Restoring Abductor Flexibility

[David the Gnome]

I am looking for advice on some stretches or exercises I can do to help restore flexibility to my abductors (the muscles that run up the inside of your thighs). I've torn my right abductor a couple times in the past and it has resulted in losing almost all my flexibility in those muscles. In everyday life this normally isn't an issue, but now that I'm getting back into martial arts I'm really feeling the lack, especially on my mawashi geri. If I'm not careful I can cause myself a lot of pain doing a mawashi geri with my right leg and I've found I have to be extremely careful stretching so as not to aggravate it.

Does anyone else share this issue or does anyone have advice on ways to help restore some flexibility?

[singularity6]

While I didn't tear the muscle (much, that I know of...), I did have a lot of issues with my hips in those areas (iliacus/iliopsoas/sartorius.) Round kicks were my bane! The issues were rather persistent, and debilitating enough to encourage me to seek medical attention. My primary care physician prescribed me 6 weeks of physical therapy. Not only did I go to PT, I made sure to do the exercises virtually EVERY DAY. The exercises included various stretches, as well as strengthening exercises (from leg lifts to balance exercises, to other forms of resistance training.)

I did plenty of research online, and I found that martial artists, dancers, soccer and hockey players all suffered from similar ailments. Some of the research also indicated that the issues have a tendency to go chronic fairly easy without proper care and allowing the injury to fully heal.

I highly recommend that you see your doctor and try to get some PT!!!

[Alan Armstrong]

The body has ways of restoring its self, but continually doing something wrong, chances are it will not get better.

Better to do techniques slowly building up strength and flexibility.

Trauma and stress, scar tissue and arthritis, need therapeutic measure to counteract the high demands put on the human body.

In other words, keep the faith in what you do, but play safe doing it, so you can continue doing it and become better at it.