It’s Hip to Take Care of Your Hips
Here at FRF we bring you no bullshit opinions and facts to help guide your fitness journey and needs. One factor of training that is often overlooked, and usually preventable (or at least fixable) are imbalances of the body. One in particular today- muscles of the hip. Before we dive into the nerdy language, the reason overactivity can put a damper on movement quality is threefold: 1) produces underactive muscles likewise, 2) can cause stress or injury if not properly corrected and warmed up, 3) limits the ability of exercises to be performed and executed properly.
Musculature of the hip can affect many movements and arthrokinematics (movements of your joint surfaces) in the body based on imbalances. Overactive hip musculature can contribute to dysfunctions in movement patterns. Overactivity of musculature can be due to sedentary positions, improper form, or muscle imbalances. Let’s dive into some reasons, causes, and effects!
The overactive response of hip flexion (the main action of sitting where the thigh is closer to the pelvis) can affect athletic stance and performance of skills in many planes of motion. By lengthening the hamstrings and putting stress on knee position, flexion should be properly combatted especially in athletes or clients who sit for long periods of the day. Extension (or stretching) of these overactive muscles can benefit an individuals’ posture and movement ability. Aslan et al. (2018) states that lack of flexibility or overactive muscles could result in early muscle fatigue, altered movement patterns, poor dynamic balance, and diminished joint position sense to maintain control of lower extremities during physical activities. In addition, many muscles necessary for hip flexion, are also needed for knee extension which can further disrupt balance ability.
Improper movement patterns make dynamic stretching a risk factor and possibly ineffective for corrective stretching, thus PNF has been suggested (Aslan et al., 2018). When comparing dynamic and PNF (hold and relax) techniques on the extension of the hip, Aslan et al. (2018) found PNF to be favorable to dynamic by producing immediate and short-term increases in range of motion despite duration of stretch lasting less that dynamic results. This means that simple stretches like a prone hamstring stretch (lying on the ground) is more beneficial that a Frankenstein walk.
The piriformis (deep in the hip) can become overactive, and if not properly stretched can pull the hip and knee internally, affecting gait and joint kinematics eventually effecting squatting, lunging, and lower extremity movements (Tanveer & Shahid, 2018). According to Kanwal et al. (2018), stretching exercises and friction massage can be useful treatments for lengthening piriformis tightness. Massage treatment was shown to be more effective to aid lengthening by realignment of fibres and increased blood supply, whilst stretching can only offer decreased tension and increased length of the muscle (Kanwal et al., 2018). Foam rolling can also be an option of self-myofascial massage and release. Maintaining proper length-tension relationships in musculature of the hip is essential to providing stability and a proper base of support to any functional movement. Why does this matter? Because the length-tension relationship is responsible for force production! Thus, too much length is less power. Similarly, too little length is also a decrease of power.
Marchetti et al. (2018) performed a study limb position and muscular activation in balance and stabilization to identify base of support factors and found imbalances in hip musculature to greatly effect ability of movement in many areas. By changing the stance to in-line lunge rather than traditional, the base of support is smaller, requiring greater stability and precision of adjustment (Marchetti et al., 2018). Thus, if hip flexors were overactive, being placed in a position of hip extensor dominance would be difficult to balance due to imbalance. Furthermore, to increase hip extensor strength in addition to stretching hip flexor, the lunge of any style would be a valuable tool to use for stress under load to increase base of support strength (Marchetti et al., 2018). This is important for individuals who need modifications or corrections.
To sum up, effects of hip dysfunctions can be seen through lower limb kinetics and lumbopelvic factors. PNF stretching and friction massage have been shown to help lengthen short and tight muscles of the hip to help balance out muscle activity. Lastly, lunges of different stances, have been shown to rely on hip extensors which could be helpful to build strength in overactive hip flexor imbalances.
If you feel like you have a primarily sedentary job/lifestyle and may suffer from imbalances or overactive hip flexion, let us know! We would love to chat and help you!
References:
Aslan, H. I. Y., Buddhadev, H. H., Suprak, D. N., & San Juan, J. G. (2018). Acute effects of two hip flexor stretching techniques on knee joint position sense and balance. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 13(5), 846.
Kanwal, R., Imran, J., Awan, W. A., Khan, R., & Malik, S. (2018). Stretching exercises versus deep friction massage for the management of piriformis syndrome. The Rehabilitation Journal, 2(02), 65-69.
Marchetti, P. H., Guiselini, M. A., da Silva, J. J., Tucker, R., Behm, D. G., & Brown, L. E. (2018). Balance and lower limb muscle activation between in-line and traditional lunge exercises. Journal of Human Kinetics, 62(1), 15-22.
Tanveer, F., & Shahid, S. (2018). Frequency of piriformis tightness in professionals middle aged women. Rawal Medical Journal, 43(4), 685-687.
