The brief background is I went to a physical therapist (PT) after getting some calf pain while and after running. My main muscles are strong but way too tight. My IT band (running down the outside of your leg) is also tight. My other muscles, the ones around my hips, are too weak. This is what she gave me to do.
All of these are done on each leg.
Strap stretches
I have three stretches I do with a strap like this. My PT suggested a belt or dog leash or literally anything you can loop around your foot and hold onto. I've heard of using a towel.
The first, I lay on my back with one leg flat and straight. With the strap around my foot and my knee straight, I pull my leg toward pointing straight up. My PT said at my age (38) I should be able to get close to 90 degrees but I was at 60-65 degrees. I do this for about a minute, always trying to go longer than shorter. This stretches right behind my knee.
The second is a variation of the first. Lowering my foot to about half the distance, I cross my leg across the other and pull. This stretches around my hip, particularly the muscle at the top of the IT band.
Then the third I flip over and now with my thigh on the ground use the strap to pull my foot toward my butt. I feel this in my quads. My quads seem to be especially tight. Again hold this for at least a minute.
Calfs
I have two different calf stretches, and I typically alternate day to day which I do.
The first is simple: stand with my toes on a stair with my heels hanging off. Let my heels sag to feel the tension in my calfs.
The other is also simple but harder to explain. Leaning on a wall with both hands, put one foot forward and put your other heel down to feel the tension in your calf. Do it both with your knee straight and with it slightly bent. The two different knee positions feel slightly different.
Hip strengthening
This is the one that's really tough. All of these have a band like this around my ankles.
First I take little side steps while standing upright. Take up all the tension with one leg, then let the other pick up about half the distance (i.e. not fully slack on the band) and repeat. Go both directions so each leg gets a chance to lead.
Then repeat that but while squatting (butt back, not knees forward). This one completely kills me in a good way. Again go both directions so each leg can lead.
The third my PT described as a "railroad." It's little steps forward, feet spread. Then repeat going backwards.
The fourth is a balance squat step. Starting from a squat, take a step forward with the back foot of the ground. Step forward and again the trailing foot is held off the ground. Repeat taking these slow steps.
Foam roller
I foam roll four things. Hamstrings and calfs are straightforward: put your weight on the roller and roll. My PT suggested a tennis ball for the calf, and I can see why. I can target it better. I'm experimenting with a ball on my hamstring, too.
Then I try to roll on my side immediately below my hip bone, where my femur meets my hip. This is the muscle at the top of the IT band. It's hard to get in the right spot. On my side I'm able to flex my hip and especially knee while rolling here. This is an "active release." When I feel a spot (it's a good hurt), I hold around there and bend my leg and roll across it.
The quad rolling is the one I feel the most. With my quad across the roller, I roll first with my toes straight down, then with them pointing out, then again with them pointing in. I try to get as high (almost onto my hips) and low (to my kneecaps) as I can. Again when I get to a good spot I bend my knee as I roll across the spot. This one was almost painful the first few times, but it's mellowing out as I work out the kinks in my legs.
And that's it! It doesn't take a ton of time.
It’s great that you’re doing the homework. I work as a massage therapist in a PT office and it is almost always obvious during re-exams which patients have been keeping up with their exercises/stretches. Their outcomes are better and their recovery times are noticeably shorter. Keep it up. It’s definitely worth it.
Thanks for the motivation! I was really glad my PT made it so clear: every single day. It isn't nearly as fun as running, but if this makes things better I'm completely sold. My PT seemed really enthusiastic about helping me, too. I think that really helped.
Have you heard of the myrtl routine? It helps runners strengthen their hips. I run occasionally. A few years ago I definitely injured my hip/groin area. Now even when I don’t run I try to do the Myrtl a few times a week.
Yes! That's something I found just a few days before my PT appointment. I do my directed PT daily, but when I have time I add some of the Myrtle exercises. The donkey kicks seem especially good for me. I think my glutes need work.
one thing to note, you can get selectively weak hips/glutes if you neglect side to side actions, so incorporating the one where you loop your ankles together while standing and try to bring one led out sideways as far as possible is really helpful something something abductors i dunno, i just read all this on the internet a long time ago and have been trying to include it in my workout ever since
I'm not sure. I suspect those are similar but that stretches are a little different as they're stretching the muscles and ligaments rather than causing the muscles to act.
I just did parts of what you wrote and oh my lord, it HURTS so much. There is one spot on my right calf that got me groaning in pain. It still hurts now, half an hour later and post hot shower. The parts with the stretched leg was nice. Felt the pull on the back of my knee! I guess I am doing these tomorrow morning too. Thanks again!
A note on physio: when my mom got out of the hospital after fracturing her hip, she could barely move her left leg. She could not lift her leg up into bed. She could not walk very far with her walker, she couldn't reach her toes, or put socks or other clothes on. A physiotherapist came to the house (sent by the province) and gave her exercises to do three times a day. She had to build up to ten repetitions, holding the positions for five seconds. In the beginning, she could barely do these on the left side, but she gradually built up to ten reps. A week later he added exercises using straps. A week later, he added one pound ankle weights to build strength. It's simply amazing to see the changes. I don't attribute it to normal healing either. I think the exercises are an essential part of recovery. And we still yell, "tighten your buttocks" while standing up from the squats.
I'm glad she's making improvements! It's nice to hear real examples of people improving.
Thanks for the write up. I have had some weird issues with my legs/feet in the past few months. The weirdest was losing sensitivity in my big toe. My sister (physiotherapist) notices that my calf is super tight. I always thought that is how it is supposed to be... I had to stop running a few months back because I used to get crazy knee pain from just half an hour. Something that never happened to me in the past 10 years of running. I have only been doing using the foam roller here and there. Maybe it’s time to do it more dedicated. Do you do these stretches every day or only a after running/workout?
Currently every day. I'm still doing injury recovery, but I suspect my PT will tell me to keep doing these every day. She made it very clear that I was to do these every day and twice a day if I wanted. "You'll do these tonight and every day. Every single day," was the exact statement, and I've followed her direction. My next appointment is next Friday. When my pain got bad it was after only a half hour or so if running, coming from routine, pain free two hour runs only a week or two prior. For me it wasn't in my knee but instead in my calf immediately below my knee. It was extremely painful to move my lower leg forward. I could hold it straight and put weight on it, I could bend it back, but swinging my leg forward was almost excruciating. My PT suggested hamstring issues (it has been sore) with my calf then overworked to compensate. I kind of thought my tight muscles were a sign of being very fit. Now I'm not sure that's true.
If you have a good PT she'll tell you to keep doing them. After a while you likely won't need to do them daily. I still stretch every single day regardless of exercising, and do exercises similar to what you have listed, and ankle ones, a minimum of two times a week. It works!
What ankle ones do you do? I've been thinking about adding some ankle flexibility/strengthening.
I do resisted ankle inversions/eversions/dorsiflexions, single leg balance exercises, and have found a way of stretching our muscles/tendons down around my ankle/achilles. The last 4 exercises on this link! https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/aftercareinformation/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=ad1464
Thanks! I haven't tried balancing on a pillow, and it looks like it'll be really good. My ankles don't hurt but they often feel stiff in the morning.