I hurt my hip flexor doing an ATW before training about 6 weeks ago. It felt like a 'pop' in the tendon/muscle, and it hurt a bit. Now, when I do freestyle tricks such as around the world or a variant of it, it makes the same popping pain after a while (say, the fifth time I try and do one the injury occurs). It doesn't limit my on-field performance at all, it's just when I try these tricks that involve rapidly spinning my leg (ATW) that risks the pain in my leg, and as mentioned, usually after a few attempts. Advice?
Since it doesn't affect your on-field performance then it's not a strain. What it probably is is that your hip flexors are too stiff. Try stretching your quads, abs and hip-flexors aswell and see how that goes.
I had the same thing happen to me in a match a few years back. I was under pressure in the back and had to clear the ball. Both feet were off the ground and I basically had to "push" the ball (which was in the air) by pushing my whole leg at the ball (yeah it's a weird description) and all the power was coming from my hip flexor. I felt the pop and it was warm and tender for a week or so. But many weeks after there was still pain when I tried to execute certain movements. Probably a year later I finally saw a physical therapist who told me my hip flexors were weak. In addition to the stretching that Pato suggests, once it heals target the hip flexors with some strength training.
I've been looking extensively into this and often football players have really tight/over-active hip flexors. However tight does not equal over-developed as elessar78 mentioned. There are often muscles that are not being activated which leads to over-compensation from the hip flexors. I would look into glute activation through glute bridges among other exercises. -foam roll/myofasical release in this order -lower back (careful!) -glutes -side of the hip, there's this little crevice that you'll find is pretty tight and tender, lie on a ball and hammer it (sorry don't know the scientific name) -the quads -then do a stretch like the couch stretch Also a tight psoas (it runs up the center of your abdomen and can be shortened from lots of sitting). Sitting also messes with your glutes/hamstrings.
If the issue is just tightness then strength training would aggravate the problem, but neither of us can conclude exactly what it is. But I just wanted to point this out to the OP.
Yea, but if the problem is 'just' the tightness (I've experienced lots of such problems) then strength training wouldn't be positive.
It's more that direct strength training of the hip flexor isn't the ideal situation. You're pin pointing the wrong muscle. If you went and strengthened the glutes and hamstrings, you would sort out the muscle imbalances that created the hip flexor issue in the first place.
But my injury isn't from an imbalance. It happened acutely, if it was from weak hammies/glutes it would tend to develop over time.
Oh OK, but I think I just have weak hip flexors. I've done both strength training on my ham's and quads in the past, but little on my flexors (at least not as much). As I said, my flexors have been injured before, about 4-5 months ago, so this definitely would be a contributing factor.
But as a byproduct of shooting/crossing and kicking in general, there is a lot of hip flexor development. Just make it a greater habit to train the posterior chain like glutes/hamstrings etc.
I think it is a generalization that if it is tightness (lack of flexbility), that strength training will aggravate the problem. Infact, typically for most injuries, the required physical therapy plan calls for both strength work and flexibility!
