Prevention of hip pain is essential these days, as there are multiple cases in young athletes and older adults of hip pain. Multiple factors prevent hip pain, activities like swimming and cycling strengthen the muscles, having a proper diet, as well maintaining proper weight. Most people today are not physically active; it is essential to involve yourself in low-impact activity to prevent hip pain. The acetabulum is the joint of the hip, which is in charge of holding most of the body’s weight, so it plays a crucial role in hip pain.
Understanding Your Hip Joint
There are two major components of the human body for movement from one place to another. One is the largest socket, the acetabulum, which is present in the pelvis. And the other is the largest bone of the human body femur. It is present in the thighs. The hip joint is a type of spheroid joint where the femur fits into the joint of the hip. This extremely important joint is surrounded by muscles, tendons, cartilages, and ligaments. All of these work together to provide us the mobility. It may cause pain and dysfunction if any one of these is not working properly.
Maintain Proper Posture and Body Mechanics
Poor posture is one of the most common reasons for hip pain. Because when you keep your back in an arch position for a long time, or consider one side of your body over another. These little practices on a daily basis affect the muscle imbalance in the long term. And can put extra pressure on the hip joint on any particular side of the body.
To avoid or prevent hip pain in the long term, always ensure you keep your feet on the ground. And maintain the height of your hips and the height of your knees at the same level while sitting. Avoid crossing your legs while sitting for too long, as this can minimise the flow of blood in your legs. It may result in muscle imbalance. Consider having a chair that has a shape that supports the posture of the spine for long working hours, if you’re a person with a desk job.
Properly doing daily activities is a must to prevent hip pain. If lifting something heavy, try to shift the weight pressure on the knees and hips, rather than the waist. Avoid rotating or twisting if there is something heavy in your hands. Keep the object near your body while lifting. These basic things can reduce the stress on your hip joints and spinal cord.
Strength of Core Muscles and Hip
If you work on strengthening the core muscles, it will unquestionably support and protect your joints over the ages. Strong muscles are impenetrable to some extent and hard to injure or tear. Making the muscles around your hip stronger must be your pivot. Running, cycling, squats, wall sits, and leg lifting are some of the best exercises to do.
Strengthening the core of the body is essential, as the weak abdominal and back muscles can often stress the hip joints to bear more. Planks, crunches, and bird dogs are some best workouts for improving core strength.
Start exercises by using your own body weight initially if you are a beginner. 3-4 times a week is a good start in the beginning, but keep in mind that consistency is the only key to achieving anything.
Sustaining Flexibility and Mobility of Hip Joints
To prevent hip pain, ensure that your muscles are not tight and joints are not taking any additional effort to move. Regular physical activities that keep your muscles and joints engaged are necessary. Sitting on a rigid surface for a long time and regularly can tighten the hip muscles over a period of time. Don’t avoid the occurrence of regular hamstrings, as they also tighten the muscles around your hip and thighs, which may result in pain in the long term.
Stretching a bit after workouts and warm-ups before exercise can help you increase mobility. It also lowers the chance of injury, as injury often occurs where joints and muscles are not moving smoothly. To maintain the mobility of the joint, there are several exercises you can do at home. Leg swings, hip circles, and twisting of the hips, gently with proper reps, are common ones. At least spend 15minutes, 4 to 5 times a week, to prevent hip pain.
Choose Appropriate Physical Activities
Doing the exercise daily is good for hip health, but understanding the factors that matter while doing the exercise. Intensity of exercise and type of exercise matter the most while performing any exercise. Exercises that have low impact on joints can be helpful in the long term, as they strengthen the muscles around the hip joints to minimize the stress. Many high-impact activities may cause hip joint damage or sometimes damage to the ACL, too, which may require ACL Treatment or ACL Reconstruction Surgery.
Swimming is one of the best outdoor activities for the prevention of hip joint. Because water has buoyancy, which reduces the gravitation force on your body and minimizes the pressure on the limb joints, including the hip joints. Swimming also improves our hip muscles. And if you are involved in high-impact exercise, ensure to wear proper gear or quality footwear that absorbs the shock while jumping or running.
Weight Management To Prevent Hip Pain
Each pound of body weight can put pressure of at least 3 to 4 times on the hip joints. Overweight people can often complain of pain in the knee joints, waist, as well as hip joints.
The chance of injury is much higher in people of greater weight than in those of lesser weight.
To reduce this mechanical stress on your hip joints, you must be aware of your nutrition and diet plan. Anti-inflammatory foods are best to have and try to low the consumption of your sugar intake. Managing your weight is like laying a good base for your future. It not only prevents hip pain, but also the whole body.
Address Problems Early
If you are facing any signs or symptoms, pain during activities, or stiffness of the joint in the morning. Or experiencing the pain that goes up to the thighs, waist, or knees. Don’t avoid these symptoms, because if there is something that requires treatment. Then, early treatment results are earlier than those in later ages, especially in surgical cases.
In these cases, the physiotherapists are specially trained to identify whether the motion of your joint is okay or not, or facing any muscle imbalance. These things can identify the problems earlier, and you can have treatment in the early phase, rather than experiencing extreme pain or having a hip replacement surgery later.
Create a Hip-Healthy Environment
Creating a healthy hip environment around is very helpful to prevent hip pain in the future. You can practice the following things to avoid it:
- If you are a working professional and have a desk job, then make sure that you have a quality chair. It must provide proper cushioning to your hips and also help you maintain good spinal posture throughout the day, as these chairs have back backrest designed.
- Examine yourself for a week on how you sleep, in what posture, mostly. Don’t consider only one side to sleep on daily; choose a pillow that supports your neck and spinal cord in a comfortable position. Don’t sleep in a curvy position while sleeping, as it can cause mild pain in the lower back and hips in the long term.
- Choosing the right footwear for your feet is necessary. Footwear must not be too hard or too soft to wear. Try avoiding the footwear that causes pain in the feet. Because it means the weights are not balanced well in that particular footwear. Avoid using flat soles or high heels for a long time in regular use, as it can create a difference in muscle imbalance.
- Do Regular walks and exercise to avoid stiffness in the joints of the hips and knees. Try avoiding walking on hard surfaces for too long. Use mattresses in the home to reduce the direct impact of hard surfaces on your hips or knees.
Conclusion
There are a number of approaches to prevent hip pain, by strengthening your joints and muscles, using proper footwear, regular exercise, walking, balanced diet, etc. Prevention is always better and economical than surgery or treatment. Be vigilant, invest in your health to see the beautiful results in your future.
Start today by implementing these prevention practices in your daily life. Gradually, it will become your habit to do these exercises and activities. Your hips, as well as your whole body, will be grateful in your late ages for the efforts you are making today.