The Importance of Hip Strength and Motion

Did you know that a great deal of strength comes from your hips?  A dysfunction in hip strength can cause problems with your knees. back, neck, shoulders, legs, feet, etc.Your hip joint along with the labrum, capsule, tendons, ligaments and muscles help you walk and run. When there is an injury, you are unable to move without pain or dysfunction.


Also important is the fact that a decrease in hip motion (due to restrictions in either the hip capsule or the hip muscles) will often cause excessive force to be directed into the lower back and knees. This lack of force dissipation results in your body making compensations from your lower back into your knee, neck and shoulders and can cause a series of chronic injuries.  Does this sound like anything you have experienced?


Another major problem that occurs in conjunction with hip restriction is osteoarthritis. Restrictions in your hip prevent proper dissipation of force. Ideally this energy is stored and released with normal leg motion. However if, due to restrictions, the head of your femur (leg bone) is jamming directly into your pelvis (socket joint), you will see excessive wear and tear of the hip joint. This eventually can lead to a frayed labrum or a tear in the labrum which will cause osteoarthritis, and eventually hip replacement.


Basically if your hips are restricted, your body will compensate for this lack of motion by creating excessive motion in other parts of your body. Stress in your low back and knee (due to lack of hip motion) causes compensations all the way back up to your shoulders and your neck.

Schedule a visit to Austin Family and Sports Chiropractic if you are experiencing any of the symptoms described above.  Our experienced staff can treat the root cause of your pain and can show you exercises for building strength.  We want you to hurt less and play more!  www.austinfamilyandsportschiropractic.com