So I'm sure most of you already know this, but stretching actually is really important. I've learned this the hard way. Since about last September I've been having hip and back problems. They really intensified in the last few months to the point where I could barely walk.
I started to get some pretty intense pain all down my lower backside; including my hips, hamstrings, glutes, etc. For a while I couldn't even sleep at night because of how much pain I was in. I went to my doctor and she told me that I probably needed some physiotherapy and massage therapy.
First, I went to the physiotherapist. I had about four sessions and that cleared up a bit of the pain. He gave me some stretches to do three times a day and that really helped for the pain in my glutes. The problem was, my hips, back and hamstrings started to get worse. I'd walk by dragging my left foot because my hip was too tight to actually raise it off the ground.
I went to a massage therapist last week and she went to work on everything. She also gave me some more stretches to do and told me to put a hot pack on once a day. Basically, she said my muscles shouldn't be as tight and sore as they are for someone as young as me, and that the reason they were like this was because I'd been working out for about a year and never took the time to stretch.
So a few hundred dollars and a whole bunch of pain later, I think I've probably learned my lesson. I also haven't been able to workout since the beginning of March. Bottom line: take the time to stretch before and after working out.
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