There is some debate if you can actually stretch the collagen of a joint capsule, at least in a brief stretching technique. I believe you can, but most of the differences you feel before and after stretching are probably due to neuro-muscular changes. A low load, sustained stretch repeated many times may affect capsule tissue.
Probably the best positions would be a combination of a ‘doorway’ stretch with your forearm against a door frame in a ‘stop sign’ position and leaning through the door. This is a classic pectoral muscle stretch. If you then drop your arm down and have your palm blocked in the doorframe, step through the door and turn your body away. You will typically feel the stretch through your biceps. This tends to load the superior capsule.
The position your shoulder blade is in will strongly influence which part of the capsule is stretched, so there is a lot of inherent error in how specific you are. Various soft tissue techniques with or without tools could be helpful if well- applied gently below the front of your acromion. This is a pretty sensitive area, so I would encourage only a trained person to administer it.
With all this advice, the caveat is that it depends on what is going on with your shoulder. Rarely is a tight antero-superior capsule the key to a shoulder problem. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to get some PT eyes on your shoulder. You usually need some trained help to efficiently navigate your way through a shoulder condition.
There are a number of things you may have done, possibly including Sacro-Iliac strain, facet joint, or ligament or disc strain. It is hard for me to give you specific advice without doing a detailed evaluation on you. The good news is that it is unlikely you have done anything serious, and you should make a full recovery. If the pain is staying localized to your back and hip, and nothing was seen on X-ray, these are all good signs. However, I know that’s not very much comfort to you right now.
I know your physical therapist was unsure what was going on and referred you to a physician, but PT is very likely the best thing to get you active again. It may be worthwhile either re-visiting your PT, or seeking out a PT with manual therapy, orthopedic, or sports certification/specialization.
In the meantime, stretching out your hip muscles (gluteals, piriformis, IT band) is generally helpful. Performing gentle back mobilizing exercises (supine knee rolls, pelvic tilting, cat/camel) may help your back heal.
Most back strains are better in 2 weeks, and you should feel a gradual improvement within that time with some ups and downs, which are normal. Those that have pain persist for longer often haven’t regained normal movement. They keep guarded, don’t trust their back, and don’t return to activity due to fear. This is where PT is particularly helpful in preventing chronic problems and guiding you to moving well. Getting used to weight bearing evenly, walking normally, and gradually working into weight bearing exercise on your sore side and eventually running will be a good progression of exercise.
I’m not quite sure what you’ve done without taking a look at it and doing an evaluation. Some signs of needing some immediate care would be if you couldn’t weight bear on it, or if you had a lot of swelling around your knee. As active as you are, even a mild injury can be very disruptive. If you strained a muscle, you would have likely felt it at the time. If you have injured your meniscus, it sometimes comes on more gradually and is painful with fully bending your knee. It is usually accompanied by noticeable swelling around your knee. A couple of other things are possible. Is there a chance you got struck at the back of your knee?
If you can get to one of our clinics, one of our PT’s will do a quick screen of your knee and get an idea of what you’ve done. If it is something a bit more serious, they can point you in the right direction. If it’s something you need some help with, they are the best.
If you wake up tomorrow and it no longer hurts- great! If you’re still in pain, especially if it’s worse- get it checked out.
There are a lot of variables in these cases, and there is no substitute for getting a good PT to assess you thoroughly. There are some points of advice I can give you, but please understand they are quite limited in their specificity. An uncomplicated LCL strain (i.e. no other tissues were injured like meniscus, joint cartilage or other ligaments) will typically be healing well at the 3 week mark, and at 6-8 weeks should be functioning pretty well. Exercise and activity will help it heal and prevent on-going problems. A common sense approach would be to ease into activity and progress it at a pace that your body can adjust to. With a hinge brace on, performing activity without any twisting/ cutting should be pretty safe. If your knee is swollen in the joint, it’s a sign that you shouldn’t be performing a lot of weight bearing exercise and you should get it checked out.
The bike and stair stepper are where you should start. Running on even ground is more impactful, but if you do well at the other activities and ease your way into it, you should be good. When running, avoid uneven, slippery, or too soft ground. Come into this gradually. You may want to knock out 45 minutes or more to get a good cardio workout, but you should establish your knee tolerance to exercise first.
It will pay to gradually blend in some agility, and wean off the brace through the 4-8 week timeframe. Like I touched on, having a PT guide to oversee this will be your best bet to return to normal activity.