Fastest Way to Relieve Hip Pain
Hip Circles! I LOVE these! Just about everyone who I work with will be doing these! Honestly doesn’t matter if they have an upper body or lower body complaint….they will be doing hip circles.
Why do I like these so much?
What on the surface seems like such a simple movement has so many layers!
First, these are a Nerve Glide. If you have pain anywhere from your foot, ankle, calf, knee, hip or back there is a good chance there is a nerve along that path that is being influenced and be causing that pain. So to make sure that the nerve is moving well within it’s sheath and along it’s path, nerve glides are commonly used. The Sciatic Nerve is commonly the accused culprit of pain along the leg. This is a large nerve that originates in the Lumbar spine and then begins to split off into most of the nerves that innervate the entire leg, each getting a new name as it splits…but all start from this same original nerve.
So by rotating your hip into external and internal rotation it places tension along different parts of the nerve. And this can be felt by which direction is harder to perform, internal or external hip rotation.
Second, as since many people are stuck in front of their computers for excessive amounts of time during the day the hip is stuck in flexion most of that time. If they are lucky enough to have a standing desk there still isn’t much hip movement going on during that time. Even if they have a walking desk, still most of the movement at the hip is in a forward and backward range of motion. Even though there is some internal and external rotation happening during walking, it’s not the same as moving your hip move through it’s entire intended circular range of motion. So just starting to move the hip through it’s intended full range of motion is important because what we don’t use we lose! So it is super important that we continue to access that range of motion and use the muscle to move in those directions!
Third, related to the above is the ability and coordination of these movements! The “shapes” I have seen as people try to perform a “circle” with their hip extended has been amusing to say the least! Some just lift their leg further into extension and struggle to do this! You SHOULD be able to perform a circle, but again what we don’t do/practice we lose! But as we start again we can begin to regain some of what was lost!
Fourth, let’s say you are doing the circles on your right leg….your left leg is now working VERY hard to balance and stabilize you! This is evident as after just doing a set of 5 circles in each direction the burn/fatigue that you start to feel in the left glutes!
Firth, your brain has a map of every joint and where it is in space in each position (lots of maps!)
Pain/injury can make that map cloudy. Circles in particular help clear up those maps so this give your brain better information….making it feel safe! (This is super important! If you have read my blog about the Hierarchy of Protection go read that NOW!) Figure 8s can have an even larger impact but, if we are struggling with circles….baby steps lol!
I have found doing this one thing has helped relieve a variety of aches and pains almost instantly! The look on peoples faces after doing this and their “plantar fascitis” that they have been suffering from for months is gone, or IT Band tightness, is amazing!
As you can see this is one very IMPACTFUL movement!
You may be asking…”you said even if a person has upper body pain they do these, why?”
Great question! Well first everything is connected! But again there are several reasons.
Hips and shoulders are opposing joints and are closely related in their movements.
Also think, if your hips are tight they tend to pull you into a forward or slightly bent over position, which then pulls your shoulders forward as well which can cause a host of shoulder issues/pain.
So if we can loosen up the hips there is a good chance it can relieve the tightness that is causing shoulder pain.
Hope this sheds some light now why this is one of my absolute favorite movement for people to do! Let me know if you have any questions about this. Would also love to know if you go and try these and what your experience is!