Can My Hips Be Causing My Low Back Pain? Pt. 2
We already know from last week’s post, the answer to this question is, “Yes.”
Yes, the hips and the low back are connected by lots of structures that make them reactive to each other.
Yes, you might feel low back pain without feeling hip pain.
Yes, keeping your hips healthy will help keep your low back healthy.
We talked about the back of the hips and the importance of healthy hamstrings. Now, let’s talk about the front of the hips and the importance of healthy hip flexors.
Illuminate me…
We’re going to focus on the rectus femoris. It’s right up front, close to the surface and does a lot of work. And when the deeper hip flexors aren’t working efficiently, it tries to pick up the slack. It can easily get tight, pull the top of the pelvis forward, making the low back feel tight or crunched.
One way to keep it healthy is gentle stretching. (Overstretching causes its own issues.)
Try it.
Lie on your back with your hips elevated. You can use a yoga block, a rolled-up towel, a roller, a book, etc. Just make sure it’s not so high that your low back feels compressed. Knees are bent, feet on the floor.
Slide the left heel away from you to straighten the left knee and hip. Go slowly. If your low back starts to hurt, hold in that spot and breathe.
Press the heel into the floor and slide it back into the starting position.
Repeat this 5-6x, slowly trying to slide the heel further each time without pain.
On the final slide, hold the leg in its lengthened position and turn the top of the thigh slowly in and out 5x.
Press into the heel and slide it back into the starting position.
Do the other side.
Bring your hips back down onto the floor and take several breaths before rolling to one side and sitting up.
There could be any number of reasons you have low back pain. Even if yours isn’t related to the hip flexors, keeping them long and strong is great for hip health and your body in general.
If you have low back pain, try this. Let us know how it works. We’d love to hear from you.