Why are my hips sore?

Chances are if you’re reading this you have at least one hip and at some point it has given you trouble. Hip pain or stiffness has likely gotten in the way of your daily activities or restricted your ability to exercise on more than a few occasions. Our hips are at the centre of our body’s movement, so if they are functioning poorly then our ability to move freely and unrestricted will be compromised. Poor hip function can cause local issues around the hip but often contributes to pain and dysfunction in other areas like the lower back and knees.

The primary reason for developing hip pain for most people is a lack of movement and excessive sedentary behaviour, an all too common theme in our modern lives. You may workout regularly but chances are you still accumulate a lot of static postures through work or leisure and it’s unlikely that your exercise habits routinely explore and work the hip joints and muscles to anywhere near their full range or capacity. Though most hip pain is not serious and can be helped with the right exercise, we recommend consulting a health professional if you are worried or have persistent symptoms.

Am I Stiff or Weak?

Most likely it’s a combination of both. There is a lot of confusion out there around the terminology of flexibility, mobility and strength. Essentially flexibility can be considered passive and is about the soft tissues (muscles, tendons and ligaments) ability to temporarily elongate to allow movement through a range while mobility centers around our ability to move through a range of motion with control before becoming restricted. Mobility requires strength to control your flexibility.

Take for example someone who can squat 200 kilos to a parallel depth. This would obviously be considered strong in that range. However if the same individual cannot perform a body-weight squat below parallel depth without falling over or requiring support then we could say they have poor squat mobility. Passively if they can still achieve a deep squat position using some support we can say that they have reasonable flexibility in their soft tissues to allow this. Ideally this individual will work to improve their mobility so that they have better strength to control a greater degree of flexibility i.e they can drop comfortably and controlled into a deep body weight squat without assistance.

Should I Stretch or Strengthen

Again for most people the answer here is both but the key is identifying exercises that allow you to improve on both simultaneously whilst also offering functional value. Being inflexible is not great as your natural joint range of motion may be restricted and eventually painful. Inflexibility can lead to struggles with basic everyday activities like bending to pick something up or getting in and out of bed or your car. If you are weak then as discussed before you will not be able to control your flexibility or movement again making you more vulnerable to injury and pain.

This is where we need to be smart and specific in identifying our own needs and training with functional goals and targets in mind. You may have great flexibility and touching your toes is a breeze but when asked to do a basic lunge you lack the strength, balance and co-ordination. Conversely as with our example above you may have great strength for lifting weight but only in a limited range and the idea of touching your toes or sitting in a deep squat seems ridiculous. There is no single one recipe to fix all here but in essence mobility training will work both our strength and flexibility needs, we just need to identify the right exercises.

Try this mobility routine we have created to help identify your own personal problem areas. What to you find most difficult and are you struggling due to tightness, weakness or a combination of both?

Up for a challenge? Try this routine a few times and note the 3 exercises or positions which you find most restricted or difficult to perform. Now practice them consistently at lease 3 times per week for the next 4-6 weeks and see what changes and improvements you can achieve

At the bottom of this blog you can see each of the individual exercises that make up our hip mobility routine. Click the link below to download your FREE PDF copy of these exercises including some key tips .

Challenge to Change

For the vast majority of people our lives and even our exercise or training keep us moving in basic linear patterns (up and down). We don’t often (if ever) challenge our hips with lateral or rotational exercises and most people end up weak and unstable in these positions compromising their hip health and function. That’s why we designed these routines to explore and challenge these less common positions.

This next video demonstrates 3 more advanced hip mobility exercises that you can try. Please only attempt what you feel able and do not work into pain or through injury. Try the exercises in the video below and see how you feel. Chances are you will find this very tough but they are great exercises to improve overall hip mobility and function so if you feel able add them to your regular routine and with consistent practice you should see real improvements.

Exercise 1

Seated hip Internal / External Rotation

• Begin in sitting leaning back on straight arms, knees and hips bent and relaxed shoulder width apart with feet flat on floor.

• Gently and with control lower both legs to one side trying to touch the outside of one knee and inside of the other knee to the floor. Don’t worry if this range is too much, just work as far as you feel is challenging but comfortable. Return to start and repeat to opposite side.

• Perform this movement for 60 seconds

Exercise 2

Deep Squat Hip Internal / External Rotation (Advanced Option)

• Begin in a deep squat. Ensure heels remain in contact with the floor

• Slowly rotate one knee across mid-line aiming to touch knee to floor in front of opposite foot which should remain flat with heel on floor. Allow moving leg to rotate up onto toes. Static leg should remain open and avoid any inward collapse of knee/hip position.

• Return leg to starting deep squat position and repeat with opposite leg.

• Repeat with alternate legs for 60 seconds

Exercise 3

Modified Pigeon

• Begin in 90/90 hip and knee position. Gently rotate and square hips up facing forwards

• Gently lean chest forwards through your hips and rotate slowly leaning over the forward knee

• Option to gently contract front leg pushing knee into floor, hold 5-10 seconds and release. Repeat 5-10 times.

• Work into and explore stretch for at least 60 seconds

Exercise 4

Modified Pigeon Active Hip Internal Rotation Lift

• Begin in the modified pigeon 90/90 sit with slight forward lean supporting weight on hands

• Gently lift back foot off the floor. Squeeze and hold for 5 seconds. Repeat for at least 5 contractions

• You will repeat this exercise for the opposite side once you’ve completed the routine on one side

Exercise 5

Modified Pigeon Hip Active External Rotation

• Begin in the modified pigeon 90/90 sit with torso rotated facing forward leaning weight back with hands behind you

• Gently lift the knee (with inside touching floor) & rotate outward through hip. Squeeze and hold for 5 seconds. Repeat for at least 5 contractions. Ensure opposite leg remains still with outside knee resting on floor

• You will repeat this exercise for the opposite side once you’ve completed the routine on one side

Exercise 6

90/90 Sitting Lift to High Kneeling

• Begin in approximate 90/90 sitting as shown, use hands to maintain balance without leaning on floor

• Gently lift through the hips into controlled high kneel. Squeeze the buttocks and hold for a few seconds. Return to start position and repeat 30-60 seconds

• Switch legs so back leg begins as forward leg and vice versa. Repeat active sitting movement 30-60 seconds.

Exercise 7

Frogger

• Begin in all 4s, forearms on floor. Walk knees open keeping insteps of feet and inside shins rotated inward in contact with floor

• Gently rock back through hips/pelvis as if taking bum closer to heels, squeeze knees into the floor and hold/release for 5-10 second repetitions.

• Gently work into and explore stretch for at least 60 seconds

Exercise 8

Deep Lunge Hip Opener with Arm Rotations

• Begin in lunge position, extend out back leg as far as is comfortable. Lean forward and try to come to rest on forearms. Actively drive open front knee/hip rotating out onto outside border of foot.

• Take inside arm next to front leg and rotate upwards to ceiling with a straight arm. Stretch open through shoulder, chest and spine.  Hold for 5 seconds at top position, return to start driving elbow back to the floor and repeat for 10 repetitions.

• Switch legs front to back and vice versa. Repeat process.

Thank You

Thanks for taking the time to read this guide, we hope you find it useful. Please share with anyone else who might benefit and if you have any questions comment and let us know. Don’t forget to download your free hip mobility cheatsheet. Good luck and enjoy your improved hip health.