Fast Fitness - Quick Relaxing Hip Stretch
Friday, December 21, 2007
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM
- Lie over a bed or bench with hips right at the edge and legs dangling
- Feel wonderful stretch in front hip muscles
- If your lower back hurts, you are probably arching your lower back, as in the left photo, Click and read this post - Innovation in Abdominal Muscles. Correct it by tucking your hip (by flattening lower back) toward the bed - right photo.
Reader Bernie, age 80, supplied these photos. He had registered for my Fix Your Own Back Pain workshop but skipped it to do surgery instead. He returned to me in worse pain two years later. His story how we successfully fix the worsened situation is posted in:
- Fixing Leg Numbness, Back Pain, Flank Pain, Knee Pain, Nerve Pain, Three Unhealthy Surgeries, Part I
- and Fixing Leg Numbness, Back Pain, Flank Pain, Knee Pain, Nerve Pain, Three Unhealthy Surgeries, Part II
He also demonstrates:
- Fast Fitness - Dynamic Partner Balance Challenge
- and Fast Fitness - Relaxing Hip, Leg, and Groin Stretch.
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Read and contribute your own success stories of these methods. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here - click labels under posts, links and replies in posts, archives at right, and the Fitness Fixer Index. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail" (under trumpet) upper right.
See Dr. Bookspan's Books, take a Class, get certified DrBookspan.com/Academy.
Read and contribute your own success stories of these methods. Before asking questions, see if your answers are already here - click labels under posts, links and replies in posts, archives at right, and the Fitness Fixer Index. For personal medical questions - Replies to Medical Questions.
Subscribe to The Fitness Fixer, free. Click "updates via e-mail" (under trumpet) upper right.
See Dr. Bookspan's Books, take a Class, get certified DrBookspan.com/Academy.
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Photos of Mr. Cleff by Dr. Jolie Bookspan - www.DrBookspan.com/research
Labels: fast fitness, hip, leg stretch, lower back, stretch
7 Comments:
At Wednesday, May 07, 2008 1:51:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Great stretch. Here is one I learned from Tom Furman who got from one of the Dog Brothers (kali)
Lie on your stomach, propped up on your forearms. Squeeze your feet, thighs and buttocks together. While doing so, slowly bend your legs like you are trying to touch your feet to your buttocks. Also, press down with your groin area into the floor. Releases the psoas and stretches the front of the thighs, flexors and quads. Nice stretch.
At Wednesday, May 07, 2008 2:07:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
Readers, I understand that it is a common assumption that squeezing one set of muscles will relax another. However many people manage to squeeze both sides and not relax anything. The inhibition of the muscles on the other side is not always automatic or achieved. It is also not functional to squeeze the backside muscles (your own), although it seems to be so popular.
At Wednesday, May 14, 2008 6:48:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Perhaps I'm not correct, but I thought reciprocal inhibition, where tensing one muscle would relax the antagonist, was a given.
Example: a dancers stretch ( I think you won't like, but please stay with me) Stand, feet forward, bend forward BUT at the hip, NOT the lower back, KEEP the small arch in the lower back. Now they say ("they" is your fellow comrade Pavel :) that if you do this and squeeze the glutes, that 1. your hamstrings will release better, and 2. squeezing the glutes will protect the lower back.
I presume physiology is, by definition, quantifiable, so either one should be able to prove or disprove this, no? Please educate me, thank you...
At Wednesday, May 14, 2008 6:51:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Also, your bed hip stretch here.. if you tuck your hip and flatten your lower back, aren't you by default squeezing your glutes to perform this?
At Thursday, May 15, 2008 6:46:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
Anonymous, no, don't tense or squeeze anything. Even if you did, it is not the gluteals that tuck the hip, it is the abs. It is bad biomechanics to tighten a muscle to move the bones. Scratch your nose and see that you move without tightening or squeezing or clenching your arm (hopefully).
Again as above, although it is a common assumption that squeezing one set of muscles will relax another, many people manage to squeeze both sides and not relax anything. Inhibition of the muscles on the other side is not always automatic or achieved. Co-contraction often overrules. This is explained in my book Stretching Smarter Stretching Healthier.
At Tuesday, September 01, 2009 9:40:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
Jolie, as a 27 year old who has not realistically been able to play sport or sometimes even sit or sleep comfortably without pain, I've bought two of your books and read here occasionally. However, after so many years of being told different causes and solutions, none of which have worked, the idea that I can simply tuck my hip isn't really working - for me, it's actually impossible during e.g. running, and very difficult to concentrate on for extended period of time. My objection to what you write is how you seem to describe this as magic - making claims such as that you don't tense the muscles and that this is bad biomechanics. If the muscles are not moving the bones, then what is? If the abs as providing force, then they are clearly tensing, this is simply how biomechanics works. How am I supposed to control this whilst I sleep? Surely the resting position of the hip/pelvis is the issue with what feels "natural", with one muscle being longer/weaker than it should be and another being shorter/stronger. And I would think that doing ab exercises *will* in fact strengthen/shorten the abs, adjusting the neutral position. Can you explain what I've got wrong here, and how the body does any action, let alone running in neutral position, without tensing the muscles? This aspect was not clear to me from your writing.
At Monday, September 14, 2009 8:29:00 PM,
Jolie Bookspan, M.Ed, PhD, FAWM said…
To Sam, To stop back pain, first determine cause. If your pain comes from too much lumbar curve, then changing the curve to neutral can help. If hyperlordosis is not your cause, then of course changing that will not be a magic fix, or any fix.
If you are so tight that you have to exert, clench, force, tighten, just to stand straighter, then you are preventing yourself from what could be a simple, quick improvement. Try something - stand and round forward a few inches as if leaning (wrong) over a counter. Do you need to clench or tighten your abdominal muscles for that flexion? It should feel about as low-effort to swing under the other end to reduce a too large curve to neutral.
Right, muscles move bones. That is how you move your spine to neutral if needed. What other spine position would you prefer while running or for your health?
For sleeping if tightness is pulling you into uncomfortable position, then you address that in the day while awake. Try something - does the lower back ache when you try to lie flat on your back with legs straight? Does your lower back pull farther away from the floor and ribs rise up than with knees bent? Does bending knees reduce the pain? That is usually a sign of overarching and the need to stretch (while awake) to allow you to lie comfortably on your back (or front) with legs straight. How is the stretch in this and other articles working for you? Sleeping is covered in several Fitness Fixer articles and my books (all cover sleeping or lying down to various degrees, except the diving books).
You say "that doing ab exercises *will* in fact strengthen/shorten the abs, adjusting the neutral position." OK. Then your problem is solved? (or see concepts in this reply and all the other info).
You wrote " Surely the resting position of the hip/pelvis is the issue…). It is part, and makes it possible and comfortable to be able to straighten out without being pulled into overarched position. Then, for running and awake standing activities, remember that many strong and flexible people allow unhealthful bent funny posture.
Make an appointment to be seen so we can tell what is the problem. Spaces are limited.
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