Hip pain with box splits

**callum828** · Posted On: 6/19/2010 12:18pm

Hey guys, I've recently started training Muay Thai and am trying to work on my flexibility. However I have found that when I go into the box splits, my hips often 'lock up', giving me a sharp pain on the outside of the hip, rather than the familiar stretching sensation on the insides of the legs. As my kicking has improved, I've found this pain impeding me in executing my roundhouse
properly.

I have seen it suggested elsewhere that it could be caused by a misalignment of my hips caused by poor posture. Does anyone know or have any experience of a similar sensation?

**HereBeADragon** · Posted On: 6/19/2010 1:25pm

"Man goes to the doctor. Says doctor it hurts when I do this."
"Doctor replies, well don't do that."

SPLITS WILL NOT MAKE YOU A BETTER KICKER. It is little more than a parlor trick and will more than likely cause you injury. Especially if trained excessively and incorrectly. If you want your kicks to be faster, higher, stronger, etc. then train the attributes that will best meet that goal. In this case the term you need to learn is MOBILITY not flexibility. Goodle mobility drills, z health or intu-flow. Any of this will set you in the right direction but please understand that static stretching is not what you need in this case.

**Bugeisha** · Posted On: 6/19/2010 1:35pm

To more directly address your question, that type of locking pain in the hips at that range of motion/position can be caused by the greater trochanter jamming against the roof of the joint socket. That is more or less likely based on your anthropometry; if your femoral neck is more horizontal or vertical, for example. The usual fix for this sort of jam is to angle the pelvis downward more in the split or kick, so that your legs are almost going sideways instead of up and down relative to your pelvis.

http://www.stadion.com/gif/splitabc.jpg

Splits will help your kicks, in that your static passive flexiblity is one of the limiting factors in your range of motion, but they're not the only thing of course. You need to be both statically and dynamically flexible.

**maofas** · Posted On: 6/19/2010 2:21pm

Originally Posted by HereBeADragon

"Man goes to the doctor. Says doctor it hurts when I do this."
"Doctor replies, well don't do that."

SPLITS WILL NOT MAKE YOU A BETTER KICKER. It is little more than a parlor trick and will more than likely cause you injury. Especially if trained excessively and incorrectly. If you want your kicks to be faster, higher, stronger, etc. then train the attributes that will best meet that goal. In this case the term you need to learn is MOBILITY not flexibility. Goodle mobility drills, z health or intu-flow. Any of this will set you in the right direction but please understand that static stretching is not what you need in this case.

Bullshit. You don't need to have a split to be able throw a good kick, but being able to do full/nearly full side & front splits is VERY nice for your kicking.

**Bugeisha** · Posted On: 6/19/2010 3:50pm

Originally Posted by maofas

Bullshit. You don't need to have a split to be able throw a good kick, but being able to do full/nearly full side & front splits is VERY nice for your kicking.

Yeah; being able to do splits doesn't mean that you're a good kicker, but that sort of flexibility is one of many attributes that contribute to the potential for good kicks.

**HereBeADragon** · Posted On: 6/19/2010 11:19pm

Static stretching as a means to the splits will only force tissues to elongate in an unnatural manner that can cause hypermobility in your joints and could lead to injury. That type of training will add nothing to your kicking. It will not add height, it will not add power and it will not add control. If you want these things you need healthy mobile hips, lower back and hamstrings.

Now if you wish to practice the split for whatever reason do so carefully. Never force yourself into such a position. Ease yourself into it under control. Do not bounce, do not force it and do not move past the point of pain. If it hurts than your are forcing it and will cause harm to yourself. I have trained the splits both front and side and I can perform them easily but that added nothing to my kicks and speaking from my own experience they are not an important part of proper kicking.

**callum828** · Posted On: 6/20/2010 8:40am

Originally Posted by HereBeADragon

Static stretching as a means to the splits will only force tissues to elongate in an unnatural manner that can cause hypermobility in your joints and could lead to injury. That type of training will add nothing to your kicking. It will not add height, it will not add power and it will not add control. If you want these things you need healthy mobile hips, lower back and hamstrings.

Now if you wish to practice the split for whatever reason do so carefully. Never force yourself into such a position. Ease yourself into it under control. Do not bounce, do not force it and do not move past the point of pain. If it hurts than your are forcing it and will cause harm to yourself. I have trained the splits both front and side and I can perform them easily but that added nothing to my kicks and speaking from my own experience they are not an important part of proper kicking.

The reason I'm concerned is that I'm feeling my hips lock up when I kick, which obviously limits how effectively I can kick. The problem is not so much the splits but the pain in my joints whenever my legs are in a splits-like position.

**callum828** · Posted On: 6/20/2010 8:42am

Originally Posted by Bugeisha

To more directly address your question, that type of locking pain in the hips at that range of motion/position can be caused by the greater trochanter jamming against the roof of the joint socket. That is more or less likely based on your anthropometry; if your femoral neck is more horizontal or vertical, for example. The usual fix for this sort of jam is to angle the pelvis downward more in the split or kick, so that your legs are almost going sideways instead of up and down relative to your pelvis.

http://www.stadion.com/gif/splitabc.jpg

Splits will help your kicks, in that your static passive flexiblity is one of the limiting factors in your range of motion, but they're not the only thing of course. You need to be both statically and dynamically flexible.

I have tried this while doing the splits and it has worked to some extent. However I'm not sure how I could apply this to kicking. Do you mean that my roundhouse should be looking more like a side-kick?

**Bugeisha** · Posted On: 6/20/2010 10:40am

I'm saying that if your greater trochanter is jamming into your pelvis while you're kicking, it's an issue with the shape of your body and not with your flexibility. You need to make an adjustment to your hip position in your kicks to make it work past that point. That may be angling your pelvis downward more, or it may just be making sure your hip is rolling over properly during the roundhouse. You'll have to play with it.

**Bugeisha** · Posted On: 6/20/2010 10:43am

For an exaggerated example off the top of my head, if you stood with your back to a wall (pelvis "neutral") and lifted your leg to the side in a side-kick position, I'm guessing you'll feel it jam (assuming you stay upright and against the wall). If you let the leg come out in front of you, you won't have the problem. Likewise, if you bend over (grab a chair or something) to rotate the pelvis downward (belly button toward the floor), I'm guessing you could get that sidekick position significantly higher, because rotating the pelvis like that will remove the mechanical obstruction you're hitting.