Did you know, the hip joint is the most mobile in the body? So why is it often difficult for you to move them? A lot of time we are doing the wrong types of stretching to get your hips looser but the progress is next to nothing. How do we fix tight hips ?
Your hips drive the vast majority of your movements, holding the key to everything from walking to squatting. If they lose range of motion, you’re bound to compensate somewhere else – cue low back and knee pain. This is WHY we need to work on better hip mobility for better quality of life.
First lets find your hip. Many of you would place your hands on your hips and call it a day. Try this. Slide your hand up and down along the outside of your leg. Feel that bony bump? Yeah, that’s not your hip. But it is a useful landmark. Put your thumb there, and bring your hand flat along the front of your leg with the fingers pointing in. Now lift your leg the tiniest bit. Feel that muscle under your fingers? That’s where your hip is. Your hip is where the head of the femur meets the acetabulum, the proverbial “socket.” This understanding of the hip is tremendously useful when trying to organize your hip movement.
First exercise to master: hip circles
Your hips love circular movement. It’s what they’re built for. Hip rotations teach your hips how to navigate that three-dimensional space and regain control over that range of motion. Here’s how it’s done:
Start on hands and knees
Maintain spinal and pelvic neutrality
Bring your knee forward
Take it out to the side along an arc
Reach it around behind into extension
Reverse, moving slowly and with control
Do 5 per side x 2
Second exercise is 90 / 90 stretch
Now that your hips are loose with the first exercise, now we can start to work inside them. Find your way into a 90/90 position, with 90 degree angles at the hips and knees. You may want to put a tennis ball under your lead knee for tactile reinforcement. Think of crushing the tennis ball as you pivot on your trail toe to open the hip. When you put your body in unfamiliar positions, occasionally the nervous system freaks out and engages every muscle it can in a hunt for stability which is why you cramp.
Sit in this position for 3 minutes per side.
The final exercise is the wall hinge.
We are learning to use hip flexion by using the wall as external feedback. Get heavy in your heels, and think about reaching the sit bones back toward the wall. Get tall through the spine to avoid compensatory rounding in the back. If you can reach the wall without falling into the wall, scoot a tiny bit forward and repeat. You’re on a hunt for the end range of your balance. If you fall into the wall, scoot backwards and try again. Aim for 8-12 hinges at your end range.
And the BIG take away… Get out of an office chair and MOVE ! Your body is designed to move around and get mobile. Try to get up and use the muscles you have !