Welcome to r/flexibility!

I was warming up my lats with lat pulldown on an easy weight. On one of the reps when my lat was stretched at the top, somehow I stretched more than I should have, and I felt a pop deep in my left lat (where my lat and trap overlap).

It was a small sharp pain, then it felt like it filled with fluid, and it’s been a dull pain ever since. Around an hour after I felt a pins and needles sensation for a few minutes, then back to a dull pain. It felt like a very small muscle or tendon/ligament popped/tore.

I tore my ACL a few years back, and it feels very similar to that feeling, just on a lesser scale of pain.

Anyone know what it could be?

I have been a skateboarder for 10+ years. I am a street skater, which involves a lot of high impact. During this time I have never really stretched or trained my body outside of skateboarding. I am not very flexible at all, in fact I am probably the least flexible person I know. One day I sat down and realized just how fucked my body is especially my hips. I can barely open my legs up more than a V shape. It’s honestly embarrassing, especially being that I’m only 24. I have never had any sort of hip injury in the past. Just never really took care of my body. I honestly have no idea how I can still skate like this and how much longer I will be able to skate. Doing the splits on accident would easily take me out for a month. I am dedicated to rehabilitating my body so that I can skate well passed my 40s. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could fix this? Is seeing a doctor necessary?

i’ve seen two images of women doing wheel pose with both and leg and arm lifted simultaneously

one with a bent leg with foot grabbed by the hand of the same side underneath the glutes

another with a leg extended and a hand holding the leg, not sure if it’s the same side

i’m confused about how this would be possible, has anyone seen this before?

Hello!

29m, 5'11 and 200lbs (aiming to hit 170, have lost 30lbs this year)

I've been dealing with chronic pain (joint issues and really bad muscle stiffness) since I first had COVID in February 2023.

Have been to many specialists without a diagnosis, currently they are treating me for fibromyalgia but have not diagnosed me with fibromyalgia yet. I am taking 10mg of bacloflen twice a day.

I've lost 30 lbs this year, have been stretching daily and walking but I still feel like I am not making any progress on my legs.

When sitting or standing, I feel like I am putting all my weight on the outside of my hips and can't get the inside of my hips/groin to hold any weight.

Recently I started lying on my back, and then raising my legs in the air with them crossed like I was sitting cross-legged. I will hold them crossed in the air and flex them outwards til I feel a stretch on the inside of my hips near the groin, and will also lift my legs slowly up and down while holding them crossed.

It always feels really good, and afterwards I can feel the muscles on the inside of my legs near the groin twitching for up to 30 mins afterwards, and the muscles on the outside of my hips seem to relax. But since this is just a stretch I found while experimenting (being in pain all day every day has me trying lots of goofy stuff to see what works) I'm worried that I could be doing more harm then good.

Is there any reason I should avoid doing this long term? Thank you in advance!

It's the muscle i feel most in the front split, but i can't seem to find any stretches specialized for it that fits me. All of them either stretch a different muscle group or include the quads (which reduces the stretch effectiveness)

Hey everyone I’m 27 M, At school assembly was a nightmare I could only get one leg to touch the floor while trying to cross and it was absolute discomfort,

I’ve never had problems with fitness at my peak I had a resting heart rate of 54/55 and could run for days not literally 😂,

I’ve always joked I’m built like a fridge with 4 joints, I’m curious if anyone has ever been the same and changed it?

It doesn’t negatively affect me at all but I worry a little, Long term it may haunt me as I get older.

TIA

Is it unhealthy to stretch for splits with sore muscles from running the day before?

My right ankle cannot bend the same way that my left ankle can, and it is making being able to sit cross legged impossible.

My right ankle will not bend as to allow the top of my foot (or the side) to lay flat on the floor, and when I try it creates a ton of pressure on the outside of my foot against the ground (on and below where my pink toe is.) It’s like my ankle is just stiff, and then it seems to also be in my right knee too - neither are able to just lay flat, whereas my left knee and ankle can just flop down straight to the floor.

It important to me to able to sit cross legged. Does anyone have an idea why this is happening, and how I could fix it?

Thank you!

I have for the longest time had issues generating power with broad jumps, single leg jumps, sprinting, etc. even though I am strong, and I have just recently found out that my high arches could be a limiting factor.

I used a bubble level with a degree marker on my phone, and I could only get to 40 or so degrees before my heel came off the ground. I have since tried soleus, calf, and ankle stretches, but it feels like there is an immovable block once I hit a certain level of flexion. Even with a super heavy band there is no stretch and I end up staying at the 40 degree mark.

Turning my feet outwards helps reduce the impact that my arch has on my ankle flexion, but it it extremely annoying considering I have made no stretching progress. What do I do?

I've made some big improvements with my hamstring flexibility using the Standing Bent over hamstring stretch. In about 2 weeks I managed to be able to get my head in between my legs.

I have now come into an issue where it requires so much pulling force from my arms holding my ankles to get any lower as well as being uncomfortable for my stomach making me feel like throwing up.

I don't think me having to pull with my arms that hard is safe considering it makes the stretch feel quite Jittery.

