The small habits that will help improve your hip mobility

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“When you’re sitting for eight hours, you’re teaching your body that this is the position we’re supposed to move and live in,” says Ryan Matisko, a physical therapist in New York City.

How you stand can also affect your hip mobility. Leaning more weight on one leg overloads that side of your body and can lead to inflammation of the hip and knee joints. Matisko suggests checking the soles of your shoes to see if one is more worn down than the other – that’s a sign you’re favo one leg. If you are, focus on placing equal pressure on both feet when standing.

Make mobility exercises a daily routine

To test your hip mobility, try touching your mid-calf without bending your knees or bringing one ankle over your opposite knee while sitting. Struggling with either of those movements can be a sign that your hip joint is limited.

If your hips hurt, even performing basic tasks can feel intimidating. But inactivity can lead to joint stiffness, more discomfort and pain in other areas of the body, says Dylan Kobsar, an associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario.

If you don’t have pain, mobility exercises can still improve the range of motion of your joints and prevent future tightness, Tanaka says.

Start by setting aside five minutes at the beginning and end of your day to focus on exercises that take your hips through each plane of movement, like forward and back leg swings, seated internal rotations and hip controlled articular rotations on all fours. You can also do a few exercises any time you stand up from your desk.

Focus on building strength

You can target your abductor muscles, which help stabilise your pelvis and allow your hip to rotate outward, with exercises like side planks with hip abduction and banded clamshells. To strengthen your hamstrings, which extend your hip, try banded glute bridges.

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Single-leg exercises can help improve balance and control, which is particularly important for adults older than 65, Kobsar says. Try movements like reverse lunges and single-leg squats using just your body weight.

Pauses during an exercise, also called isometric holds, can help you spot areas of weakness or compensation. For example, at the bottom of a lunge, try to keep your front knee from caving inward, which can be a sign of weak glutes.

If you focus on proper form, a consistent mobility and strength routine can significantly improve your hip health.

“It’s not about how much strength or motion or flexibility you have,” Tanaka says, but how all three work together to keep you moving through daily life without pain.

The New York Times

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