Expert: Dianne M. Buxton - 12/29/2007

Question
Hi Miss Buxton. I am training in ballet, and one night just before class I was stretching my left leg to the side,
I had my knee very close to my head, and I just stretched a little further and then I felt something like a rip. Now I
I have a hard time getting my leg above 90 degrees when I brush it to the front and I am no longer able to go into the splits with my left leg forward. If I stretch daily, do you think I will be able to get my flexibility back? This happened a month or so ago. And what else could I do to care for it?
Thank you in advance. Michelle

Answer
Hi Michelle. Rips and tears in muscles create scar tissue, immediately. If that is in fact what happened, and that is the most likely scenario. You may have torn the cartilage around the hip socket, and that would also create scar tissue and reduced range of motion. That is called a labral tear.

You may have torn a ligament as well as muscle tissue. Probably the hamstring tore, and scar tissue and adhesions have formed. A sports massage to have cross-fiber work will work out the injury, slowly but surely. Also, icing after class, after massage, after hot baths, will help a lot.

A homeopathic ointment called Traumeel would be good to use. It repairs soft tissue injuries and is a long term thing.

If you cannot get a massage, get a soft rubber ball and roll it around under the top of your hamstring (sitting on the floor)and on down the muscle. You will feel tender spots, but they will work out if you do this every day. The rubber ball massage can be done on all your muscles too.

I hope this helps - it never hurts to see a chiropractor who can do some ultrasound therapy or cold laser therapy, wonderful for injuries. And you'll get a correct diagnosis too!

All the best, Dianne

A brief follow up - I've recommended to almost everyone to read my articles and blog entries at http://www.theballetstore.com You have to create a user name to log in to see all the blog entries - your privacy is safe! I really apologize that I didn't tell you this - I'm not a technical person!