Flexible hips reduces the risk of lower back pain
To follow is a brief explanation of how better hip flexibility can reduce the risk of lower back pain and some exercises that can help you regain the hip flexibility you may have lost over the years.
As an Osteopath in Kingston for the last decade Hugo has treated thousands of patients with lower back pain and the common factor that almost all patients share is a reduction in hip range of movement.
Loss of hip flexibility
Hips provide us with extension, flexion and rotation when we walk, run or just being active on our feet. However, we live very sedentary lives often sitting for over 12hrs a day whether it be commuting, working at our desks, sitting down to eat meals, watching tv at the end of the day. Sitting is in effect telling our hips to be Flexed. And so our muscles and nerves can be forgiven for thinking that this should be our default state. Increased requests for Flexion reduces the hips’ ability to extend and rotate.
This in turn, forces our lower backs to become involved in achieving extension and rotation when we walk and run so increasing the work load of the back muscles and joints.
It is this increased work load that ultimately leads to injury in the form of muscle strains and joint inflammation.
Improving Your Hip Flexibility
This can be done by regularly telling your hips to extend and rotate through a series of daily exercises. So if you sit at your desk for 8 hrs a day (Flexed hips) then you must get up at least every 60 mins and extend your hips. This way your hips will maintain the ability to extend when you ask them to and not rely on your back muscles to step in and do some of the work.
Hip Extension exercise
Do this regularly throughout the day and first thing in the morning and before you walk or run or as part of your warm ups in the gym. It’s also great to do if you have been cycling or rowing which involves significant hip flexion.
Hip rotation exercise
Do before walking or running to ensure you get could hip rotation and less work for the lower back. Use as part of your gym warm up too.
Both these exercises should be pain free so if not please get in touch with Hugo or your Physical therapist.
If you would like to find out more about how Hugo could help your hips move better and reduce the risk of future back pain then call on 0208 226 3767 or book an appointment online
