After spending much of our lives either behind a desk or a steering wheel, tightness and weakness in our hips is one side effect of that. Unfortunately, that can affect surrounding muscles and lead to hip, back, and even knee pain. Hip-replacement surgery and hip injuries from falls are two things that can result from years of neglect.
A recent study, however, found that after exercising the hips for 12 weeks, pain decreased in participants by around 30%. Additionally, regular hip exercises can cut the need for hip-replacement surgery by nearly half (44%).
Onondaga Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing has a look at three exercises that can be done to improve hip strength with regularity.
- Deep-Breathing Exercises
This isn’t necessarily to strengthen the hips but to you get you ready for the next two exercises, as the breathing exercises you do here will be necessary to perform during the other tasks. For this warm-up of sorts, lie flat on your back with a pillow under your neck and knees so you are comfortable. Place a hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Inhale through your nose and expand your abdomen for three seconds, hold for a few seconds, then exhale through your mouth and relax your abdomen. You should feel your hand on your stomach go up and down and the one on your chest should remain still.
- Wall Yoga
If you can, lie up next to a wall with your hips a comfortable distance away and your legs up on the wall. There are several exercises that you can do with your legs to work the hips. Find nine of them here.
- Chair Yoga
If you’re not comfortable with wall yoga or want to work your way up to it, start with a chair first. There are plenty of seated poses you can do that will get the job done without requiring you to get down and back up from the floor. View six of them here and find one to try!
To learn more about Onondaga Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing and all of the services they offer, visit http://onondaga-center.facilities.centershealthcare.org.
