Prevent Hip Pain while Running - Importance of stabilizing the hips while running
One of the most important joints in our body are the hips. It is responsible for our lower body movement which is how we are able to walk and move around every day. When it comes to running, the hips are a key factor that allows any individual to perform this exercise. When the hips become stable, it allows for better running. During running, the individual’s body should not shake rock around. The importance of stability isn’t addressed as often as it should as poor balance and stability is a huge area of deficit for many runners.
As an alternating single leg activity, the ability to stand on one leg without swaying is very important! Having your pelvis neutral is not only benefits your hip stabilization, but it allows your big toe to interact with the ground optimally as the weight shifts to the middle of your foot. On a side note, the lack of adequate big toe extension can potentially cause HUGE issues upstream. Here are a couple simple exercises you can do at home or at the gym to strengthen your hip stabilizers and make sure you decrease the amount of excessive stress on your body when you run.
1. Hip Hikes (with or without chair) 3x6 reps per side
2. Alt Marching Glutes Bridges 3x16 reps total
3. Side lying hip bridges (knee bent) 3x10 reps per side
4. Side lying hip Bridges (leg straight) 3x10 reps per side
5. Bird Dog 3x8 reps per side
Ricky Chen, Student Author
Honours Kinesiology Co-op
Undergraduate, University of Waterloo