Inflexibility…

Today was our monthly chiropractor appointment.  I had been noticing for awhile that I was losing flexibility in my lower back when doing toe touches and hurdler’s stretch.  He did my normal adjustments, checking my lower back muscles closely.  He said that wasn’t really the case and wanted to check my hip flexors.  He put me through a series of mobility checks, including having me pull one knee up to my chest while he pushed down on the opposite leg.

All of these things hurt like hell, most of all being one where he pushed on the leg that wasn’t up to my chest while pulling my heel up to my rear end.  He told me that my hip flexors were very tight, but after only doing a few stretches I gained about two inches on my toe touches not to mention that it felt much better to do those stretches.  The doctor informed me that the muscles that were tight and inflexible on me were the ones that raised my knee up and controlled the forward and backward movement of my heel.

Funny what so many years of karate can do!  I’m going to do my best to loosen up these muscles… I think part of this could be why the connection of my stance to the ground has been an issue for awhile.  Knowing is half the battle, and now its time for the fixing!