Gluteus Minimus and Rectus Femoris Pain

We all know the importance of the side hip muscles glute med and glute minimus.  Did you know that although they are hip abductors in isolation they functionally stabilize the pelvis while you run and walk?

Today's post is about the difference between these two muscles and how the tricky rectus femoris (quadriceps) muscle can sometimes get mixed up with one of these guys.  (glute min)

The rectus femoris can sometimes have a 3rd head.  I know!  News to me too.  It's not all the time, but worth noting.  All of them with 3 heads had attachments with the glute minimus onto the greater trochanter.    This suggests a working relationship.

Not only is the glute minimus and abductor and flexor, depending on the hip position it is an internal and external rotator.  The glute min also has attachments into the hip capsule.  They retract the hip capsule preventing capsular impingement.

The more the hip is brought into flexion the more the anterior portion of the glute min becomes an internal rotator.

From all this it appears that the main function of the glute min is to stabilize the hip while in extension.  It does this functionally with the posterior part of the glute min.

Now how does this affect the runner with hip pain?  First distinguish where the pain pattern is.  Hip flexion, or extension?  Under load, passive or active?  Feeling of weakness with foot strike?  Pinching with hip flexion?  Know the anatomy and function and you can figure out whats not working that can be leading to pain.

Here are two great articles dealing with the Glute Minimus and the 3rd head of Rectus Femoris.

Homemade Hungarian Core Blaster

Here is some DIY weight lifting example. Hungarian Core Blaster, which I think is just heavy kettlebell swings. Sorinex sells one for like 150 bucks. This cost like 15 bucks to make. Great little tool though. At the end of the video you get to see the gym mascot Rocco, the Argentina Dogo!

Monday Motivation: A few quotes to ponder

I saw these on the Personal Excellence Blog.

“The consequences of today are determined by the actions of the past. To change your future, alter your decisions today.” ~ Anonymous

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beingshaving a human experience” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

“We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.” – T. S. Eliot

“There’s no next time. It’s now or never.”

 “For every effect there is a root cause. Find and address the root cause rather than try to fix the effect, as there is no end to the latter.”

“When you don’t get what you want, you suffer. If you get it, you suffer too since you can’t hold on to it forever.” – Peaceful Warrior, on the fallacy of attachment

“Every moment you get is a gift. Spend it on things that matter. Don’t spend it by dwelling on unhappy things.”

“There are no ordinary moments. There is always something going on.” – Peaceful Warrior

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Everything around us is made up of energy. To attract positive things in your life, start by giving off positive energy.

Don’t put off living to next week, next month, next year or next decade. The only time you’re ever living is in this moment.

Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. – Mark Twain

Life is a gift. Never forget to enjoy and bask in every moment you are in.

The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced – Art Van Der Leeuw

“My life is my message.” – Gandhi

“If wrinkles must be written upon our brow, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old.” – James A. Garfield

“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”

“In the beginning you will fall into the gaps in between thoughts – after practicing for years, you become the gap.” – J.Kleykamp (Regarding meditation)

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” ~ Jim Rohn

Training Anaerobically for Aerobic Goals

I've recently been asked if you can train anaerobically, doing sprints and such, for aerobic endeavours, like a marathon.

My quick answer was no.  Now if you train aerobically (think jogging/running) for what most people think of as fitness or losing the gut, then the answer becomes a resounding yes.  Anaerobic will work.

Sprints can be much more useful for losing weight.  If your involved in an endurance sport though, you have to put in the time on the road or on the bike or whatever your competing in.

Here is a great study that basically shows both sides.  30 seconds all out sprints, 4 minutes rest for sets of 4-6x, 3x a week for 6 weeks.  The other group did 30-60 min runs at 65% effort for the same, 3x a week for 6 weeks.

The body composition, VO2max, a 2000m time trial were about the same.  The maximal cardiac output only improved with the endurance group.

What is Max Cardiac Output?  Super important for endurance athletes.  Probably the most important endurance adaptation.  As you train for aerobic sports your heart rate usually goes down, so when your cardiac output goes up, your stroke volume in your heart as increased.  Cardiac output increases linearly with oxygen consumption.

Just looking to shed some fat, with much less time, do some sprints.   Looking to be a champion endurance athlete, prepare to put it a lot, I repeat, a lot of time.

Shoulder Flexion to Drive Cervical Rotation

How much water did you drink today?

Just going to keep reminding you.  Besides bringing in new healthy habits to start or keep in 2011, one of the things I'm going to do is start a what have I learned lately segment.  

I've always payed close attention to the old saying, "Have you had a lot of experience, or the same experience over and over?  That's always reminded me, that my bodywork therapy is always evolving.  No person is ever treated the same when it comes to manual therapy/chiropractic/strength training.  Hopefully I learn a little something from each patient encounter.  

One thing I've played around with with great success the last few weeks is using shoulder flexion to facilitate better cervical rotation when there is scalene tightness present.  After treating the neck with Active Release Technique and/or Cervical adjustments I will recheck the cervical rotation.  

Often times, if I have the patient raise the arm up and retest the cervical rotation it increases.  I then have them concentrate on keeping that rotation as they slowly lower the arm.  This is repeated for 5-8 reps.  It's a great home exercise.  

This will be more significant for patients that have very, very limited rotation to begin with.  It gets the ball rolling so to speak.  It will help keep the gains you make in your office.   

800 pound / 363 kg Squat - ATG 100% RAW

This is a crazy lift. Probably not the smartest, without spotters, but I'm guessing he KNOWS he can do it. Seeing this type of lift, just stretches your thinking of what type of weight is possible to be lifted. This is raw, this is walking it out. This is just crazy strong.

New Year 2011 Health and Fitness Habit #1: Water

I hope everyone is off to a great 2011.  Looking back on 2010 there were a lot of great things to be thankful for and highlights that I will always remember.  Looking back, participating in the Vancouver Olympics,  starting my own chiropractic practice here in Grand Rapids, MI,  celebrating my first year of being married, getting to visit Seattle and see family and friends, becoming an uncle, and being healthy, to name a few.  It made the year fly by, at times, I forgot to keep up a few fundamental healthy habits.

One of the things I plan on doing with the blog in 2011is to find simple fitness and health habits that I (you too if you want) commit to.  One at a time.  They say it takes 21 days for a habit to become engrained.

 I haven't quite figured out how often I will post them, but it will be more frequently then every 21 days.  I'm thinking once a week or ten days.  At the end of this 2011 hopefully I (and you) have made close to 40 small habits that have added up to big things.

Habit number 1:  DRINK MORE WATER.  Now get specific.  I will get 80 oz of water a day.  I will start the day with a glass of cold water.  Get some lemon juice to help it go down easier if you must.  But no Crystal Light, nothing but water and lemon is allowed.  You don't have to replace other drinks.  You just have to add pure water.

The number of things that your body needs water for in terms of health is to numerous to mention.  It's right after oxygen in terms of things you need in the hierarchy of bodily needs.

Go drink water.