How the hips affect the body
This article nicely explains how important it is to stretch the hips. It also suggests two yoga poses that are relatively easy to do.
I am planning to write my own article on the subject, soon, but I figured this would be a handy guide, so I am reposting this for now.
From: http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/904_1.cfm
It's All in the Hips
If you regularly experience knee, shoulder, or lower back pain, you
may be suffering from the effects of tight hip muscles.
By Alisa Bauman
Stan urban, 48, a competitive cyclist, turned to yoga three years ago
when he began to experience lower back pain, a very common ailment
among cyclists, who spend the majority of their time hunched forward
over the bike. Though Urban thought his problem centered in his lower
back, his coach and yoga instructor, Dario Fredrick, had a different
theory. Shortened hamstring muscles along the backs of Urban's legs
coupled with tight hip flexors along the front of his thighs, as well
as tight groin muscles and hip rotators, were preventing him from
riding his bike in the proper form.
Essentially his pelvis was locked into position by his tight muscles,
forcing him to bend forward from his spine, rounding his back on the
bike. Fredrick, an Iyengar Yoga teacher and former elite cyclist in
San Anselmo, California, suggested a series of asanas that emphasized
stretching and opening the front, back, and sides of the hips. It was
similar to the series of asanas that Fredrick used to recover from a
cycling-related knee injury years before. Today Urban is cycling pain
free, and his performance on the bike has improved as well. "The
stress on my body from competitive cycling really demanded some extra
attention to flexibility, and the yoga has helped me a lot," states
Urban.
Cyclists are not the only athletes who can benefit from asanas that
stretch and strengthen muscles that attach to the hips and pelvis.
Runners, swimmers, tennis players, and others often experience the
same tightened muscle groups from repeatedly using one set of muscles.
These muscles include the following:
Hamstrings. A group of muscles along the backs of the thighs,
hamstrings restrict the extension of the hips when tight, which forces
you to round your back as you bend forward.
Hip Flexors. The psoas and iliacus (collectively called the iliopsoas)
attach your thighbone to your lower spine and ilium bones (top of the
pelvis). When they tighten, they can pull the top of your pelvis
forward, compress the back of your lumbar (overly arching your lower
spine), or draw the tops of your thighbones forward of and tightly
into the hip sockets.
Hip Rotators. Along the sides and backs of your hip, the piriformis (a
small muscle that attaches the back of the sacrum to the thighbone)
and gluteus maximus (a much larger muscle that connects the back of
the sacrum and pelvis to the upper thighs) roll your femurs outward.
When they are tight, they will force you to stand with your toes
pointed outward, putting pressure on your inner knees and also
restricting your low- er back.
To tell if your hips are tight, stand and look at your feet. If your
toes naturally turn out, you may need to work on opening and balancing
the muscles of the hips. As your tightened hip and leg muscles pull
your pelvis forward and roll your thighs outward, they then put more
pressure on your knees and lower back. However, problems can result in
other areas of the body as well. Robert Sherman, a postrehabilitation
specialist and Ashtanga and Bikram instructor in Bethesda, Maryland,
once coached an avid kayaker with a shoulder injury. The problem
actually stemmed from tight hip muscles, which were changing his body
position in the kayak and inhibiting his paddling stroke.
Sports that emphasize one side of the body, like golf or baseball,
compound hip problems by creating imbalances between one side of the
pelvis and the other. For example, baseball requires you to lunge
frequently on one leg but not the other. "One side of the body becomes
tight but strong, while the other side becomes flexible but weak,"
says Sherman. "Without exercises to stabilize the flexible side and
stretch the strong side, you develop muscle imbalances along the
pelvic girdle and spine."
All of this can add up to injuries. Muscle imbalances and tight
muscles along the hips often set up a cascade of problems, resulting
in lower back pain for cyclists and swimmers, shoulder problems for
tennis and baseball players, and knee pain for runners. Also, tight
muscles along the hips can affect a runner's stride. Tight hip muscles
slow down a cyclist's cadence and hinder a swimmer's ability to move
through the water with efficient form.
Conversely, doing asanas that relax and open those areas produces the
opposite effect. "You'll get a greater range of motion, more fluidity
to your movements, and lower your risk of injuries," says Fredrick. To
free the hips, focus on asanas that include full range of motion in
the hips. That's why Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (One-Legged Pigeon Pose)
is one of the most often prescribed hip openers. It stretches the
outer hip and groin of the forward leg and the hip flexors of the rear
leg, addressing nearly all of your problems in just one stretch.
You also need to incorporate postures that will zero in on particular
hip areas and promote better body awareness. For example, Eka Pada
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (One-Legged Bridge Pose) helps to stretch the
hip flexors and teaches you to feel the proper position of your hips
as you focus on bringing your knee toward the centerline of your body.
Both Fredrick and Sherman suggest that you turn your focus inward as
you practice to listen to subtle cues from your body and breath. This
way you can recognize if one side of your body is tighter than the
other. Then you can use the natural wisdom of your body to cue you to
release and relax into various postures. And as a result, "You will
achieve more body mobility, which allows you to move with less
effort," says Sherman. "What was once difficult or challenging becomes
easier."
