The Hip
- Posted on: Sep 27 2017
The hip joint is a ball and socket joint which is comprised of the rounded head of the femur and the articular surface of the pelvis. The hip joint allows movement in all three planes. Sagittal: flexion and extension, Frontal: abduction and adduction and Transverse: internal and external rotation. To further that, there are many muscles that are attached to the hip joint. They are the Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Medius, Hip Adductors, Hamstring, Sartorius, Piriformis, and ITB/TFL to name a few.
Clearly the hip joint can perform several activities and actions and these are: walking, stairs navigation, rising from sitting, getting into and out of the car, stepping sideways on a low fence or object, running, sitting cross legged and even walking on a straight line. Moreover, there are sports that rely heavily on the functionality of the hip as well namely: Running, Surfing, Horse Riding, Hurdling, Water Skiing, Ice skating, Soccer, Sprinting, Wrestling and Cycling.
When hip muscles are not functioning well, there are a number of conditions or problems that can occur such as low back pain, knee pain, hip pain, hip imbalances, sciatic nerve pain, piriformis syndrome, groin pull and even restriction of stride length in walking or running.
Therefore, there are various exercises that can be done to strengthen as well as stretch specific muscles. To name a few, the quadriceps can be strengthened by performing squats, quads knee extension, leg press, or cable hip flexion. To stretch the quadriceps, one can perform self- quads stretch by laying face down, and using opposite hand to hold ankle or wrap a towel around the leg and hold it for 10-30 seconds. Meanwhile to strengthen the hamstrings, one can perform leg curls with or without weights around the ankle. To stretch the hamstrings, one can actively straighten the leg and use a strap or a towel to hold it for 10-30 seconds.
By: Rhia Vista, PTA
Tagged with: Ball & Socket Joint, Hip
Posted in: Hip/ SI Joint
