Скачать или смотреть The TFL Muscle (Tensor Fasciae Latae) - The Hidden Cause Of Low Back, Hip, Knee and Ankle Pain

The TFL Muscle (Tensor Fasciae Latae) - The Hidden Cause Of Low Back, Hip, Knee and Ankle Pain

There’s just this nagging pain you can’t seem to get rid of.

Maybe it’s your lower back, your hip, or even your knee or ankle that feels off.

You’ve stretched. You’ve strengthened. You’ve rested even.

But the issue never really goes away. It keeps coming back.

The culprit may be one muscle that you don’t realize is perpetually getting overworked…

The TFL.

And this muscle can have a far-reaching impact—leading to aches and pains from your back down to your feet. In this video, I want to break down:

Where the TFL is and what it does

How doing even the “right” moves can backfire

How to adjust your movements to help you better activate your glutes

The mobility work you need to relax this tight and overworked muscle

So first:
Where is the TFL, what does it do, and why should you even care?

The TFL or tensor fasciae latae is a small muscle on the outside of your hip.

To feel where your TFL is so you can notice when it is working, put your hand on the front top of your pelvis down your leg as you’re lying on your side.
Rotate your toe down toward the ground, turning your leg all the way up toward your hip. This internal rotation of your hip should make your TFL tense.

Ever notice that area really burning or working during moves like band walks where you’re trying to make your glutes work?
That’s your TFL compensating for your glute medius and becoming overworked and probably tight.

And this is what can throw your ENTIRE lower body out of alignment and even perpetuate back pain.

Your TFL helps:

Flex your hip

Internally rotate your thigh

Abduct your leg

Because it connects into your IT Band, tension in your TFL doesn’t just stay local.
It impacts your knee and even reaches your ankle. It even changes the way your feet strike the ground.

Over time, these changes in your movements—these compensations—can lead to:

IT Band Syndrome

Patellofemoral pain (or runner’s knee)

Hip impingement or hip pain

Shin splints

Even chronic ankle issues

And here's the kicker—and why you need to care about this muscle…

You might be seeing some of these other aches and pains and so focused on the point of pain you didn’t realize the culprit is this nasty little sucker of a muscle.

So all of your work to correct those other issues doesn’t pay off, and you just constantly struggle with aches and pains sidelining you.

Now if you’re like, “But I am doing glute medius strengthening because I’ve heard my TFL is the issue…”

That’s great… BUT…

What do you feel working?

Because “good” moves, the “right” moves, done with the wrong muscles working?
That’s only going to make the issues worse and lead to a lot of frustration that your hard work isn’t paying off.

Going back to when I mentioned band walks…

Ever do those and end up rubbing right where you now know your TFL is?
Or maybe it’s clams. Or a lateral raise…

If you don’t feel the side of your butt really being the main muscle working and instead feel the burn in your TFL…
Your TFL is still running the show.

You may even be trying to roll out other areas that feel tight…
Foam rolling your back when it gets sore, your lower leg because your ankles are having issues, or even around your knees because they’re feeling twingy…

But none of this is addressing the original overcompensation pattern.

You can’t just fix the tight spots downstream.
You have to go straight to the source.

So how do you change those recruitment patterns and get your glute medius working as it should instead of your TFL taking over?