We know we need to stay active, but hip pain can make everything you do feel harder, especially exercising. I’m sure you have heard “lotion is motion” and it’s definitely true. But how are you supposed to work out when it hurts to bend your joints or put pressure on them? While there are many different kinds of hip issues, and it is not my intent to cover them all here, many of them have the same root cause: lack of movement.
Both eastern and western medicine recognize that a lack of movement leads to stiffness. Professional athletes understand the importance of the hips. Your body needs movement or it becomes stiff and your energy becomes stagnant.
What is the worst position for your hip joints? Chair sitting! When you sit, you rest most of your weight on your hip joints. Not only that, when chair sitting your hip joints are completely immobile. As I already mentioned above, this leads to stiffness and stagnation, and that’s exactly what happens when you’re sitting. Let’s take a quick look at some sitting activities we do on most days: drive, computer work, TV and/or movie watching, reading, waiting in medical waiting rooms, etc. When you sit, you use less energy than you do when you stand or move.
What can we do instead? Reduce sitting time is a great start and a quick fix. You could get up and move around, go for a walk, instead of sitting. If you must work on a computer, what about a “standing desk”? Face it, we all have to sit at some point throughout the day. However, we can try to find ways to reduce the amount of time you sit.
According to Mayo Clinic, researchers found that those who sit more than eight hours a day had a risk of dying similar to those with obesity and/or those who smoke. There are also other health concerns, such as an increase in blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and body fat around the waist. This is called metabolic syndrome. Excessive sitting also appears to increase the risk of death from both cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Can you locate your hip joint?
The ball-and-socket joint of the hip is considerably lower than most people assume. When asked to put their hands on their hips, people usually touch the crest of their pelvis. Instead, try pressing the heel of your hand on the outside of your thigh. Now slide your hand up and you will feel a “large bony knob”. Now you are in the correct general area. Another method is to locate and feel the front of your Kua. Now press your fingers in the middle of the inguinal groove (crease in the front where each leg meets your torso) This is the area of you begin to bend. When you move correctly, the ball and socket hip joint will swivel and protect the spine as you fold forward (as a unit) without bending your spine. Your knees are comfortably bent and your back is like a table top!
Bending at the waist curves your back and puts stress on the spine. According to Stuart McGill, at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, anthropologists have known this for years. Well, if you don’t bend your spine, how do you bend forward? From the “hip-hinge” which allows your spine to stay in a neutral position. Your body weight is then supported by the hips and upper legs. McGill has studied spine biomechanics for more than 30 years and has spent his career trying to show that hip-hinging is a much better way to bend. According to McGill, hips are “designed to have maximum movement” and lots of muscle force.
By hip-hinging, you engage, stretch and lengthen your hamstring muscles according to anthropologist Liza Shapiro of the University of Texas (Austin). Hip hinging allows you to use the large hip muscles (i.e. glutes) to support your body weight, instead of “the tiny muscles of your back” according to Jenn Sherer (co-owner of the Balance Center with Couch.
Let’s look at how Qigong and Tai Chi help.
Tai chi strengthens both the lower and upper extremities and also the core muscles of the back and abdomen. In a previous blog, we discussed how Tai Chi and Qigong can help hip pain. Qigong is a simple, powerful, and enjoyable exercise that helps us maintain flexibility and fluidity in our hip joints. This is particularly true of dynamic Qigong. In this blog, I am going to focus on Tai Chi and the hips.
Most Tai Chi instructors teach and encourage a relaxed, hip hinge when bending forward. We know that internal alignment, along with relaxation, allow natural fluid movement through the organs, joints, soft tissues, the circulatory systems and more. Tai Chi helps us to maintain and improve our hip range of motion, balance, flexibility, as we deep breathe and slowly shift our weight from one posture to another without force. At the same time, we focus on our body sensations and release any tension we are holding. Because we use circular movements, our muscles are relaxed rather than tense, and our joints are not locked, nor are they fully extended. Any stretching is gentle and without force. Movements can also be adapted for most (if not all) medical conditions or limitations. As an added bonus: Tai Chi does not leave us breathless and exhausted!
According to Webmd, because the movements are slow, circular, and practiced with both the knees and hip joints slightly bent, they help strengthen leg muscles. These muscles in return help and protect joints. The continuous, circular movements help relieve stiffness in the joints.Sinking our torso weight into the hips (not back) and letting the buttocks relax, softens, relaxes, and lengthens our spine. With a soft, lengthened spine we also establish better integration of the legs and pelvis.
From a biomechanical perspective, Tai Chi is both a safe and effective way to exercise the hip joint. According to a 2019 study, the Tai Chi subjects had improvement in hip range of motion and “coordination of the neuromuscular system” much greater than walking. Tai Chi was found to be suitable for those with severe muscle loss and hip osteoarthritis.
According to Harvard, Tai Chi can boost upper- and lower-body flexibility and strength. Even though Tai Chi doesn’t use weights or resistance bands, the arms are unsupported, which in turn strengthens the upper body.
Research has shown compelling reasons for using Tai Chi as an adjunct to standard medical treatment. This is particularly true when treating age-related conditions, for rehabilitation, and prevention. As an adjunct therapy to primary medical treatment, Tai Chi can improve a patient’s functioning, ease symptoms, or even treat disease. Tai Chi can also improve quality of life by increasing muscle strength, balance, flexibility, and body functioning.
As our population ages, we need physical activity in order to maintain muscle tone and mobility, and to provide both physical and mental well-being. Tai Chi (and/or Qigong) is an excellent choice!
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