This is a favorite 'go to' physiotherapy exercise for a great number of the patients in my clinic. Patients with the following conditions have a tendency to have decreased spinal stability while extending their hips:
- Herniated lumbar spine discs
- Sciatica
- Back pain
- Hip impingement
- Patellar tendonitis
- Meniscus tears
- Sacroiliac dysfunction
When there is decreased spinal stability with hip extension, there will be excessive and destructive movement in the pelvis and lower back. This adds a great deal of stress to the areas and opens the door to injuries. To deal with this, as a chiropractor, I like starting off my patients with this exercise:
- Start in a wide kneeling stance, if that's easy then progress to a more narrow stance
- Maintain tall perfect posture. That means tall height, not pulling your shoulders back excessively.
- If you had discomfort or difficulty with the this movement revert back to the Cross Crawl exercise and concentrate on that.
- Don't let yourself hold your breathe