Alisa Bauman is a freelance writer based in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
May/June 2003
This article can be found online at
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/904_1.cfm
I am planning to write my own article on the subject, soon, but I figured this would be a handy guide, so I am reposting this for now.
From: http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/904_1.cfm
It's All in the Hips
If you regularly experience knee, shoulder, or lower back pain, you
may be suffering from the effects of tight hip muscles.
By Alisa Bauman
Stan urban, 48, a competitive cyclist, turned to yoga three years ago
when he began to experience lower back pain, a very common ailment
among cyclists, who spend the majority of their time hunched forward
over the bike. Though Urban thought his problem centered in his lower
back, his coach and yoga instructor, Dario Fredrick, had a different
theory. Shortened hamstring muscles along the backs of Urban's legs
coupled with tight hip flexors along the front of his thighs, as well
as tight groin muscles and hip rotators, were preventing him from
riding his bike in the proper form.
Essentially his pelvis was locked into position by his tight muscles,
forcing him to bend forward from his spine, rounding his back on the
bike. Fredrick, an Iyengar Yoga teacher and former elite cyclist in
San Anselmo, California, suggested a series of asanas that emphasized
stretching and opening the front, back, and sides of the hips. It was
similar to the series of asanas that Fredrick used to recover from a
cycling-related knee injury years before. Today Urban is cycling pain
free, and his performance on the bike has improved as well. "The
stress on my body from competitive cycling really demanded some extra
attention to flexibility, and the yoga has helped me a lot," states
Urban.
Cyclists are not the only athletes who can benefit from asanas that
stretch and strengthen muscles that attach to the hips and pelvis.
Runners, swimmers, tennis players, and others often experience the
same tightened muscle groups from repeatedly using one set of muscles.
These muscles include the following:
Hamstrings. A group of muscles along the backs of the thighs,
hamstrings restrict the extension of the hips when tight, which forces
you to round your back as you bend forward.
Hip Flexors. The psoas and iliacus (collectively called the iliopsoas)
attach your thighbone to your lower spine and ilium bones (top of the
pelvis). When they tighten, they can pull the top of your pelvis
forward, compress the back of your lumbar (overly arching your lower
spine), or draw the tops of your thighbones forward of and tightly
into the hip sockets.
Hip Rotators. Along the sides and backs of your hip, the piriformis (a
small muscle that attaches the back of the sacrum to the thighbone)
and gluteus maximus (a much larger muscle that connects the back of
the sacrum and pelvis to the upper thighs) roll your femurs outward.
When they are tight, they will force you to stand with your toes
pointed outward, putting pressure on your inner knees and also
restricting your low- er back.
To tell if your hips are tight, stand and look at your feet. If your
toes naturally turn out, you may need to work on opening and balancing
the muscles of the hips. As your tightened hip and leg muscles pull
your pelvis forward and roll your thighs outward, they then put more
pressure on your knees and lower back. However, problems can result in
other areas of the body as well. Robert Sherman, a postrehabilitation
specialist and Ashtanga and Bikram instructor in Bethesda, Maryland,
once coached an avid kayaker with a shoulder injury. The problem
actually stemmed from tight hip muscles, which were changing his body
position in the kayak and inhibiting his paddling stroke.
Sports that emphasize one side of the body, like golf or baseball,
compound hip problems by creating imbalances between one side of the
pelvis and the other. For example, baseball requires you to lunge
frequently on one leg but not the other. "One side of the body becomes
tight but strong, while the other side becomes flexible but weak,"
says Sherman. "Without exercises to stabilize the flexible side and
stretch the strong side, you develop muscle imbalances along the
pelvic girdle and spine."
All of this can add up to injuries. Muscle imbalances and tight
muscles along the hips often set up a cascade of problems, resulting
in lower back pain for cyclists and swimmers, shoulder problems for
tennis and baseball players, and knee pain for runners. Also, tight
muscles along the hips can affect a runner's stride. Tight hip muscles
slow down a cyclist's cadence and hinder a swimmer's ability to move
through the water with efficient form.
Conversely, doing asanas that relax and open those areas produces the
opposite effect. "You'll get a greater range of motion, more fluidity
to your movements, and lower your risk of injuries," says Fredrick. To
free the hips, focus on asanas that include full range of motion in
the hips. That's why Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (One-Legged Pigeon Pose)
is one of the most often prescribed hip openers. It stretches the
outer hip and groin of the forward leg and the hip flexors of the rear
leg, addressing nearly all of your problems in just one stretch.
You also need to incorporate postures that will zero in on particular
hip areas and promote better body awareness. For example, Eka Pada
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (One-Legged Bridge Pose) helps to stretch the
hip flexors and teaches you to feel the proper position of your hips
as you focus on bringing your knee toward the centerline of your body.
Both Fredrick and Sherman suggest that you turn your focus inward as
you practice to listen to subtle cues from your body and breath. This
way you can recognize if one side of your body is tighter than the
other. Then you can use the natural wisdom of your body to cue you to
release and relax into various postures. And as a result, "You will
achieve more body mobility, which allows you to move with less
effort," says Sherman. "What was once difficult or challenging becomes
easier."
Alisa Bauman is a freelance writer based in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
May/June 2003
This article can be found online at
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/904_1.cfm