5 Reasons Why Hip Stability is Important
In all the people that I evaluate, including high ranking professional athletes, the number one focus is on hip function and hip stability – in other words how they use their pelvis.
TRUE FACT: If people understood better how to use their pelvis and hips, we could eradicate lower-back pain, knee pain, foot problems, and many other aches that make us miserable. Below is information designed to help you build a strong foundation.
1. We tend to think that if our ankles, knees or feet hurt there must be something wrong wrong with those areas. The pelvis is in charge of controlling core pillar strength, you might have the greatest legs and thighs, but if something goes wrong with the core, all the muscles superior and inferior to the core cannot function at 100% efficiency and loose their stability.
2. Many injuries are caused by hip tightness and a lack of hip stability. As a result, the body does not recruit the necessary muscles from the pelvic region, and it puts more stress on other areas, which overcompensate and get injured.
3. On either side of the pelvis is a hip “joint capsule” where the femur attaches to the pelvis. There are approximately 45 muscles in and around this hip capsule that creates the “hip cuff”. You should be able to rotate your knees in and all the way out, as well as lifting your leg up or back and in every combination.
4. Most people get into trouble squatting by using their quadriceps rather than the muscles of the hip to initiate movement. As a result the knees slide forward, the glutes (your butt) don’t get accessed, and there is undue pressure on the knees and back. The goal is to become more glute dominant.
5. Remember, you’re a competitive athlete in the Game of Life. Throughout the day, engage those glutes, keep that stomach tight and elevate the chest. Soon you’ll be gliding through life like the successful person you are!
Written by,
Sidney Silver: TPI Golf Medical & Golf Fitness expert. www.SilverSportsTherapy.com (415) 932-6775