Inability/pain when kicking high and other injury concerns

[YakazukiMike]

Hey all,

My first post here. I've been meaning to join here for awhile just never got around to it. A little about myself. I have my 2nd degree black belt in the art of Shotokan Karate. I've studied since I was a kid around 9... so over a decade of study.

I am having various pains seem like they are hitting me out of nowhere and they are really affecting my life in general, especially karate.

I'm only 27 and in good shape. I'll start with the biggest concern is my inability to kick high when just a few years ago I had no problem throwing clean round houses to opponent's heads! Now I can still do it on my right leg but it is hampered because I get a pain/tightness in my hip area that slows me down. The left side (which I am left handed) for some reason I cannot get high at all. It looks absolutely pathetic. When I try to kick high on my left side there is a really strong, sharp pain in my hip area.

Another thing is I have to get foot surgery next week because of a bad toe joint that hurts when I simply walk. Now imagine doing kata or trying to spar. It is beyond frustrating.

Lastly, I believe I have a torn muscle in my knee from years of ju-jitsu because I cannot cross my legs, sit with knees folded, or hold any kind of squatted position for very long without my knees building up tremendous pressure, pain and feeling like they are on fire.

I'm really at a loss here because I've been 2nd degree for so many years and want continue on learning... I also want to do tournaments again, but these aforementioned injuries are simply stopping me. What is the best way to tackle this? Periods of rest and stretching seem to do nothing.

[Wastelander]

My recommendation would be to see an orthopedic doctor and physical therapist. They are professionals who can really diagnose your issues and help you to recover.

[Nidan Melbourne]

Like Wastelander said go see a Orthopedic Surgeon as they specialize in this type of problem.

Any Physical Therapist Profession can give you an idea of what is going on. A Physiotherapist is probably the best port of call if you don't want to consult a doctor about the pain and discomfort of kicking and that it is affecting your daily life.

In Martial Arts we do get really tight muscles in our legs from a lot of Kicks and stances that we all do. So you probably are suffering from those effects.

Also from your old jujitsu injury it would be affecting your kicking ability.

For you to continue really you need to sort out the muscular issues because they are really inhibiting you. So a Physiotherapist can really help you here because they can help you resolve these issues.

also welcome to the forum!

[wayneshin]

I would be stunned f your foot injury isn’t contributing to your hip problem because you have had to change the way you move.

A couple of years ago my daughter (who at the time was 19 and has been training since she was 4) was having similar problems – her kicks had deteriorated over a number of years. It turns out she had development bones spurs on her hip joints, the right (she is right handed) was far worse than the left. This meant the hips were not moving freely within the hip capsule. She also had developed severe osteitis pubis (inflamation of the pubic bone). At the time we became aware of a number of other similar age kids on our state and National team (different clubs) who had similar hip related problems. My daughter ended up needing surgery on both hips. Apparently it was caused by a combination of genetics, her foot position and specifically tightness in the iliopsoas (hip flexor) area. Because there were a few having similar problems we got a physiotherapist who specialised in dealing with Elite sports involved and she believed the problems were caused by so much training on the reverse punch combined with not enough hip flexor stretching. Other factors such as restricted mobility in the foot and ankle may also have contributed.

If it is anything similar to this it is not going to go away on its own. You need to get it checked out.

[Nidan Melbourne]

I would be stunned f your foot injury isn’t contributing to your hip problem because you have had to change the way you move

Well when it comes to a foot injury and it is causing pain, people will normally change the way that they walk to avoid such pain. So the change in angle/movement of the leg will affect the knee and hip since it was "travelling" up the leg.

[wayneshin]

I would be stunned f your foot injury isn’t contributing to your hip problem because you have had to change the way you move

Well when it comes to a foot injury and it is causing pain, people will normally change the way that they walk to avoid such pain. So the change in angle/movement of the leg will affect the knee and hip since it was "travelling" up the leg.

Hmmm. Not sure if your agreeing or disagreeing but that is exactly the point I was making.

[bushido_man96]

My recommendation would be to see an orthopedic doctor and physical therapist. They are professionals who can really diagnose your issues and help you to recover.

I agree. It sounds like you've got a lot going on there, and it would be difficult for us to diagnose from behind a keyboard. Get to a doctor, and see if you can get some physical therapy arranged.

Welcome to KF, and I really hope to see you around! Keep reading and posting; its motivational...

[bjones0727]

It turns out she had development bones spurs on her hip joints, the right (she is right handed) was far worse than the left. This meant the hips were not moving freely within the hip capsule. She also had developed severe osteitis pubis (inflamation of the pubic bone). At the time we became aware of a number of other similar age kids on our state and National team (different clubs) who had similar hip related problems. My daughter ended up needing surgery on both hips. Apparently it was caused by a combination of genetics, her foot position and specifically tightness in the iliopsoas (hip flexor) area.

I'm currently 5 weeks post-op from a surgery very similar, if not the same as this. I thought I was the only one in the world I had FAI (Femoroacetabular Impingement) as well as a very large acetabular labral tear. Luckily once they got in there, the iliopsoas lengthening procedure wasn't needed, so they "just" reshaped the bone, removing the extra, and re-anchored the labrum back to the acetabulum... and here we are..

[sensei8]

My recommendation would be to see an orthopedic doctor and physical therapist. They are professionals who can really diagnose your issues and help you to recover.

Ditto!!

[DWx]

It turns out she had development bones spurs on her hip joints, the right (she is right handed) was far worse than the left. This meant the hips were not moving freely within the hip capsule. She also had developed severe osteitis pubis (inflamation of the pubic bone). At the time we became aware of a number of other similar age kids on our state and National team (different clubs) who had similar hip related problems. My daughter ended up needing surgery on both hips. Apparently it was caused by a combination of genetics, her foot position and specifically tightness in the iliopsoas (hip flexor) area.

I'm currently 5 weeks post-op from a surgery very similar, if not the same as this. I thought I was the only one in the world I had FAI (Femoroacetabular Impingement) as well as a very large acetabular labral tear. Luckily once they got in there, the iliopsoas lengthening procedure wasn't needed, so they "just" reshaped the bone, removing the extra, and re-anchored the labrum back to the acetabulum... and here we are..

How's the recovery going? Hopefully you'll be back training soon.

Just be thankful you're not my instructor. Bone spurs in the hip and years of the leg grinding in the socket means he's been told he's due a hip replacement... in his 40s.

I agree with wayneshin's suggestion of the foot injury being at least partly responsible. It all usually connects together. I was seeing a physio due to back problems. His assessment was it was all due to how I walk. Splaying out my right leg slightly for some reason, compensating with hip position which is exacerbated by tight hip flexor and quads leading to anterior pelvic tilt, and so on and as a net result bad back ache. Aside from stretching, I ended up with insoles to correct weight distribution through my feet.

See a professional OP and see what they say.