Growing up, did you ever have that one kid in class who constantly told the teacher everything that was going on? He or she loved to rat out their fellow students to seek attention. Whenever someone wasn’t doing something that they should’ve in class, they couldn’t wait to run to the teacher and let them know of their fellow students misdeeds.
They viewed themselves as the ………
Our knees and low back are primarily the two loudest tattle tale’s on our body. They usually are screaming because our foot/ankle complex and/or the hips are slacking off and not doing their job. As a result, your knees and low back pick up the slack and produce overuse injuries.
Today, we are going to look at the hips and 3 strategies you can use to help your knees and low back from being tattle tales anymore. After applying these strategies, your hips will be screaming this out….
In looking at the hips, there are two areas that we can focus on, the “back butt” and the “front butt.” Today’s post, we are solely going to focus on loading the “back butt.” The 3D loading mechanisms that take place in the back butt are flexion, adduction, and internal rotation. By improving the loading of the “back butt,” this will allow you to create a greater explosion in whatever task you perform. Whether you are trying to hit a golf ball harder, or just wanting to make playing with your kids easier, being able to activate and load your butt properly will create just that. Below are 3 strategies you can use to activate your “back butt,” and take pressure off of your lower back and knees.
#1 Improving Hip Tissue Quality
If you are someone who sits for any prolonged period of time throughout the day, chances are, the fascia (protective covering around your muscles) has plenty of adhesion’s and is very gunky. When this happens, it restricts the mobility in your “back butt” resulting in them becoming more stiff and rigid.
Below is one strategy you can use to improve the tissue quality around your “back butt.” All you need is a lacrosse ball and a box of tissues (kidding, sort of).
#2 Improving Hip Mobility
When addressing a region of the body that you want to perform better, you must first focus on how to improve the loading mechanics of it. To properly “load” your “back butt,” it must go through flexion, adduction, and internal rotation.
When this loading occurs properly, it creates an amazing chain reaction in your body. The hips are the power source of your body. They transfer energy from your lower extremities to your upper extremities and vice versa. Once you can properly load them, you will notice a big difference in every activity that you engage in. Your drives on the golf course will be longer, squatting down to pick something off the floor will be less painful, playing with your kids will be easier. Every task you perform will be easier because your glutes are now engaged.
#3 Improving Hip Stability
Improving stability in your hips after you’ve created mobility is key. If you don’t, your body will not know what to do with that new motion you’ve created and as a result stiffen back up. When your hips are able to properly control motion, this takes a huge toll off of your low back and knees.
Apply these strategies 2-3x a day and it should create significant change in how you are able to use your hips and take stress off your low back and knees.
If you are looking for more information on how to get rid of aches and pains, get stronger, and have more energy, I want to invite you to a free Accelerated Results Session with me. We will go over your goals, injury history, go through a movement evaluation, and find the right program that best fits your goals and gets you amazing results! Click on the link below to get started!
