There are a series of sports, exercises and bad postures that we do not know that will lead us to have pain and injuries in the hip. The hips are a very sensitive part of our body, they bear all our weight and allow us to move as well as when we dance and play sports.
Few people know that the hips are very sensitive and we must take great care of them. Although we have only heard the word sprain to refer to the ankles, it can also be in the hips. Any excess weight, jerky movement, bump, twist, etc. It can cause more or less serious damage to the hip.
A poorly done squat, with weight and poor posture, can lead to lumbar whiplash, hip pain, and knee failure. Today we are going to focus on those exercises, sports and bad postures that we do almost daily and have short or long-term consequences on our hips.
Bumps and bad postures
If we walk and get kicked, if we hit a table, we fall off a swing, chair or horse, if we get hit by a ball or kick, it may only hurt at that moment, but all those blows result in pain. and problems in the future.
The hips are well protected by the muscles, but these muscles, as well as the bones and the joints themselves must be in good condition and have strong, active and resistant muscles, otherwise the damage could be worse.
The hips do not tolerate long-term impacts, that is why you have to be very careful and if after a few months after an accident or fall, it starts to hurt, we have to take care of the doctor and tell him that X time ago it happened to us X thing.
With regard to bad posture, it not only affects the back, which is the main axis of our physical health, but also the hips. For example, sleeping on your side without a pillow between your legs , weakens the joint, creates unnecessary tension, pain, and even dysplasia.
Sitting for long hours with your legs crossed is also a very bad posture and walking in heels a bit of the same. Performing unsupervised exercises, exceeding the weight or not performing them correctly and creating poor posture, can damage the muscles and joints of the hips.
Exercises and sports
With the foregoing clear, we already know that there are certain sports and exercises that can cause hip injuries in the long term, but also in the short term, as short as when exercising.
One of the exercises that we all do or have done with total normality is to stretch and touch the tips of our feet with our hands. We have done it standing and sitting on the floor, both options can cause some type of pain injury in the lumbar area and the hip joints.
Anything that is an overexertion , even if we are overweight, we are putting our health and that of our hips at risk. Even diet too, but we touched on that issue on a few days since calcium and vitamin D are essential for bones.
Overloading can cause the cartilage to not hold, causing friction between bone and bone and even a fracture. Pulls and strains are also common in sports with a lot of physical involvement.
There are sports that put the health of the hips at risk such as football, boxing, running and trail running, climbing, jumping (all kinds, including skiing, horse riding or obstacle course, among other examples), dances with sudden movements, squats and weight gain at an incline greater than 90 degrees at the hips, rugby, motocross, etc.
What is recommended
IF we do not have any previous hip injury it is important to perform moderate exercise guided by professionals to strengthen our hips and muscles, for example, one leg deadlift, side leg lift, one leg hip bridges, leg cycles with resistance bands, plank raising the hips, etc.
Swimming is one of the best sports to avoid hip injuries and to strengthen those muscles. It is also important to spend little time sitting, not to lose muscle mass and to train the flexors. Learning to flex the hip and not the back is key, as is including new exercises so that this area does not always get used to the same movement.
Pilates and yoga are good options if we suffer from hip pain, or if we do not suffer from them or have any injury. The bicycle also, as long as it is not on terrain with skids, potholes, and other situations that put the hip joints at risk.
Walking is good exercise, and even doing any physical activity that is not impactful. It is very important to stay active, so we can ask a personal trainer and explain the injuries we have and other physical limitations we may have.
Are the pops and creaks serious?
A priori no, they are not dangerous, but if we see that they are repeated daily and sometimes even others are able to hear them and it hurts us, it is time to visit a traumatologist and request basic tests such as resonances or x-rays to rule out or check possible injuries in the hip.
These popping and cracking sounds can be due to a bad joint, a small deformation, problems in the cartilage or the head of the femur, the flexors are damaged, possible tear, etc.
Crunching a bone or back is almost normal, although it is not synonymous with good. For example, that a cracked back could lead to back injuries, hypermobility is also promoted, we are wearing down the cartilage, we are tightening the ligaments, etc.
Something similar happens in the hip, forcing it to creak could damage it , so if we notice that it creaks when we do sports and those crunches cause us discomfort, it is best to put ourselves in the hands of a professional. It can be due to lack of cartilage, damaged flexors, poor diet, overweight, poor posture, previous damage, overexertion, etc.