So yeah need some alternatives that are just as effective or even better or perhaps a fix for this so that I can continue doing it, as I really do enjoy this one as it gave so much improvement in such a short time span

My leg muscles are very tight. I’ve been doing stretches, but they haven’t helped. The muscles in my left leg suddenly became less flexible, which likely caused an injury. I'm not sure how to improve my flexibility. Do you have any tips for stretching, or could you recommend a YouTube channel?"

I have been working on my front split for a while, focusing on squaring my hips. I’m using a resistance band to prevent my back leg from opening up. However, I'm still not sure if they are square. I would appreciate your advice.

Hey all, I’ve been working on my active flexibility recently because I want to achieve my split in split handstand and forearm stand (pretty and easier to balance imo)

I do have my square split on the ground (though i’ve been lazy on working oversplit haha)

I’m doing the exercises here and it’s helped! https://www.daniwinksflexibility.com/bendy-blog/flat-split-on-the-floor-but-not-in-the-air-what-gives

However i have difficulty landing from this to the floor because it’s not square. It’s very much tilted 😅 any cue or exercise to work on squaring the hip in the air? I can’t see my hips upside down hahaha

Hi all,
I suffered a L5S1 herniated disc last December (going on 10.5 months).
Ultrasound also revealed Psoas tear, Proximal hamstring tear and some bursitis.
All to say - was a lot going on in that region.
I am slooooooowly recovering, and returning to activity and have fully stopped Naproxen to ensure pain signals are accurate.
Still some discomfort throughout day and a long way from pre-injury. In looking to get a 2nd opinion and spark some new ideas, i went to a highly recommended Chiro in my area.
He has really focused on "neural tension" along the sciatic nerve and encouraged me that flossing is rlly the way out. to folks have recommended flossing videos, tactics to consider, or other approaches for neural tension? Really hoping for a breakthrough soon.
Thanks for any advice.

Hello everyone, how are you? A few days ago I saw a guy here who said he did some shoulder and neck stretches and started sleeping better. It seems that he couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep because of tension... Which is also my case. Could you give me some suggestions?

OBS: Head and shouder stretches

Hello! I do kickboxing. Unfortunately I am the most unflexible person on the planet. I cannot raise my leg to the side or sit criss cross applesauce. I have tried doing split exercises and such. I have noticed that when I sit or something, stretching my legs open it usually pops and it hurts a little bit as it does. I generally do not have any idea what could be the problem. Has anyone else experienced this?

has anyone seen the yoplait yoplus yoga commercial from 2009 well I was wondering if that was a real yoga pose and if it has a name and if you wanna see the commercial just search up Yoplait yoga commercial here is a link https://youtu.be/xgbj46dp7DU

I'm currently following Tom Merrick's Big 5 routine 3x a week after I run, but I just don't feel like it's enough to make meaningful progress, as there's just one active stretch and one passive stretch for each of the Big 5. I love all of the flexibility info that Dani Winks has on her blog (and all the stuff she shares in this subreddit) so I was thinking of switching over to following her two 10-minute routines for front splits and middle splits/pancake.

My question is, how do I take these 10 minute routines and really use them effectively within a weekly workout routine? On her blog, she recommends going through each routine 3-4 times, but I don't think I have the mental endurance to go through both routines 3-4 times in one sitting after already working out. However, if I only trained one of the routines and trained a total of 3x per week as I do now, that also feels like very little. Should I train more often (like 6x per week instead) and just do one of the routines each day I train? Should I do both routines but just go through them fewer times in one sitting? Or maybe just focus on progressing with one routine for a while before incorporating the other? Or something else?

Thank you in advance!!

i’m super non-flexible in pretty much every way possible. so if anyone has a list of stretches i can do that’ll target certain areas of my body at a time that’d be amazingly appreciated!! also, preferably ones that you’ve tried and know for sure are reliable!

I spent 20+ years doing ballet and yoga pretty intensely before quitting pretty abruptly about 10 years ago. Although I’ve kept an active lifestyle it wasn’t until the last 6 months that I started actively trying to regain flexibility. I’m making a lot of progress except the top 2 ish inches of my hamstrings up to the top of my hip bones on the back and sides. I’ll stretch them out, they will feel a bit better but within hours they stiffen back up. I’ve tried strengthening, stretching 2-4 times a day, biofreeze, chiropractic, and massage, nothing seems to help long term. Any ideas?

Hi everyone!

I’m currently a month deep into trying to get my flexibility back as an ex dancer. The couch stretch is hands down the best for my hip flexors, but I was wondering if anyone knows any ways to make it more active or PNF-style. Thanks in advance 🫶🏼

Is there hope for me? I’ve been stretching every day for a few weeks and have not seen progress. Any tips for exactly what I should be doing? Ive been trying to hold my middle “split” as low as I can go for 30 seconds at least once a day. I’ve been extremely inflexible my entire life.

I have the WORST trap/shoulder tightness on my left shoulder and trap area. It is always tight, sore, and uncomfortable. When I rotate my arm/shoulder, I hear cracks and pops, which I assume is not good. I try to sit straight and have good posture, exercise, de-stress, etc., but nothing works. Is there a miracle movement/stretch/lift I need to add to alleviate pain? I even get massages occasionally and they're always like wow youre super tense. My doctor tells me it could be anxiety induced...It's only my left side - my right shoulder/trap are less tight, and I wear my bag on my right shoulder so I would assume that would hurt more but it doesnt.... Please help me!!