Photo: Emily Sea/Unsplash
The center of our body where all our body weight goes is the hips. They must be maintained with stretches and exercises to strengthen them to fight back pain, ankle pain, knee pain, and develop core stability. If you want to maintain a healthy hip, you have to exercise focusing on strengthening the muscles around your hips and legs. They are easy to do and can be easily added to your everyday routine. These stretches keep the hips in motion within a range and reduce pressure on joints.
Causes of Weak hips
Weakness in the hips can be caused by various factors like-
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Continuous sitting for hours
- Bone fracture
- Osteoarthritis
- Perthes’ disease
- Irritable hip syndrome
Five exercises for hip strengthening
1. Knee lifts
To perform this exercise, you must:-
- Lie down on your back on a flat surface.
- Keep the right leg straight and pull the left leg up to your chest.
- Keeps both of the hands placed on the ground by the sides.
- Hold the position for 10 seconds.
- Put your leg down & repeat with the other leg.
- Repeat ten times on each leg.
2. Hip flexion:
To perform this, you must-
- Stand keeping the back straight
- Extend your right hand to a wall or chair for support.
- Raise your left leg to your hip while keeping the other leg straight.
- Hold for 5 seconds before placing the leg on the floor.
- Repeat with the left knee.
3. Squats:
Photo: ŞULE MAKAROĞLU/Unsplash To perform a mini squat, you must-
- Stand straight keeping your legs apart to your shoulder width.
- Bend the knees a little above toes while keeping your back straight.
- Keep the feet flat on the ground and hold the position for 10 seconds.
- Repeat ten times.
4. Bridging
To perform a bridge, you must-
- Lie on a flat surface with knee bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your hands by the sides on the floor.
- Next, lift your lower back upwards while keeping the shoulder on the floor.
- Hold for 5 seconds.
- Start to lower the back from the top of the spine until the backrests on the floor.
- Repeat ten times.
5. Chair Stand:
To perform this exercise, you must-
- Place a chair with its back against the wall.
- Use the front of the chair to sit with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Keep arms crossed with hands on the shoulder.
- Stand up while leaning the upper body forward and then stand up. Keep shoulder and back straight.
- Sit slowly returning to the position.
- Repeat 4-6 times.
Five stretches for hip strengthening
1. Butterfly stretches:
To perform this stretch-
- Sit on your yoga mat on the ground or a hard surface.
- Sit by bringing the sole of your feet together where the knees are on the sides.
- Use the elbows to rest on the knees and hold the feet using hands.
- Let the knees touch the ground while keeping your back straight. Apply slight pressure on the inner thigh by gently using the elbows to put pressure on the knees.
- Hold for 20-30 seconds.
- Repeat three times.
2. Pigeon pose:
To perform this stretch-
- Place a yoga mat on the ground & bend on both hands and feet.
- Next, bring the right knee forward to place behind the right wrist. The ankle must be placed on the left hip.
- Straighten the left leg and fold the body, putting pressure on the right leg.
- Hold for 5 seconds.
- Repeat ten times.
3. Figure four stretch:
To perform the stretch-
- Lie down on the floor or a hard surface and bend your leg, feet on the ground.
- Place the right ankle on the left knee and the left hand behind the thigh of the left leg.
- Pull the leg towards your chest. You will feel the glute and hip stretch.
- Repeat ten times.
4. Leg Swings:
To perform the leg swing stretch-
- Stand by keeping the legs slightly apart.
- Maintain your balance while keeping one step behind and swing the other leg from one side to another. Avoid twisting the torso.
- Repeat ten times.
- Then, swings backward and frontwards, stretching the hips, glutes, and hamstrings.
5. Leg raise sideways:
To perform this stretch –
- Lie down on the ground on the right side and keep the legs stacked on another while keeping it straight.
- Use your right hand for head support and elbow to prop up.
- Keep the hips on the ground, use your core muscles, and raise the left leg upwards as far it can go.
- Slowly bring it down. Repeat ten times and then switch sides.
The bottom line
Gentle and flexible exercises and stretches help to strengthen the muscles around the hip and also reduce pain, and increase mobility. While there are many exercises for hip strengthening, one has to be the best judge for themselves to see what suits the body. You can also visit a physiotherapist for proper guidance and understanding of exercises meant for your body type and the severity of the condition. If you have nagging hip pain that refuses to go even after exercising you must see a doctor.
