WHY YOUR HIPS ARE CAUSING LOWER BACK PAIN
Hip Extension. What is it?
Hip extension is the action of moving the thigh bone in a backwards motion, relative to your pelvis. If bringing your knee up to your chest is hip flexion, hip extension refers to the action of taking your knee back under your pelvis, and beyond. You can also think of it as any movement at the hip which opens or lengthens the front aspect of the hip.
Pure extension at the hip joint will allow for a deep stretch / opening of the hip flexor (front of the hip).
Analogy:
Think of pulling back the lid of a can. As you fold the lid back to open the can you shorten (extend) the top aspect of the lid as you lengthen (flex) the bottom aspect of the lid. This is exactly what happens when you extend at the hip joint.
As you extend the hip, the glutes (at the back of the hip/pelvis) activate and shorten, requiring the hip flexors (at the front of the hip) to lengthen. If extension remains unavailable at the hip joint, the hip flexors will remain in a shortened position (ie tight).
Why should I care?
People become very good at bypassing (or cheating!) this movement at the hip by extending at the lower back instead. This means that extra load / stress is likely to be placed through the lower back. This is 100% not ideal if you already suffer from lower back pain or feel as if your back becomes sore after you go for a run / walk. And this is why your hips are causing (or at least contributing) towards your lower back pain.
So, what can you do to improve your hip extension?
In order for hip extension to mechanically occur, the hip flexors need to lengthen and the glutes need to activate. Simply put – stretch the hip flexors and strengthen the glutes. But we’re talking about the beautiful and complex human body here! Nothing is ever simple.
To improve extension at the hip, we need to practice hip extension in isolation. We want the hip (thigh bone) to move in isolation from the pelvis. Think about a pendulum-type action. You have a fixed point (ie the pelvis) with the pendulum swinging back and forth (ie the thigh bone). This action can absolutely be achieved at the hip, we just need the glutes to activate and the hip flexors to lengthen out.
Alrighty! Try this.
First, ensure your knees are soft
Set your body position up by performing a pelvic tilt (ie tuck the tip of the tailbone to the back of the knees). This should flatten the curve in your lower back.
At the same time, imagine a zip starting at the pubic bone, up to the belly button. Draw the zip up from the pubic bone to the belly button (as you tuck the tail bone).
In conjunction, these 2 actions will work set the pelvis (or the pivot point of the pendulum) in place.
You can help this action by placing one hand (fingers facing towards the floor) over the flat part of the pelvis (at the back), and the other hand resting over the pubic region
Gently draw the tissue downward with the hand on the back of the pelvis and pull upwards with the hand resting over the pubic region.
Now you are ready to move /swing the hip forward (flexion) and backward (extension)
As an experiment, try to maintain the above position while you walk. You’ll find that by taking shorter strides, you’ll be able to maintain your pelvic position. If you take longer strides, it will be much harder to keep your pelvis set.
Normal standing - note the curve in the lower back
Tucking the tailbone, and ‘zipping up’ from pubic bone to the belly button and using the hands to help. Note the curve in the lower back flattens.
Like a pendulum, the thigh bone hinges backwards (relative to the pelvis) - this is the action of hip extension WITHOUT overloading through the lower back
As per image 3 (hip extension), with no hands. Note the curve in the lower back is flat and the glute is active
Hip extension that overloads the lower back. Note the increase in the curve of the lower back. The hip has moved beyond the amount of hip extension that is actually available (ie. you have gone too far and low back pain is just around the corner).
This isn’t to say that you need to walk around like this all of the time, but it is something that certainly needs to be practiced. By practicing this movement pattern, you are training strength in your glutes, and length in your hip flexors. A functional movement pattern for literally, every single one of us.
You can integrate this action into many movement patterns including (but not limited to):
Glute bridges
Glute sliders (in standing)
Kneeling hip flexor stretch
Back extension exercises
Walking
Running
It can be a tricky concept to grasp but my dog, when you do *chef’s kiss* bye bye back pain, hello perky butt with healthy AF hips.
If you need help with this, get into contact with us. We’d be happy to help you and your hippies.