Like many runners, I have tight hips. They have been extra tight lately because I have been doing a lot of running and not a lot of stretching…okay, no stretching. Unfortunately, not stretching has caught up with me and now my left hip is bothering me. I had a 10 mile run the other day and my hip felt fine. Even immediately following my run, there was no problem. But later in the day I had significant pain on the outside of my left hip and it was painful to walk. I was kind of disappointed since I am in the middle of my last week of hard training before I taper for the marathon. When I woke up the next morning, my hip felt much better and I could actually walk without pain. However, I did not run because I was still experiencing pain in my left hip when I took a few strides. So, here I am now, trying to recover as quickly as possible. I do not believe that this injury is anything serious since this is the first time I have experienced any sort of pain in my left hip. I am no doctor but I think that the pain is being caused by inflammation in my hip (possibly Hip Bursitis?). Therefore, in hopes of getting better as soon as possible, I decided to begin stretching my hip, taking Aleve for inflammation and pain, and resting.
So what does this mean for you? Stretch your hips!!!!! While you’re at it, you might as well stretch everything on a regular basis. I probably would not be experiencing this minor setback if I stretched everyday. Here are some of the hip stretches/exercises that I am doing to get myself back running within the next couple of days (hopefully!). Remember, these are stretches/exercises that you should be doing on a regular basis, especially if you are an athlete.
1) Hip Stretch #1
- Lie on your back, bend your knees and rest both feet flat on the floor.
- Raise the injured leg and rest ankle on the other leg.
- Grasp the uninjured leg around the hamstring and pull the knee towards the chest gently as deep as possible.
- Count to 15 and release. Repeat 2-3 times.
2) Hip Stretch # 2
- Sit on your butt with both legs out in front of you.
- Bring the foot of your injured leg to the outside of your uninjured leg.
- With both arms, pull the knee of your injured leg in towards your body.
3) Straight Leg Raising
- Lie on your back and keep your legs straight.
- Tighten the muscles of your upper thigh of the injured leg.
- Raise that leg without bending knee straight up to about 6-8 inches above the ground.
- Do not release upper thigh muscle throughout the leg raise.
- Slowly bring the leg back to the resting position on the ground.
- Repeat 3 sets of 10 leg raises
4) Straight Leg Side Lifts
- Lie on your side.
Happy Baby Pose
- Bend bottom leg and straighten top leg.
- Lift top leg and lower slowly.
- Repeat 3 sets of 10 leg raises.
5) Happy Baby Pose (pictured to the right)
- Lie on your back. Bring your knees into your stomach.
- Grip the outsides of your feet with your hands.
- Open your legs slightly wider than your torso, then bring them up toward your armpits
- Gently push your feet up into your hands as you pull your hands down to create a resistance.
Fire Log Pose
6) Fire Log Pose (pictured to the left)
- Sit on the ground. Slide your left foot under your right leg to the outside of your right hip, and lay the outer leg on the floor.
- Stack your right leg on top of the left. Be sure the right ankle is outside the left knee.
- Fold forward over your legs to increase stretch.
7) Pigeon Pose
- Place both hands on the floor.
- Bring the knee of your left leg to your left wrist and rest on the floor. The outside of your left leg will now rest on the floor.
- Your right leg should be extended behind you.
- You can stay here or fold forward and rest forehead on the ground.
- Alternatively, you may slide your hands back toward the front shin and push your fingertips firmly to the floor, lifting your torso away from thigh.
Pigeon Pose
Note: I am not a doctor and if you are experiencing any sort of pain, you should go to a doctor. The purpose of this post is to help others PREVENT pain and injuries!
picture source: yogajournal.com
Question: What are some of your favorite hip stretches? Have you ever had a hip injury?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
my hips are so tight! in fact, reading this post made me realize how tight they are right now hahah!
Sorry about your hip pain. I get the exact same thing on my left side after long runs. I wonder if it might be from always running on the left side of the road? The roads where I run are slightly graded so they slope, just ever so slightly, to the the sides to help with water run-off. So if you are always running on the left side, then your left leg is always striking at a slightly lower level. Maybe when it is safe, try alternating running on the right side and left side of the road or try to use sidewalks. I also notice the hip pain when I run a lot of hills. Good luck and I hope it feels better.