Femoral Anteversion

[AColeman]

Coach Rippetoe,

I am new to the Starting Strength method and have just begun my novice progression.

I was born with femoral anteversion on my right side and thus have an external rotation deficit on that side. Practically speaking this means that my right thigh won't stay shoved out during the squat and the deadlift for more than a couple of reps.

Do you have an experience with this?

Thanks,

Al


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mark Rippetoe]

No experience with it. What is the precise nature of the deformity?

Turn off your Tapatalk sig.

[AColeman]

Coach Rippetoe,

I can't explain it better than the textbook definition, so I'm going to quote that. "Femoral anteversion is a condition in which the femoral neck is excessively rotated forward on the femoral shaft. Excessive anteversion overloads the anterior structures of the hip joint, including the labrum and capsule, and can cause snapping.'

It causes excessive internal rotation and allows for limited external rotation. Here's what it looks like when viewed from the top:

http://www.painfreefeet.ca/site/ywd_...nteversion.jpg

Al

[John Petrizzo]

No experience with it. What is the precise nature of the deformity?

Someone who truly has increased femoral anteversion (it is normal to have approximately 12-15 degrees), will have decreased hip external rotation range of motion and increased hip internal range of motion. You cannot force yourself into positions that your skeletal anatomy will not allow. With that being said, you will probably need to use less "toe out" in your stance than the 30 degrees we typically recommend. The simple answer is to find a comfortable degree of toe out (which may not be much at all in your case), and keep your knees tracking in line with your feet as we typically recommend. For you, this means you will not get as much hip external rotation and abduction as we typically like to see, but it should keep you from aggravating your hip joint.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I would add to John's comments that whatever toe angle you use, keep both sides symmetrical.

[John Petrizzo]

I would add to John's comments that whatever toe angle you use, keep both sides symmetrical.

Yes, 100%.

[MWittmer]

I am familiar with this. My son has a little over 30 degrees external rotation. I am the opposite, poor external rotation, probably around 5-8 degrees. He can squat with his feet very wide and get very low. He has actually been called for a butt touch on occasion, though he never had a lift turned down as it was only one referee. I don't think he was even aware he did it.

Anyway, as mentioned, you'll find it easier to widen your stance and probably will need to point the toes straight ahead. If your femurs and/or pelvis are asymmetrical, x-ray or CT may help in determining this, you may have an issue keeping both sides symmetrical. This cuts both ways, it's a huge advantage if you can get low in the lifts, provided you can recover. Usually, when he got that low, he was collapsing under a snatch and was not going to stand.

For regular squats, I doubt you want to go ATG. He did not squat with a stance much wider than a pulling stance, using a normal stance.

[AColeman]

I would add to John's comments that whatever toe angle you use, keep both sides symmetrical.

Thanks guys!

I just tried a less toes out stance and it felt a lot better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mark Rippetoe]

Turn off your Tapatalk sig. Everybody.