Articles

Chronic strain of the muscles around the hips and pelvis often leads to feelings of imbalance as well as complaints of pain from “sciatica or “arthritis”.

The problem results in a muscle imbalance with weakness of the gluteal muscles that can be corrected with simple exercise. Simple is a relative concept. It is not always easy to dedicate time and effort to exercise.

Try Jane Fondas, my name for side lying hip abduction exercises. Lying on a firm support (the floor), your head in your hand, your hips stacked one over the other, your knees bent. You should lean a little toward the front, and let the top hand support you as pictured. The key to the exercise is to lift and lower the top leg with the movement starting from the buttock muscles and not from the thigh muscles. Straighten the top leg and raise it up slowly about a foot, then lower in to just above the floor, and repeat. Try for sets of 12-15. If you vary the position of the top leg, straight as in the drawing, or diagonally in front of you, you work different muscles of the gluteal group.

If you don’t want to get on the floor try standing hip circles.

It is OK to hold on to a surface for support. The leg you are standing on should be soft (or slightly bent at the knee). You hold your stomach in, stand straight, shoulders back, head up. Then draw a circle with the other leg, start with the foot on the ground, work up to making the circle in the air. You want to keep the hips still while you draw the circle, moving only the leg, but keep the leg straight. Again, try for sets of 12-15 circles on each leg. Or get one of these ( rubber loop with ankle straps )– and walk around) the house – step side to side, then long steps forward and back wards.

Some form of gentle strengthening should generate blood flow to the area, stimulate the proliferation of muscle cell growth and so, strength as well as inhibit inflammation. Pain should resolve and you will move better.