So....
the saga of getting out of pain, and into better movement continues. A couple of weeks ago, a fellow TPS lifter referred me to their "guy"-- you know every powerlifter has a "guy" (or girl) who they go to for body work, or movement work, ART, chiro, etc.
Without saying too much more, I think everyone knows what I'm talking about. So, I went to check him out. He did some movement screening, some soft tissue work, some Graston, and a little ART. He then proceeded to give me some really simple homework/ stretches to do until the next time.
Additionally, he gave me some tips on how I could use voodoo floss to clear up my ankles-- which he speculated was the cause of my hip pain and inefficient squatting (due to the hip pain).
Now-- I was skeptical as to how effective this session was going to be, and I was skeptical as to how these really basic stretches and mobility methods (i.e. the voodoo floss) were going to alleviate my oh so complex problems (because we're all really complicated special snowflakes--remember?).
However, I was pleasantly surprised my next Squat session. He had done some work on my ankles (soft tissue work, and mobilizing the joints--which were incredibly locked up), but didn't really mess with my hips at all; and I had thrown the voodoo floss on my ankles throughout my normal warm up....
I had the best squat session I had had in months! My hips opened up during the warm up and didn't bother me at all throughout the session. Additionally, I felt NO pain whatsoever during or after the session (outside of normal soreness, etc.). Who knew that a little ankle work could go such a long way!
Needless to say, I'm going to continue to work with my new "guy".