Stiff Hips? This Is What Will Change That

Dr. Alyssa Lu shows us how:

It’s in your hips

Most adults lose up to half of their hip mobility, which makes everyday movements like squatting, standing, and walking feel harder.

If that’s you, then the bad news is that stretching alone won’t fix it, because your your hips need controlled movement and strength in multiple directions, not just passive stretching.

Self-test for hip mobility: sit and place your ankle over your opposite knee—if this feels stiff or uncomfortable, your hip external rotation is dangerously limited.

This is a problem, because your hips need both external rotation for positions like crossing your legs and internal rotation for walking, running, and squatting.

So, with that in mind, here are some exercises that cover those:

• External rotation incline drill: put the outside of your knee on a raised surface, and hinge your hips forwards while keeping your back tall, then press your knee down, and return to the start position using your glutes.
• Internal rotation band PNF drill: lie on your stomach with a band around your foot, pull your hip into internal rotation, hold, gently resist, relax, and repeat.
• Long lunge hip flexor drill: step into a long lunge, squeeze your back glute to open the front of your hip; you can lift your back knee slightly or leave it on the floor, per your preference.
• Wide-stance deep squat hold: take a wide stance with your toes slightly outward, sit down between your hips while keeping your torso tall; you can use support if you need to.

For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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Take care!