Injury prevention: Fix your hips
By Yana Hempler
Since the muscles surrounding the hip area play a vital role in running, it’s crucial that measures be taken to ensure their strength and balance to prevent common injuries. Many runners, especially those that sit at a desk for most of the day, are more likely to be plagued by injuries if they have muscle imbalances in their glutes, hamstrings, adductors, abductors, quadriceps and hip flexors. Additional problems can occur if some muscle groups are too tight, causing uneven forces to act on the joints.
Research has shown that weak hip abductors, particularly the gluteus medius, can contribute to runners developing iliotibial band syndrome. The hip abductors are located on the outside of your hip and help keep the knee from turning inward. When the hip abductors are too weak, in order to keep the knee stable, the iliotibial band ends up bearing most of the load with each stride. If the iliotibial band is overworked, it gets sore and tight.
To strengthen the hip abductors, exercises that keep you running. involve moving your leg laterally away from the body must be performed. You can stand up beside your desk and do side leg raises, where you slowly move your leg away from the body along the frontal plane By Yana Hempler just high enough for you to feel the movement in the muscle surrounding the upper-middle area of your hip. Perform the same number of repetitions on both legs. Ankle weights are optional and make the move more challenging.
Adductors (muscles of the inner thigh) also help stabilize your hips and knees, working opposite of the abductors. Weak hip adductors can also cause knee and hip problems in runners due to muscle imbalance.
Four Quick Fixes
Kickbacks
Performing kickbacks will help strengthen both the hamstrings and glutes. For a kickback, get on the floor on all fours. Then, straighten one of your legs behind you and kick upwards. Perform the same number of repetitions on each leg. Once you feel that three sets of 16 repetitions on each leg is too easy, use ankle weights.
An incorrectly tilted pelvis due to muscle imbalances can contribute to a variety of overuse injuries. Weak glutes and hamstrings in combination with tight hip flexors contribute to an anterior (forward) pelvic tilt. Sitting for extended periods of time can cause hip flexor tightness because they are kept in a shortened position. Since sitting does not require hamstring and glute activation, those muscles become weak. Some studies have linked anterior pelvic tilt with patellar tendonitis, hamstring strain and low back pain.
The Cushion Squeeze
This is a great and simple exercise to help strengthen your adductors. To perform it, place a cushion between your thighs closer to your knees and squeeze it as hard as you can with your thighs for between 10-20 repeti- tions. You can do this exercise while sitting at home watching TV, at your desk or lying down.
The Glute Bridge
This is another exercise that will help strengthen your glutes. For a glute bridge, lie on your back with your feet on the floor and your knees bent. Then, as you rise up into a bridge position, squeeze your glutes when you get to the top. After that, lower yourself slowly and repeat for three sets of 10–15 repetitions.
The Lunge
Another exercise that will help runners strengthen the muscles surrounding the hips and knees. When performing lunges, you are using your glutes and quadriceps. In addition to strength- ening the glutes and quadriceps in your front leg, you get the added benefit of stretching the quadriceps and hip flexors in your back leg. Perform the same number of lunges on both legs. In addition to lunges, squats (without any additional weight) help strengthen the glutes and quads, as well as improve your balance.
With a few simple exercises, muscle balance can be significantly improved, making you a more efficient and less injury-prone runner.
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