Snapping hip/yoga butt/hyper-flexibility help

How do you want to grow?
1

Hi,

I’ve been practicing on the site for 5/6 years on and off… Am currently at an intermediate level but I having some trouble with one of my hips. It first started clunking/snapping where it joins at the groin/butt. I realised that my hip was probably a bit too externally rotated, and have managed to stabilise it so that it doesn’t snap/clunk so much but now a pain has moved into my sit bone. I had this same sit bone pain problem last year, read a bit about it and stopped doing yoga out of fear of further injury. I don’t want to give up my practice this time but I know it needs some changes. I am very flexible from my practice, especially in forward folds, and I had strength to balance it but now I’ve been forced into a more sedentary lifestyle with study and a winter depression coming on. I think from lying and sitting down too much my strength is fading a bit while by flexibility seems to remain and this is leading to injury.

After taking a few days rest (unfortunately with a lot of sitting) the pain seems to be worsening (admittedly it is not at all severe at this stage, but I listen to my body when it speaks)

How should I adjust my practice so I can keep doing yoga without fear? I know I need to adjust forward folding but I’m not sure in what way… some sources say to bend knees (which seems to hurt more), some say straighten legs. Is there a way to skip forward folds in asanas? Is there a class that maximises leg/butt/core strength I need to balance my flexibility?

I have paused my practice at day 8 of the empower yourself 30 day intermediate challenge (I did Rachel’s core strength for bow pose a few days ago). I’ll take it up again when I know I won’t hurt myself any further.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated… mainly just the adjusting forward folds bit…

Thank you for all you do.

Hannah

1 Like
2

Hello, Hannah.

Thanks for reaching out. It’s difficult to diagnose at a distance, since issues like this involve so many moving parts, but I would recommend that you begin with a more gentle hatha yoga class that has a thorough routine of strengthening, stretch and relaxation for the area around the pelvis. A great class would be Yoga for Lower Back Pain: Strengthen, Stretch and Relax Your Back I.

That class is part of a 2-part series, with a second class that is a little more challenging. You could do the first class daily or every second day for a week or so, then move onto Yoga for Lower Back Pain: Strengthen, Stretch and Relax Your Back II.

Let me know how it goes.

Cheers,

David

1 Like
3

Hello Hannah, I was scrolling to post a response to someone else who I think had inquired about supports or modifications for bursitis and I saw your post. I’m an occupational therapist who also happens to be going through some medical issues atm (hypermobility syndrome- EDS type being one of them) which has made me quite injury prone & yoga tricky! I emphasize with your feelings of not wanting to give up a meaningful practice but cautious in not wanting to injure yourself. Depending on the extent of your pain, postural instability, and other symptoms there are a variety of supports (e.g. padded/compression knee sleeves that would minimize pain during bending while offloading pressure while you’re weight bearing, elbow protectors, wrist supports, modifying exercises as you said, use of blocks, non slip mats, grip socks etc) most OT/PT website will have helpful resources based on your needs. Lots of simple exercises you could do at home for your hips as well! Good luck!

1 Like