Hi - I have been on a quest to figure out how to open up my left hip for about a year now and have been running into all sorts of dead ends. I am hoping that yinyoga.com can help me get to the bottom of this!
Here is an overview of my general situation - some of it is fact and some it is self diagnosis - please feel free to correct me at any point and I apologize in advance if this is too much information. I just know that the body is so interconnected that I figured I better be thorough.
I have been told that I have tight hip flexors. My iliopsoas muscles are shortened from prolonged sitting which has created a situation where my upper body is sort of sitting out in front of my lower body. I have a bit of an anterior tilt in the pelvis but instead of having increasing curvature in the lumbar spine which is typical in lordosis, it is actually sort of flattened out and forward (I have been told it's because my lowest lumbar vertebrae is actually fused to the sacrum on one side) and then rather than a nice smooth curve into the thoracic spine, there is almost like an inflection point where the lumbar sharply turns into the thoracic spine. Think "V" instead of "U". It is not dramatic, like you would have to be a professional chiropractor or PT to see it, but it's there. I used to be phenomenally sensitive in this region - like if I got a massage the muscles surrounding that area would feel like they were receiving an electric shock (not fun) but from the advice of a physical therapist I started rolling my back out on a foam roller and while I'm still sensitive there, the tension has subsided a lot.
I have shortened hamstrings from spending the last 10 years sitting at a computer. In my earlier days of practicing yoga I took it too far too fast and ended up tearing my hamstring attachments, the left side was more injured than the right but definitely both were injured. I had it diagnosed and the orthopedist told me about the torn hamstring attachment. She didn't say which hamstring though. I thought it was maybe the semi-tendinosis at first because it was the back of the inner thigh that was always tender. But then the pain and tightness started to also come from the inner groin area. I went to a physical therapist and she also pointed out that I have very tight adductor muscles. After a lot of study and analysis, I figured out that it was the adductor magnus that was torn at the ischial tuberosity and it was also starting to feel strained at the other insertion point in the front pelvis area. So I started rolling out the inner thigh and groin region with a foam roller and using tennis balls and with being really careful, I have been able to heal the tear and open the hamstrings more without reinjuring myself.
The other issue that I have discovered in the past year is discomfort in my left knee from sitting in sukhasana (which is so ironic considering it literally means comfort pose). After trying to do stretches to help open up my left hip, it just seems like it is stuck. I have barely any lateral rotation in the left femur when the hip is flexed and abducted ( I would say it rotates less than 45 degrees, the right hip alternatively is probably closer to 65-75 degrees). I don't feel pain in the left knee when sitting in baddha konasana (so when I have increased the abduction of the leg) but the knees still sit up really high. The knees sit up even higher when I try to anteriorly tilt my pelvis and sit directly on the sit bones).
Poses like sukhasana, square pose, ardha matsyendrasana, pigeon pose, cow pose are all nearly impossible to do on my left side because my femur will not laterally rotate enough when flexed. I do not have this problem at all on my right side. I am still tight relative to most yogis on the right side but I can at least enter these postures and hold with no pain. No matter what I do on the left side though the stretch always seems to transfer into my knee. It doesn't usually hurt while in the pose, but it definitely feels sore after on the outside of the knee and in the back of the knee. This makes it even harder to try opening my hip because I am afraid to hold a pose too long because I can't tell if it is going to hurt my knee or not until after the fact.
I have had x-rays and mris done and it doesn't seem that compression in the hip is the issue. It literally feels like its a joint capsule issue possibly combined with some tightness from previous injuries. I'd like to know if anyone out there can tell me what's going on with my left hip, if they know what is causing it and if there are common reasons why the femur will not laterally rotate and asanas and modifications that I can apply to help open up the joint capsule without hurting myself. I'd also be interested in knowing the part of my knee is getting compromised - as I mentioned before its the outside and back of the knee. I don't feel the need to be a "lotus" yogi, I just would like to be able sit comfortably in sukhasana without killing my left knee.
Anyone out there with any advice, I welcome it wholeheartedly. I am open to trying different asanas, stretches, physical therapy, chiropractor, you name it. I just want someone to really help me figure out whats going on with my left hip so I can get it unstuck!
Thank you!