Nicholas Quesnel Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 (edited) Hello all. I've recently dived into GST, and I'm taking things slow. I have a problem with some of the stretches, as well as two solutions worked out, and I'd like some advice on which course of action I should take. The background: My tibias are twisted, more so the right one. As such, when my knees are straight and relaxed, my right foot is pointed outwards at about 45º, and my left points outward at about 30º. For me to bring my feet parallel and straight takes some effort, and to point them inwards is tremendously difficult. I was born this way, so it's not a huge problem for me. I need to snowboard instead of skiing, and I can't use toe-clip pedals on my bike. No big deal. Since starting GST, however, I noticed a problem for me in the front split stretch series. On the hurdler-type stretches, with my ankle elevated on the block, due to my ankle and knees not having their primary axis of articulation in the same plane, during the stretch, my ankle against the block has a torque applied to it, not unlike a "heel hook" submission in BJJ. This causes a tremendous degree of pain afterwards on the inside (MCL I believe) of the corresponding knee. I've worked out two solutions, and would like some advice as to which is better. 1. Support the outside of the foot during this stretch. This will eliminate the rotation of the foot, even though the ankle isn't vertical, and prevent the torque from being applied at the knee. 2. Rotate the ankle until my foot is vertical during the stretch. Doing so may cause my knee to rotate inwards, and it may just transfer the problem 30º clockwise (or 45º CCW). 3. Some other solution. Edited to add pictures: Note for now I'm using solution #1. Solution #2 seems to have no effect. In both diagrams, the knee is vertical. Edited June 8, 2016 by Nicholas Quesnel Clarification with pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petra Dvorak Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Hi Nicholas! I think if you feel (tremendous) pain in/after the stretch, it is too agressive... Could you post two pictures of your solutions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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