The hip muscles form a vital link in the lower body’s connective chain. These 17 muscles provide balance, stability, and range of motion for all of your daily activities. When one or more of these muscles becomes injured or tight, the ripple effect is significant. Learning about how to prevent hip pain will benefit you in the future.
While overuse, a sudden fall or other injury can impact hip flexibility, tight hip muscles very often stem from a lack of activity. Sitting at a desk all day can quite quickly cause a tightening and shortening of the muscles. The result of any of these causes the muscles in your hips to lack proper range of motion and strength. When your hip flexors get stiff and fail to do their job sufficiently, your lower back and hamstrings have to compensate by doing the hip’s job of flexing and extending the leg and hip.
We’ve all heard a lot about core strengthening but maintaining flexibility of your core (hip flexors, glutes, piriformis, IT band, and hamstrings) is every bit as critical to reducing the risk of injury and maintaining long-term mobility. In fact, reduced flexibility not only impacts your ability to perform everyday tasks, but it is one of the leading causes of injuries.
Please see our hip pain exercises for more information.
Like the spine, the hips are a vital part of your body, and pain in the hips can have far-reaching negative effects on your everyday life. Unfortunately, because we use our hips so regularly, they can become vulnerable easily, and hip pain can be caused by a wide variety of problems. If you are experiencing hip pain, it may be a sign of:
Different types of injuries or illnesses may all cause unique long term problems. Ask a doctor to help you identify the source of your hip pain.
Every case of hip pain is different, and depending on the cause of your pain, you may experience it in different ways. Hip pain may be a constant ache or short, sharp pains that only strike when you move your joint in certain ways. In addition to feeling pain, if you have an injury or illness impairing the functionality or hip, you may also experience:
Hip pain can make it difficult to walk, stand, or even sit in certain positions. With the right exercises and treatment, however, mobility and comfort can be restored to your joint.
Rehabilitating an injury is time consuming. As with all injuries, prevention is your best defense.
Prevention options include:
Massage
Stretch