QuestionI tore my gracilis muscle ~6 months ago and have been having issues with it ever since. I have been trying to stretch it as best I can. I have even tried cross friction, but nothing has seemed to make a dent. Any recommendations?
Thank you so much for your time and knowledge!
AnswerHi and thanks for you question.
Some of these injuries may involve other muscles besides the gracilis.
I'll have to divide your question into 2 parts. I'm not going to make this very technical so anybody can understand it.
The Gracilis muscle originates in the inside thigh from the groin area and ends on the inside ball of the Tibia (The area of the knee on the big toe side)
For this reason, the injury is mostly felt in the groin area or difficulty with flexing the knee.
Rarely the body of the muscle is involved (middle area of inner thigh).
The problem with these injuries are also very bio-mechanical (The physics of movement) where a sufferer modifies his/her walking technique to overcome pain and at the same time the affected muscle becomes lazy, loses body and fills with lactic acid to protect itself even further. A muscle needs to work and its all based on how strong that muscle is to be healthy. An unused muscle is a weak muscle. Exercise should start as soon as the acute phase passes and a rehabilitative regime is stuck to to bring the muscle back to the state it was before injury.
The outside ambient temperature (especially cold) will add to the rehabilitative period. Heating the area for 3 minutes before stretching will overcome this hurdle.
1 Groin area. You will have difficulty and stiffness closing your legs together, climbing or descending stairs and the pain is usually quite crippling when in the acute phase. I am assuming that in your case, this phase has passed out. Since you also mentioned advanced stretch techniques, I am also assuming that you are a fit person that works out regularly. The best treatment option in your case BEFORE stretching correctly is to heat the area with a re-usable heat pad or a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel.(3 minutes). Now lying on your back lift your knee keeping the sole of your foot flat on the ground. Drop your knee outwards away from you and put the sole of your foot into the 'ball' of the opposite inner knee. Have someone push down gently and incrementally holding you from the knee of the affected side and the hip bone of the opposite side. Then using massage or olive oil (I forgot to tell you to remove leg clothing). ask someone to glide the palm of the hand from the inner knee up to the groin and increase depth gradually. (effleurage). There should not be pain at any time but it should feel relieving. Then use 2 fingers,(petrissage) thumb and forefinger to squeeze the gracilis muscle working up from the knee to the groin. If you do not have someone competent to do the job, look for a reputable Massage Therapist in your area who should be familiar with these treatments. You would be asked to undress to your underpants to reach deep into the groin area which may be a bit uncomfortable 4 you if you choose a therapist of the opposite sex. Kindly do not present yourself in boxers or thigh length underpants.
2. Knee area. Bring your self into the position above after heating the affected area but this time start finger massage on the same area in circles from the skin fold of the posterior medial knee joint. You should also work up the thigh although its not affected to detoxify and move any lactic acid up towards the heart. Again, a Massage Therapist would be able to
help you identify the correct techniques.
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a link for you, which I think is excellent. Its not mine but videos and pics speak a million words. Here goes!
http://www.athletestreatingathletes.com/self-muscle-massage/self-muscle-massage-...
Copy and paste it into your browser.
Finally, I wish you the best of luck in your healing process!
Kind regards
Jeremy Lanfranco
Malta Europe
