This is a good series of exercises for anyone who has any low back pain, hip pain, and/or knee pain. This is a great series that you can do with no exercise equipment needed and do at home or pretty much anywhere. There is a lot of research that supports hip strengthening can help those areas listed earlier. Everyone could use a little stronger hips and I’ve never read anything that would indicate your hips being too strong and cause problems. I would recommend this for pretty much everybody.
You will get in a side lying position for all of these exercises. A common problem is people tend to lean backwards a little more than needed. I would recommend leaning a little more forward than you may think. Now I typical recommend starting with 3-5 reps of each exercise and 2 sets of the whole series.
The first exercise is just bringing the leg up towards the ceiling, a little less than 45 degrees is good. You should be able to feel the muscle working right under the pelvis bone. The next exercise is these kicks. You should bend the knee and bring it up towards your chest and then straighten the leg and bring it back to the starting position. Try and keep the leg parallel to the ground. Again, nice slow and smooth motions. The last one is my favorite. Pretend like there is a piece of paper at the bottom of your foot and you have a sharpie between your toes (you can try it and really see what I mean). I want you to draw a circle, moving just from the hip, forward and backwards 3-5 times. This one will start to burn pretty good. You will probably notice as well that your “circle” is more of a square or the motion is rigid like a clock. This is a good indication that you could improve on this and strengthen your hips. The goal is your motion to be nice and smooth. This one is tough, but a good one because you will notice your circle getting smoother and more like a circle.
Again, if you have low back pain, knee pain, or hip pain, this is an easy series that you can do anywhere with no equipment needed. Comment or email any questions you might have.
Try these exercises and get started strengthening your hips today. This will not only be good for those with pain, but for prevention of injury as well. Check out some of our other videos here.
Tahoe’s Premiere Sports Chiropractor
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