Make the Pain Go Away
When I met Mark Lusk, Doctor of Physical Therapy and owner of MVMT Physical Therapy I was in pain, stressed, and worried. Mark gave me immediate hope, told me it wasn’t game over, and helped me get back to 100% while not compromising my career or workouts.
Injuries happen to all of us. Some are the result of trauma. Others are simply from our anatomy oraging. Regardless of why we hurt, we shouldn’t have to live with the pain.
Join Mark and I as we discuss pain, rehab, and fitness. This is only part one of the conversation so stay tuned for part 2!
When Is An Injury An Injury?
Emma (EB), from EmmaBe Fitness: When I first walked into Mark’s office I had been in pain for months and thought I could heal it myself through stretching, foam rolling, and sports massage. At what point should someone who is experiencing pain come to see you?
Mark (ML), from MVMT: We can separate pain into two different buckets: Performance Pain and Pathological Pain. Performance pain is just that - it occurs either during, or after, performance (on stage, in the gym, on the field/course/road). That pain is often quick, resolves quickly, hasn’t been felt before, and it isn’t reproducible. There’s often no other lingering signs of that pain, like swelling, muscle spasm, bruising or weakness. Pathological pain, on the other hand, persists, is reproducible (it hurts when I do this…), has signs of trauma (tenderness, swelling, bruising), may show signs of weakness or loss of range of motion, and may/may not be the result of an actual incident or accident. That pain doesn’t resolve over time, and may even get worse. Pathological pain requires medical attention from an orthopedist or physical therapist.
A Pain In The… Hip
EB: You helped rehab a femoroacetabular impingement of my left hip (a bone irregularity on the head of the femur that causes pain the hip moves in and out of flexion). Can you tell us why we experience pain in in the hips?
ML: Look at you! Pulling out the technical terminology… Pain in the hips may be due to a number of causes, and some of it is simply dependent upon the anatomy that we’re born with. But for the rest (majority) of us, impingement develops because of mechanical dysfunction. Tight hamstrings and glutes can prevent proper hip joint mechanics and create an impingement - or “pinching” - sensation of the soft tissues in the front of the hip. As your femur (thigh bone) fold upwards towards your pelvis, muscles, tendons and other structures can get jammed in the front. For anyone performing a full squat - especially under a load - efficient joint mechanics are imperative!
Active Through Injury
Mark (ML), from MVMT: Since you brought up your hip and hand injury - what did you find most challenging - being an athlete & trainer - in dealing with your injury, and how did you stay active during?
Emma (EB), from EmmaBe: At the time that I was dealing with my injury I found it most challenging to balance my rehab exercises with my strength training. I was working towards getting stronger and the hip impingement meant I couldn’t do the lifts and explosive work that I wanted to. What helped me stay active were the exercises you gave me to do prior to specific activities. These helped to alleviate the pain and make my lower pelvic hip complex (LPHC) fire properly.
Motivation
ML: What are your tricks for motivating patients - either getting them to do things that they don’t want to do, or to push them to a new place?
EB: I’m a really positive coach, I like to present new things as exercises that my clients can obviously do. Walk them up to the bar and say “you’re going to do a pull-up”- just like that. Usually they laugh and tell me I’m have unfounded faith in them, but little do they know, we’ve been working towards this new thing for a while and they are prepared. I like to quietly work towards something a client doesn’t necessarily know they want or need, and then one day challenge them to do it and see how excited they are that they have this strength they didn't know about. After that happens once, they are incredibly motivated to try new things.
If you’re looking for a reliable, honest, and highly knowledgeable physical therapist who’s invested in his patients holistic healing process, please give Mark a call! And tell him I sent you!
Check in for Part 2 as we continue to discuss our personal journeys, and the path of the patient/client!
Healthy Hip Exercises
I asked Mark for some hip/glute strengthening exercises and these were his suggestions! They are already part of my regular routine to keep my hips happy and healthy and keep that pesky impingement away.
Give them a try!
Mini-band Single Leg Bridge - The “Multi-Whammy”!
Place the mini-band just above your knees. Lay on your back, bend your knees, and place your feet on the ground. You should be able to just touch your heels with your fingers.
Straighten one leg, keeping your knees in line with each other, and flex your elevated foot. Pressing through your grounded foot, raise the hips, and squeeze your glutes. Focus on keeping your hips square and maintaining a straight line from your shoulders to knees at the top of the bridge.
Lower the hips back down while keeping the foot elevated. Perform 10 repetitions on each leg.
Bridge Marching- Core and Hip Stabilization!
With or without a mini-band around your thighs, lay on your back again, bend your knees, and place your feet on the ground.
Squeeze your glutes, engage your core, and raise your hips. Now try and keep your core engaged and your hips as steady as possible. Lift one foot at a time and “march” while keeping the hips high. You want to have as little motion in the hips as possible while you march. Each step can be small, the foot doesn’t need to come far off the ground.
Perform 10-20 marches.
Clamshell/Hydrant Combo- A Slow Burn
With or without a mini-band around your thighs, lay on your side and bend your knees with your hips flexed. Support your head so you’re comfortable.
First, keep the heels together and raise the knee of your upper leg- this is a “clamshell”. Second, keep that knee where it is, and raise the heel of your upper leg- this is the “hydrant”. Now bring your heels back together, and then bring your knees back together.
Perform 5 combos on each side.