The vast majority of people we see in the clinic with hip, knee, shin and ankle pain while running, have poor rotational control when standing on one leg or running.
Without the control from the glutes, the leg will naturally rotate inwards which generates a huge amount of force through the leg. This can lead to many different overload injuries. Most commonly, medial tibial stress syndrome or “shin splints,” iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome, patellofemoral pain syndrome and many others.
Usually these injuries can be remedied quickly if the cause of the overload is discovered and addressed early on.
A gluteal weakness can be caused by a number of factors, but one of the most common is prolonged sitting at a desk. As the glutes become weaker, the body will compensate by using other muscles such as those in the lower back and quadriceps instead. This then causes a vicious cycle where the glutes then get even weaker. We often see people doing glute exercises seemingly very well, but without actually using the glutes.
In this video we are looking at a progression of exercise for the hip extensors and external rotators which are very important in providing stability at the hip. These muscles sit deep under the bottom and they pull the hip back in the socket which has the effect of stopping the collapse of the hip when we run. The reason we want to do that is because that collapse in movement will lock or load on all the lower limb structures and make your injury risk much higher for your running
Now you’ve seen five very beneficial exercises that we give out routinely to runners to help stabilise their hips. If you are experiencing hip pain or knee pain, we recommend a review by one of our highly trained Physio’s. They will give you a clear diagnosis on the cause of your hip pain, and what to do to address it.
Give us a call on 9377 2522.