On a day to day basis the majority of us are sitting, sitting and doing more sitting. Sitting on our drive to work while stuck in traffic, sitting at our desk from 8am-5pm, sitting for all of our meals and sitting for some entertainment as well. Then, it’s decided that a workout, a run, a yoga class or go for a hike then wonder why you have so much hip or low back pain. Look at your day as a ratio, if your ratio is well in the favor of being in the sitting world then it’s time to change your routine!
Hip mobility is not only important for the hips and being able to move well but it also has effects on our low back, knees and even all the way down to the ankles in our performance athletes. This is due to the numerous muscles that cross the hips and an additional joint, making it a two-joint muscle: hamstrings, rectus femoris, gastrocs, sartorius, tensor fascia latae. By improving our hip mobility, we are able to set our body up for success in our daily activities we are choosing to execute without having to find compensation patterns in the hopes to avoid pain.
Here is a few tips & tricks to improve hip mobility:
1) Foam rolling: deep pressure helps “turn off” muscles & changes our pain pressure threshold in a few “short” minutes
2) Use a resistance band: the band I’m using in the video is a 75# resistance band that can be found at Rogue Fitness or Amazon. Using this band can assist in self joint mobilizations aka a deeper stretch
3) Elongated stretches: Short, dynamic movements are great and HIGHLY suggested before sport performance or activity, where long holds are used to change the true tissue length (45sec-1min)
