Can Hip Pain Cause Knee Pain?
If you have knee pain, have you thought about focusing on your hips?
Illuminate me…
The hips and knees are connected by a number of muscles and ligaments, and problems with one can often lead to problems with the other. When the structures around the hip become strained it can cause pain in the knee.
One of the best exercises you can do to keep both your hips and your knees healthy are bridges. The main thing to focus on for this purpose is keeping the feet, knees and sit bones in line with each other. That way the knee isn’t being pulled to one side or the other by the upper or lower part of the leg.
Try it.
Lie on your back with your feet on the floor and your knees bent. Feet are about a foot from your sit bones.
A great way to keep the hips, knees and feet aligned is to place a block or something similar between the knees. Make sure whatever it is keeps your knees in good alignment and not wider or narrower than the hips and feet.
Make sure the feet are truly parallel to each other and the heels aren’t turned out or turned in.
Lift your hips straight up, opening up the hip creases.
Only come up to the shoulder blades (we’re not trying to do a backbend).
Keep squeezing the block gently between the knees.
Hold the bridge for 5 breaths, continuing to reach the knees away from the hips.
Keep both your heels and the balls of your big toes firmly planted on the ground.
Crease the hips to come back down, continuing to try to reach the knees away as you do.
Repeat 10-12x
If you have knee pain and you’re not sure where it’s coming from, try these. Let us know how they work. We’d love to hear from you.