Avoid Hip Pain With These 3 Simple Exercises
September 10, 2010 by Eric
Filed under Fitness and Exercise
In my research on hip joint pain, I have found many fascinating things; for instance, did you know that the hip joint is remarkably similar to the shoulder joint? They both are ball and socket joints. The hip joint connects the leg to the torso, just as the shoulder connects the arm. Both the hip joint and the shoulder joint are jam packed with muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves, and blood vessels. Just like the shoulder is the junction box of all the functions of the arm, so too is the hip with respect to all the functions of the leg. The one key difference, of course, is the fact that the hip is a weight bearing joint, and the shoulder is not.
There are many causes of joint pain miseries: certain illnesses, accidents, and overdoing it while indulging in your favorite weekend sports. Weekend warriors are more susceptible to injuries from sports that call for frequent sudden hip abduction (like tennis, horseback riding, and my favorite, skiing) as their bodies do not have to perform these tasks daily. Some sport related maladies are so common to have names like bowler’s hip, an inflammation of the iliopsoas tendon and its bursa, and you probably have heard of golfer’s hip, caused by the persistent and recurring traumas produced by a faulty swing. As always, prevention is the best medicine, so let me tell you about some straightforward hip exercises that can help prevent these issues before they even start.
Exercise One: Hip abductor side raise
Lie on your side with your legs extended, one leg resting on top of the other. Slowly raise the upper leg as high as it will go while keeping it straightened. Hold for a count of ten, then return it slowly to the starting position. Do twenty repetitions, then switch to your other side and repeat the exercise with your other leg. When you can do twenty repetitions on both legs easily, add ankle weights in progressive two pound increments.
Exercise Two: Sprinters Stretch
Assume modified sprinter’s position with one leg thrust straight out behind you, foot braced against a wall, your other leg tucked up under your chest, and your hands planted solidly on the floor in front of you. Let your body drop toward the floor on the straight- leg side, then raise it up again, using only your hip muscles for power. Repeat ten times, then reverse legs and do ten times again. This exercise stretches the flexor muscles for your hips.
Exercise Three: Leg swing
Sit on the edge of a table or desk. Let you leg hang free over the forward edge from the knee. Press both hands, one on top of the other, against the middle portion of the thigh. Then attempt to lift the thigh of the table while resisting with your hands. Hold for a count of five, and then relax. Start with 10 repetitions and work up to 30.
Do not ignore the simplicity of these hip exercises. You may even have tried some of these before, and may want to dismiss them as outdated. Please, trust me, do them faithfully and you will find there is nothing new under the sun, because the tried and true is simply that. For more tips on getting inspired to exercise, read my article Exercise Joint Pain Away.
If you would like to learn more useful exercises and see how they are done, check out the Hip Joint Pain Relief Youtube Channel
A healthy attitude is contagious but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.
-Tom Stoppard
