Function of the Hips
GET HIP
Give your internal hip rotators more attention and excel
By Phil Wagner, BS, CSCS
MAX FLEX
MAX FLEX hip joint. External rotation will allow you to open up the hips to turn your body, furthering your ability to react to any change in play.
H
The deep muscles of your hip both help finetune the orientation of your pelvis on the legs and affect your spinal curvatures. This is an important addition to the straightforward and powerful capabilities of the other, more massively built muscles of the hip (e.g., gluteus maximus) and leg
(e.g., quadriceps). The IRs’ contractions tend to be prolonged and chronic, and their actions small and precise. However, we all know that achieving excellence or a personal record often depends on just a few pounds, a couple of inches, or a hundredth of a second. And t hat’s where the IRs can make the difference.
W W W. P U R E P O W E R M A G . C O M
Agility
Agility can be defined as the gracefulness of a person who’s quick and nimble, characteristics that require you to change the direction of movement efficiently. For example, a running back in football must be able to read the oncoming defense and be able to shift his line of attack quickly and smoothly to make the most yards out of each run. Not only do the IRs work to stabilize the hip in these accelerations and decelerations, but the muscles also contribute the action of internal rotation, such as when the leg crosses the body, to alter the direction of movement. IRs also need to be flexible to allow external rotation of the leg, when the leg is rotated away from the body beginning from the
the heel. You should only move from the hip sockets; do not rotate the pelvis. Ideally, you should be able to turn your foot and knee to about
45 degrees.
Getting Tight
The gluteal muscles only really act as internal rotators when the hip is flexed at 40 degrees, or greater, such as in a half- or full squat. However,
this
Give your internal hip rotators more attention and excel
By Phil Wagner, BS, CSCS
MAX FLEX
MAX FLEX hip joint. External rotation will allow you to open up the hips to turn your body, furthering your ability to react to any change in play.
H
The deep muscles of your hip both help finetune the orientation of your pelvis on the legs and affect your spinal curvatures. This is an important addition to the straightforward and powerful capabilities of the other, more massively built muscles of the hip (e.g., gluteus maximus) and leg
(e.g., quadriceps). The IRs’ contractions tend to be prolonged and chronic, and their actions small and precise. However, we all know that achieving excellence or a personal record often depends on just a few pounds, a couple of inches, or a hundredth of a second. And t hat’s where the IRs can make the difference.
W W W. P U R E P O W E R M A G . C O M
Agility
Agility can be defined as the gracefulness of a person who’s quick and nimble, characteristics that require you to change the direction of movement efficiently. For example, a running back in football must be able to read the oncoming defense and be able to shift his line of attack quickly and smoothly to make the most yards out of each run. Not only do the IRs work to stabilize the hip in these accelerations and decelerations, but the muscles also contribute the action of internal rotation, such as when the leg crosses the body, to alter the direction of movement. IRs also need to be flexible to allow external rotation of the leg, when the leg is rotated away from the body beginning from the
the heel. You should only move from the hip sockets; do not rotate the pelvis. Ideally, you should be able to turn your foot and knee to about
45 degrees.
Getting Tight
The gluteal muscles only really act as internal rotators when the hip is flexed at 40 degrees, or greater, such as in a half- or full squat. However,
this
References: 1. Boyd, K.T., N.S. Peirce, and M.E. Batt. Common hip injuries in sport. Sports Medicine 24:273-288, 1997. 3. Hruska, R. Pelvic stability: Influences of lower extremity kinematics. Journal of Biomechanics 5:23-29, 1998. 4. Johnson, R. Osteitis pubis. Current Sports Medicine Report 2(2):98-102, 2003. 5. LeBlanc, K.E., and K.A. LeBlanc. Groin pain in athletes. Hernia 7(2):68-71, 2003. Epub Feb. 8, 2003. 6. Mattes, A.L. Active Isolated Stretching. Sarasota, FL: Mattes, 1995. 7. Ninos, J. A chain reaction: The hip rotators. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 23(2):26-27, 2001. 8. Regan, D.P. Implications of hip rotators in lumbar spine injuries. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 22(6):7-13, 2000.