something out of place...

[eminence]

I started working out a few months ago, and this has really been a problem since I started. It almost seems like one of my legs is longer then the other, but when i'm sitting & stretching they look the same length. When I do squats my right knee/leg goes inward towards my other leg, and in my upper left leg/thigh I have a pain/discomfort when going down for the squat.

I don't think its because of improper form or because i'm doing too much weight(because i'm not) so i'm not sure what it is or what I should do. Go to the chiropractor? Have a sports massage? Go see a doctor?..between all the food, supplements, gym membership, and other expenses I have, I can't afford to throw money away by doing something that I don't need.

I've been taking it easy on my leg and back days though because of this, and i'm not making the proper gains I should be, so I need a little advice here.

 

[Quagmire911]

Can you touch your toes? Does your lower back round at the bottom of the squat? Like so ).

If not it could just be muscular imbalance. What happens when you half the weight? Does the problem persist? Is your technique fine then>?

Just some thoughts...,

Quagmire

 

[wolf116]

Fix muscle imbalances with single leg work
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=473323

 

[mrRuckus]

Look in the mirror. Is your iliac crest (hip bone) rotated higher on one side?

 

[eminence]

Can you touch your toes? Does your lower back round at the bottom of the squat? Like so ).

If not it could just be muscular imbalance. What happens when you half the weight? Does the problem persist? Is your technique fine then?

Yeah, I can touch my toes, it puts a lot of strain on my legs which is normal I think though. My lower back doesn't arch at the bottom, it seems like it stays pretty straight.

When I just squat the bar it seems like my form and posture is right, but as soon as I add weight I get a pain in my left leg, and my right leg seems to buckle in. It's not like i'm doing ridiculous amounts of weight, i'm only starting out with 85-95 lbs, and thats nothing...

Look in the mirror. Is your iliac crest (hip bone) rotated higher on one side?

It seems like its possible that my right hip bone is slightly lower then my left, it's kind of hard to tell though.

 

[Quagmire911]

Weak right hip flexor, and possibly inflexibility in the upper left leg or weakness. Those are some options, not saying it is though. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ2AB8mDsD4

Remember part 2 as well, also look at the other videos in the series but that one seems most relevant.

You may want to try box squatting for a while, gets you into the feel for the lift:

http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3395&highlight=box+squats

If you can take a good quality video, then we might have a better idea of how to further help.

May also be a case of not utilizing some of the muscles correctly etc, can cause form problems.

Quagmire