Hip pain can severely limit your ability to run the distance and speed you want. Walking, and climbing stairs can become frustrating and painful as well. At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, we often see patients with this problem.
Gluteal and core muscle weakness are common causes of hip pain when you’re running. Your gluteal muscles work to provide power as well as control at your hip when you run and walk. Here are 2 easy exercises you can do to address the strength of these muscles and help run without hip pain.
Bridges
Bridges are a basic exercise to help improve your hip strength. Try to go as high as you can without your back arching.
Start with 10 reps and hold for 10 seconds. Do these every other day. Try to work up to 3 reps of 30 second holds. You should feel this mainly in your butt, but a little bit in the back of your thigh is ok too.
Side Step Down
The goal of this exercise is to control the position of your hips and your knee. Your hips and pelvis should stay parallel to each other. The knee of your foot that is on the step should stay lined up with the middle of that same foot.
Do these for 3 sets of `10 reps, 3 days a week. Start with a 4 inch high step. As it gets easier, you can use a higher step or increase the speed. The goal is to be able to do 1 min of these on each leg at an 80 beats per minute pace with no loss of knee or pelvis control.
Both of the exercises above can help your hips stop hurting. They may cause some mild muscle soreness, but they shouldn’t cause any sharp pain.
If you’ve tried these and you’re still hurting, we can help you!
At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, we’re experts at evaluating hip pain and can help you develop a plan to run without hip pain.
Call our office at 703-299-3111 and a member of our team will schedule your an evaluation with one of our expert physical therapists.
What happens if you don’t have a plan to run without hip pain?
- Your training gets derailed because you can’t run the distances you need to
- You develop pain when doing simple things like walking up and down stairs
- You go to a doctor who tells you you can never run again without hip pain
But WITH a plan to run without hip pain you can live the life you want again.
The exercises above are a great way to get started. They don’t require a ton of time and are pretty easy to do correctly. They can help you get moving and living an active life again.
But if you want an expert to listen to your unique problems and guide you to success, a Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine physical therapist in Alexandria or Springfield, VA will create a plan specifically for you.
You’ll feel confident that you have the knowledge and ability to run without hip pain and do all the things you want.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to schedule your appointment and start your path to healing.
Working to keep you living your best life,
The Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Team
