I'm injured..and have been for quite awhile. Truthfully I've been injured since late June when I pulled my hamstring yet again..however, it is only since I've been going to a physio weekly and been restricted by my physio to just one class/week and no stretching allowed that the injury bit has sunk it.
I tore my hamstring in late June-to me it was not a huge deal-I'd pulled it before a year ago and before that as well..so I figured a few days and all would be well...only it wasn't a few days or a few weeks...the stiffness varied day to day and the hamstring wouldn't heal. It flared up even more during the ballet intensive and I was advised to seek out a physio. Being stubborn me though, I figured I would manage on my own. After all, I'd had a hamstring pulled before. It only seemed to get worse though, more stiff, sitting for long periods of time became unbearable and sometimes I would be hobbling. During this time, I had been joyfully enjoying a couple more private lessons with Andrea, and managed to fit in some weekly ballet classes including an Intermediate one-an excellent challenge. I was also pushing myself in ballet more to repeat the same exercise again and again. Despite the hamstring issue, I was feeling great, in that I was feeling the difference in my technique, feeling more on centre...and then, I had a 2 hr semi-private with Andrea following the normal 1.5 hr Sunday morning ballet. My hamstring had been feeling particularly irksome of late and that day as well..and I was not able to relax it despite stretching so much..after the semi-private, it was feeling nasty and I began getting stabbing pains and a burning sensation running along the leg..
Being alarmed at this new development I emailed Andrea who again suggested that I see a physio-and suggested a physio in Bondi that I gathered she'd been to herself. I booked an appointment for the Thursday and in the meantime, was advised by Andrea not to stretch.
When Thursday finally arrived I was very relieved as my hamstring had outdone itself and every step I took was painful and I was walking gingerly everywhere I went.
My physio is a lovely person and just returned to taking ballet as well..after doing a history and me talking about what had been going on and such..she had me do some exercises, did a few manual manipulations herself and then told me her diagnosis..
1) Yes there was a hamstring issue BUT that was not the main issue; she said that I only had a small hamstring tear, but that it became chronic since I kept stretching it..
2) The main issue (to my surprise) is my left (medically the right) hip.The diagnosis is "reduced external rotation of the right hip, tight glutes, abductors and of the anterior hip muscle"..quite a mouthful..and while I was surprised that it wasn't relaly the hamstring causing so much grief..the more I thought about it, the more it made sense given so many of my symptoms..both since I pulled the hamstring and even from years ago..
Danni ( my physio) said that she thinks I was always just tighter on my right hip than my left but that the hamstring tear made me hip tighten even more reflexively as a way of protecting it from further injury..however, in the process, it got so tight that I squeezed on a main nerve that runs from the glutes down the leg (hence the burning sensations I got-only I misinterpreted that as being my hamstring)..Also when I stand head-on..she saw that my hips were not square..the good, flexible one was turning inwards in response to the major stiffness of the bad one..
After I got over this amazement, I got some manual theray to temporarily relieve some of the stiffness..the physio kept saying how tight it was..esp for a dancer and how different from my good hip..I admit, I am a baby and the manual therapy was very painful..I had to be reminded to breathe and relax..not easy to do when it feels as though your whole hip is being moulded into doughy something!
I was booked in for the next week, given 2 stretches to do at home, and was told I was allowed just 1 ballet on the sunday..no privates, or other ballet session at all..no stretches, no jumps in ballet over 45 degrees and to stop if I had any pain..
