A lot of patients will ask me about problems with their hip. So I want to go through today some exercises, and stretches and really the concept of what may be causing your hip pain and how you can get a natural solution.
The last thing you want to do is deal with pain because pain can be very inhibiting. It will keep you from doing the things that you love. It can cause frustration, and it can affect your mood and quality of life.
We also don’t want to be taking over the counter pain medications like Ibuprofen or Tylenol or Advil just to be able to get through the day and do the things we enjoy. We certainly want to do our best to avoid medical interventions like muscle relaxers, injections, and surgeries that can have many unwanted and often common side effects that really don’t address the key problem.
Natural Solutions to Prevent and Reduce Hip Pain
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Getting to the Root Cause of Hip Pain
First we want to focus on whether your spine and nervous system is healthy. Are we addressing the real issue? Is it actually a hip muscle issue or is it a spine and a nerve issue?
The first place to start is to evaluate your lumbar spine. The nerves in your low back, actually go into your hips and into your legs.
A lot of hip issues can be a nerve referral from your lower back from what’s called subluxation. This is where your spine is twisted or tilted so it’s not moving or functioning properly. Only a qualified chiropractor can really assess this for you and that’s where I would start first.
You also want to look at your pelvis. The pelvis is the base of your spine. This is where your hips attach. If your pelvis is twisted or rotated, it’s gonna create abnormal stress on your hip and it’s gonna create tension in the surrounding issue. So you could be getting hip inflammation and tightness and lack of mobility, but it may actually be a pelvic problem. That’s why getting to the cause first is very important.
We commonly see people come in with hip, knee, and foot issues, numbness, tingling, and referred pain that actually stems from the spine that can be corrected with the right type of proper chiropractic care.
Stretch Exercises for Hip Pain
If you’re currently receiving chiropractic care and it still doesn’t get better, you may have problems with your hip that could be helped with exercise.
These exercises and stretches I’m showing you today are good for anybody who’s active, anybody who wants to maintain a high quality of life, and are great for preventative issues, not just for treating a hip pain or condition.
So I’m gonna go through three flexibility exercises that you can do every day at home that are easy to do.
Inner Leg Stretch
- You want to do this seated.
- Put your feet together and bring your heels in as close as you can.
- Push your knees down with your elbows and lean slightly forward.
- When you do this, you should feel a good stretch right on the inner part of your thigh.
- You want to hold this for 20-30 seconds.
Hips, Legs, Lower Back Stretch
- This next stretch is to be done lying down.
- Lie down on your back.
- Bring your chin towards your chest.
- Grab your knees and pull your knees up towards your shoulders as you’re bringing your chin down.
- Hold this 20-30 seconds.
- You should feel a good stretch in this lower hip area.
Hip Rotation
- Lie on your back
- Bring your knees flat in this way and drop your knees to one side and turn your head to the other.
- You come back to center and you’ll stretch and turn again
- For a little added stress you can put your arm through here or reach your arm out this way.
- You’ll feel the stretch right through here into your low back and into your legs.
- Do that 2-3 times to each side and you’ll get a good rotation of the hips and pelvis.
Strengthening Exercises for the Hips
I’m also gonna show you some strengthening exercises for the hips. You want to do these ones about 3 to 4 times a week. You can incorporate these into your normal activities, workouts, or stretches throughout the day.
Bridge
- Lie on your back with your feet flat on the ground and your hands down on the ground.
- Lift your hips and pelvis up and hold for 3-5 seconds and then go back down and then back up and hold.
- Repeat this 4-6 times.
Hip Extension
- Have a sturdy chair or go up against the wall so you can be stable.
- Keeping your legs straight, you’re gonna bring one leg back as far as you can and hold for 3-5 seconds and then return back to a neutral position.
- You want to repeat this on the opposite side and bring it back down 4-6 repetitions is a good amount and make sure you do it on both sides.
Hip Swing
- Again, have a sturdy chair or go up against the wall so you can be stable.
- Swing your leg forward and back 10 times and then switch to the opposite side.
- Then you’re gonna go side to side and swing your leg both ways again, 10 with each leg.
If you do these stretches and exercise regularly you’re gonna notice that your hip mobility increases, that you’re able to do a lot more, you’re gonna be stronger, and you will have a lot less issues.
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