Most people are endlessly people are endlessly stretching their hips flexors (or thinking they should be), foam rolling, etc, and find that it's just never enough. There's a reason why!
The most common hip conditions are:
- Hip Impingements
- Labrum Tears
- Arthritis
But what's not always realized is that when hips don't move correctly they are responsible for creating conditions in other areas such as:
- Low Back Pain
- Bulging Discs
- Sciatica
- Herniated Discs
- Knee Pain
- Meniscus Tears
The hips are the strongest, most stable joints in the body. They allow 360 degrees of movement, while also being able to support 100% of your body weight, and more. They're amazing. Unfortunately, they are prone to lots of problems. Most likely it's because of our culture's excessive sitting, inactivity, and lack of proper maintenance. (You wouldn't be surprised if you got a cavity if you stopped brushing your teeth right? So why are people surprised when they suddenly come down with hip pain?).
The Problem With the Hips:
Most Hips are too Stiff & Most Hips are too Loose
Sounds like a contradiction doesn't it? It is. Do you ever have notice clicking, popping, or shifting deep in your hip? I find this all the time with my patients while I'm performing Active Release Technique (a myofascial release therapy) on people's hips. The patient and I both feel that extra, inappropriate motion in the hip, and that's one of the reasons that they're in pain; whether in the hip itself or in the pelvic/lower back structures. When your body notices that you have excessive movement in your hip, it's going to recruit your local hip muscles to squeeze down and try to stabilize and control the area. What does that feel like for you? Tight hip flexors! Tight Hamstrings! Now people try to fix that by endlessly stretching their hip flexors, foam rolling, etc and find that it's just never enough.
If you would put yourself in that category, consider that the core of your problem might be instability caused by excessive movement in your hip. The fix for that, luckily, takes a lot less time than the 30 minutes of stretching you might have been doing every single day. But the process is never really done either. It takes continues maintenance and updates a la brushing your teeth.
The New Way to Rehab Your Hip Injury
Our first concern is now going to be control and the second will be flexibility.
Stability and Control Training
Whenever we are attempting to re-train your balance/stability/control/movement, I find that the best way to start is with non-weight bearing exercises. Once you have sufficient movement in that position, then we introduce a partial weight bearing position (maybe a kneeling position), then finally a full weight bearing position (standing up under your own body weight).
Beginner Chiropractic Hip Stability Exercises
All of these exercises should be performed with 1-2 sets, 10 repetitions first thing in the morning or as a warm-up before more intense exercise. Be sure to minimize breath holding, jaw clenching and neck tension during all movements.
Single Leg Bridges
This exercise has been showcased in blogs in the past.
Side Planks
Intermediate Hip Stability Exercises
Cross Crawl
This exercise has been showcased in blogs in the past.
Chop and Lift
Advanced Hip Stability Exercise
Hip Airplanes
Once you develop your routine of maintaining your hip stability and control, you can stop thinking 'I just need to stretch more' like lots of my patients say. You'll be improving your movement and minimizing your risk or hip (or other) injuries while improving your balance and performance. If one of your parents or grandparents have hip replacements, this is the article for you! Please leave a comment below if you have any questions or concerns.
References:
Boren K, Conrey C, Le Coguic J, Paprocki, L,Voight M, Robinson.Electromygraphic Analysis of the Gluteus Medius and Gluteus Maximus during Rehabilitation Exercises. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2011 Sep; 6(3): 206–223
Sihawong, R., Janwantanakul, P., Jiamjarasrasi, W. (2014) A prospective, cluster-randomized controlled trial of exercise program to prevent low back pain in office workers. European Spine Journal 23:786-793
Hides, J. A., Jull, G. A., & Richardson, C. A. (2001). Long-term effects of specific stabilizing exercises for first-episode low back pain. Spine, 26(11), e243-e248.