HIPS DON'T LIE
Shakira is right and it relates to our journey of AGELESS FITNESS. The hips tell the story of how your body works above and below. So, when your pelvis is restricted because of tight hamstrings, underactive glutes and overworked hip flexors, you aren’t going to dance like she does. You’ll also notice your feet are rolling in (hyper pronation) because of the weakness in the muscles on the outside of your hips.
Pronation and supination are parts of a running or walking stride. When a person rolls their weight toward the center of the body from the heel to the forefoot, it is termed pronation. Supination occurs when weight is on the outside of the foot.
The excessive pronation of the feet comes with the knock knees, which are often apparent. Knees which turn inward also combine with excessive internal rotation of the thigh bone to compensate for the excessive internal rotation of the shin bone.
What’s the root cause? Studies have concluded hip muscle weakness is the culprit behind abnormal lower body movement.
I know this is exciting, and there is more to cover. We’ve established that if your feet are pronating too much, your knees are collapsing and your hips are weak, you’re going to have tight hamstrings. Even if you stretch them, they never seem to release, right?
Here’s why: If your glorious glutes are working like they should, they are prime movers when it comes to things like walking, running and squatting. However, if you sit a lot or don’t use good form when moving around, they will be inhibited. The result is that the hamstrings try to compensate for your lazy glutes and end up tight, tight, tight.
The glutes are actually three muscles: gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. Maximus is the largest and most well-known part of the buttocks, while the medius sits on the lateral side of the hip and the minimus is deep below the glute medius. All three play a role in every movement of your hips.
A weakened gluteus maximus can also contribute to short hip flexors (which lift the leg forward) and may increase the compression in your lower back. The iliopsoas (often called psoas “so-as”) is one of the most blamed hip flexors because of its length. It runs from the lumbar region of your spine down to the upper part of your thigh bone. Furthermore, if it’s role in stability is compromised, like it is in this scenario, low back pain is often the result.
While your low back may hurt, that’s not the only area affected by weak glutes and shortened hip flexors. Further up the body, a short psoas can contribute to tight muscles on the front side of your body. What?
So, if your lower back and hips are tight and unstable, the muscles in your middle and upper back are lengthened. This weakens those muscles, like your lower and middle trapezius, and your upper trapezius (sitting on the back and top of your shoulders) dominates. The end result may be a pain in your neck, literally.