How to Strengthen Your Hips

Strengthening your hips can help keep you injury free if you have any history of hip injuries, but did you know that it can help prevent injuries in your knees and ankles. Sports injuries can also often be prevented by strengthening your hips!

Before doing these exercises, make sure to check with your physician or ask your Camelback Sports Therapy Physical Therapist to make sure the exercises are appropriate and helpful for you.

1. Single Leg Bridge

How to: Make sure to engage your stomach muscles and keep your back and leg as straight as possible. Slowly lift your buttocks until your body is nearly straight, hold that position for 2 seconds, and slowly lower yourself down. Do this 10 times each leg.

2. Ball Bridges

This exercise is best done with a therapy ball (which you can pick up from our retail section).

How to: Rest your feet on the ball. Clench your stomach muscles and raise your buttocks off the ground, hold for 2 seconds, and slowly lower yourself down. Do so 10 times.

3. Ball Bridge with Knee Flexion

After mastering the Ball Bridge, challenge yourself with this exercise to further push your hamstring, hip, and core muscles.

How to: Perform ball bridge. Hold the bridge position. Slowly bend knees. Hold for 2 seconds. Return to ball bridge. Do so 10 times and lower your body down.

4. Lateral Band Walk

A therapy band is needed for this exercise. You can pick one up from our retail or get one online.

This exercise strengthens the muscles on the side of your hips used for stability when walking and running.

How to: Open your legs to create some tension in the band. Take 10 small steps sideways. Keep toes pointed forward. Take 10 small sideways steps back in the opposite direction. Do so 3 or 4 times, back and forth.

5. Hip Abduction with Therapy Band

Tie or loop your band around a stable object (we don’t want your super strong hips moving any furniture around).

How to: Place one foot inside the loop. Slowly lift foot and leg out to the side. Keep your toes pointed forward. Hold 2 seconds. Slowly return down. Do so 10 times and then switch legs.

As you improve your hip strength, you can increase the amount of reps, or get a thicker therapy band, your physical therapist can give you great tips and help set up the exercise program.

If you have any injuries, aches, pains, or questions, make sure to give us a call at 602-808-8989 or ask your physical therapist.

Original information from VeryWell.com

Tags: ankle injury, core exercise, core workout, exercises, Hip exercise, hip pain, Hips, nagging injury, Pain, stability