Hip pain can occur from a variety of different reasons. You can feel pain in your hip that can be originating in your lower back. You can have pain in your hip from weak muscles that surround your hip joint. Weak muscles around any joint can cause a muscle imbalance which can lead to poor mechanics when you are walking or standing. When this happens, you may start to feel pain. Below are 3 exercises that may help with improving the strength of the muscles around the hip joint. If you do not see any changes in your hip pain after trying these exercises, you will likely benefit from a one-on-one examination by a physical therapist.
When performing the “Clamshell” exercise, you will start by lying on your side with your feet and knees together and your knees bent to 90 degrees. You want to make sure that your feet are in line with your hips. You then lift your top knee toward the ceiling, while keeping your feet together. It is very important to stay on your side when you perform this exercise. You do NOT want to roll onto your back as you lift your leg. You should have NO pain when performing this exercise.
When performing the “Hip Extension” exercise, you will start by lying on your stomach. Lift your entire leg off the bed while keeping your knee straight. It is important to not arch your back when lifting your leg, the only thing that should move is your leg. Focus on squeezing your gluteus muscle to lift your leg up. You should have NO pain when performing this exercise.
When performing “Squats”, there are a lot of things to remember. It is very important to pay attention to your knees when performing a squat. As you squat, you need to make sure that your knees stay behind your toes, do NOT let your knees go past your toes. As you squat, imagine that you are sitting back into a chair. It is also very important to keep your knees apart as you squat. do NOT let your knees come together. You should have NO pain while performing this exercise.