Valir
Physical
Therapy
Exercises for Hip Pain
Exercises
that increase
strength and flexibility
can reduce hip pain. Learn
the right way to train the
key muscles that support
the hip.
Building strength and increasing flexibility are two ways to reduce hip pain. Strengthening the muscles
around the hip helps support the joint and puts less stress on the hip, says Dave Pariser, PT, PhD, assistant
professor of physical therapy at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky.
And increasing flexibility can reduce pain. “When you lose flexibility, an abnormal amount of stress can
come across the joint,” Pariser says. “If you become less flexible, you have pain and move less, which leads to
stiffness and more pain. It becomes a negative cycle.”
Before recommending exercises, physical therapists evaluate their patients to develop a routine that’s
appropriate for their specific condition. Pariser says the following exercises, done at home and at the gym,
are generally safe for everyone. “If a patient has already received a total hip replacement, however, certain
precautions should be taken,” he says.
Exercises for Hip Pain: Working Out at Home
The following exercises can be done on a daily basis. Start with the first exercise and work up to the other
variations. These movements are designed to be relaxing, not strenuous.
•
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Squeeze your gluteal muscles by
tightening the cheeks of your buttocks. Hold for five seconds and then release, being sure to breathe
while you do it. Work up to 30 repetitions per session.
•
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Tighten the muscles in your
buttocks, then lift your hips off the ground and hold for about five seconds before slowly lowering
yourself back down. Be sure to breathe throughout the exercise. As with the first exercise, you can work
up to doing 30 repetitions, resting for a few seconds (or longer) between each. “If you start to get tired,
stop and rest for a couple of minutes,” Pariser says.
•
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Tighten your buttocks and lift your
hips off the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and lift one foot a couple of inches off the floor. Then
put it down and lift the other foot a couple of inches, all while remembering to breathe. “It’s like taking
alternate steps,” Pariser says. Work up to doing 30 steps at a time.
Exercises for Hip Pain: Working Out at the Gym
When lifting weights, it’s important to find out how much weight is appropriate for you. Pariser recommends
visiting your physical therapist to discuss how to safely lift weights without injuring your hip. “The lightest
weight on the machines might be five or 10 pounds,” Pariser says. “That might be too hard for some people.” A
good rule of thumb: Always use a weight that’s light enough for you to lift comfortably.
That builds endurance in the muscle and lowers your chance of injury, he says.
Because the design of these machines can differ, it’s best to have a trainer at the gym give you the correct
instruction. Work up to 30 repetitions of each exercise and complete them every other day to give your
muscles a chance to rest between workouts.
Squats. Using a squat machine will strengthen your quadriceps muscles on the front of your thigh and the
hamstring muscles on the back of your thigh, both of which attach to your hip and give it support. The squat
machine may be vertical, in which case you’ll start in a standing position and bend your knees until your
thighs are parallel to the floor, or it may be on a sliding incline board.
A word of caution: This exercise is not for somebody who has had hip replacement surgery or who has severe
arthritis.
Quadriceps squeeze. Use the quadriceps machine in which you sit in a chair, place your knee under a pad,
and straighten your knee against resistance, Pariser says. Squeeze your quadriceps both when you lift the
weight up and when you let it down to get the most out of the exercise.
Hamstring squeeze. Use the machine that works your hamstrings; you will either lie on your stomach or sit
with a pad behind your knee. Push against the pad, moving your knee up toward the ceiling or backward
(depending on which position you’re in). “In other words, bend your knees,” Pariser says. But to avoid cramps
in your hamstring muscles, don’t bend your knee so much that your heels are too close to your buttocks.
Exercises for Hip Pain: Working Out With Supervision
When you have help from a physical therapist at a clinic, you’ll have a chance to do exercises beyond what
you can do at home or at the gym. The therapist will help move your joint to regain motion until you can do
an activity comfortably.
The goal is for you to be able to enjoy exercising. “We want it to be a pleasant experience,” Pariser says. “A big
problem is jumping in, doing too much, hurting yourself, and deciding exercise isn’t for you.” Everyone can
benefit from exercise, and feel good while doing it.
*This article is from WWW.everydayhealth.com