Pulled my iliacus...?

[Q.]

I haven't been able to deadlift much in about six months because of back problems, including a lot of tightness. I was feeling good today so I was doing fairly light (135 lb), high rep (10-12) and possibly too fast deadlifts hoping to get all the parts moving well again... and then I pulled something. Based on this image...



I would say it's right where #1 attaches (assuming that's in the front ). I came back and iced it and have since taken a couple of NSAID's. I guess I'll just work around this tomorrow but it sure is frustrating to have one damned thing after the other all the time!

[Leigh P.]

What were your previous back problems?

[bryanc]

Well, it's technically the front of the pelvis, but illiacus is also behind all of your intestines.

[Q.]

Originally Posted by Leigh P.

What were your previous back problems?

Well, when I was in high school.... geez, that's a difficult question to answer because I've had problems for many years but nothing bad enough to stop me completely, just slow me down.

HERE is a brief description from another post here. I could probably find more but I really do think that a lot of my recent problems have to do with shortening of this very muscle due to sitting at a desk too much and causing an anterior tilt in my pelvis. I just got Stuart McGill most recent book from the library and am excited about reading it. I'm hoping so see how to address this particular problem and get a better understanding of the overall problem, how to avoid aggravating it, and how to address it when it does.

[Dr Clay]

I suspect you've already gotten it figured out.

Stretch your hip flexors prior to deads and squats. (You're probably going, "Wow, thanks, Dr Clay for stating the obvious.) Fast dead could especially cause this cause they rapidly stretch this (likely) shortened muscle.

[Q.]

Thanks for all the feedback! After I wrote that, I remembered that I had actually added 50 lbs to the lift and was trying to maintain the same speed of the lift from before so, as Dr. Clay points out, I probably wasn't prepared for it, i.e., still was too tight. I have the latest Stuart McGill book and I was reading about motor unit recruitment so that's why I was doing faster reps in the first place. I did a quick search just now and found lots of articles on this and they often mention taking care to avoid injury doing this, which I didn't.


Here's an excerpt from one by Waterbury on the topic (Source):

Now, I've been on my soapbox for years about the importance of fast muscle contractions, but that's not to say that there's no place for anything else. The incorporation of slower eccentrics, pauses, and supramaximal holds definitely have their place within the iron game. What I'm trying to convey is the importance of lifting a load as fast as possible.
The force/motor unit relationship has been effectively demonstrated in the neuroscience community. But, all you really need to understand is there exists a positive correlation between the speed of movement (force production) and motor unit recruitment (i.e. the faster you lift, the more motor units you'll recruit). This is obviously important when you attempt to produce as much force as possible.


Honestly, how many times have you said to yourself, "What can I do to decrease the amount of force in my next set of squats?" Well, you probably haven't ever said that, and in fact you'd probably assume that such a line of thinking is absurd. Guess what? You are decreasing the amount of force your muscles can produce when you lift a load slowly!

Is there ever a reason to lift slowly? Of course there is! It's called rehabilitation. Whenever a joint is damaged, or whenever a movement pattern must be re-programmed, slower concentric contractions are beneficial. But if you're training for the most size and strength, you should strive to lift the load as fast as possible while maintaining perfect control (form).



...and from Dr. Squat:

The issue of whether one can learn to recruit more fibers (beyond simply practicing the event - which lowers impulse traffic that reaches the motor-neuron) by training at faster velocities is, at best, unresearched. The ability to generate tension and exhibit high power is due to nervous innervation and the myofibrillar activity of the muscle fibers (both genetic). Injuries? I would suggest much carefulness in accelerating with less than maximum training weights.

[Q.]

What I think might be a good stretch from T-Nation:

Basic Hip Flexor
Now that we’ve loosened up the quads, it’s time to focus on the hip flexors. This is probably the single-most overactive group of muscles, and the benefits of stretching them are numerous: improved firing of the gluteals, decreased incidence of low back injury, etc.
This stretch is identical to the one described before, except your back leg isn't elevated in this version. To increase the stretch on the psoas versus iliacus, laterally flex the body in the opposite direction of the side you're stretching (e.g. if you're stretching the right hip, laterally flex to the left).