weekend I met up with my buddy Matt, who was a nationally ranked mountain biker. He was complaining that he’d been suffering from IT band pain for a few weeks. At the clinic, I’d recently seen the chiro do some ART on the IT band of a figure skater, so I did the same thing to my buddy. After just one treatment, his IT band pain was gone and it never came back. I was young, inexperienced and didn’t understand the root causes of pain so after that experience I believed ART and deep trigger point style therapy was the cure all for chronic musculoskeletal pain. I was quickly taught this wasn’t the case after hammering away at people who complained of pain where it didn’t actually help. Now I understand that trigger points can occur for a number of different reasons, one of the most common being facilitation of the affected muscle due to inhibition of a synergist of that muscle. Because of this, all of the massage and trigger point work in the world won’t work until other muscles that are supposed to work start working. 3 Techniques for Eliminating Tensor Fasciae Latae Pain Now that we understand what’s causing that TFL pain, let’s try to reduce it. Here are a couple techniques that eliminate TFL pain by accomplishing a few things. For one, they’ll help relax and de-activate that over activated muscle with an effective TFL stretch. Secondly, they’ll help teach your body how to properly engage the synergistic muscles so they start pulling their own weight when it comes to movements like abducting, flexing and internally rotating your hip. This activation should help facilitate the proper muscles and allow your TFL to catch a break. That way, this important muscle isn’t so overworked and can be as efficient as possible when you need it – like maintaining the balance of your upper body over your legs as you run or workout. Hip Abduction: Straight & Bent Leg Monster Walks – 8 to 12 reps per side Keep legs straight – no bend in your knees – and start to step side to side towards the right Take a couple steps and switch directions – step side to side towards the left, keeping your legs straight Next, bend your knees and keep them bent as you step side to side in one direction and then the other, as above Do 8 to 12 reps per side for each method, straight and bent leg Internal rotation with hip flexion: Dead Bug with Internal Hip Rotation – x 3 reps per, 10 sec hold Internally rotate your bent leg so the knee points more toward the midline As you’re rotating, start to press the right hand into your left knee and press your knee back into your hand Hold for 10 seconds and switch – your right leg should now come up and internally rotate as your left hand reaches over and presses against the leg Complete 3 reps on each side, 10 sec hold Mountain Climber Holds – x 5 reps per, 3 sec hold Flex the hip to bring your right leg in toward the chest As you bring your leg in, internally rotate your hip and drive your knee up in between your arms Hold for 3 seconds, then switch sides, bringing your left leg in and internally rotating before holding Complete 5 reps on each side, 3 sec hold Try out these techniques and see what happens to that tensor fascia latae pain. This method is an intelligent approach to pain relief that works with your neuromuscular system… …Not a quick-fix approach to pain relief that works against your body and ignores the main issue, like muscle relaxers tend to do. With these techniques, your TFL pain should ease up and your surrounding muscles should become more engaged, and over time, stronger. Original article and pictures take http://www.precisionmovement.coach/tensor-fasciae-latae-pain-techniques/ site