A hip impingement can make even simple movements – such as squatting down – painful and frustrating. The right exercises can make a world of difference, helping to reduce pain and restore your range of motion for daily life or your favorite sport. Emphasizing hip health through these exercises is crucial for managing hip impingement and maintaining overall mobility and activity levels.
An individualized approach to exercises for hip impingement can make a world of difference. While there are plenty of exercises that stretch and strengthen the ligaments and muscles surrounding the hip, differences in hip and leg anatomy, as well as individual differences in strength and flexibility can preclude certain movements or indicate others. Working with an experienced physical therapist is important.
By focusing on targeted stretches and strengthening routines that best suit you, you can significantly improve your hip mobility and support your joint health. Here’s how specific exercises can offer pain relief and enhance your mobility.
Understanding Hip Impingement and Its Hip Impingement Pain Symptoms
When most people talk about having an impinged hip, they’re talking about FAI or femoroacetabular impingement.
Your femur is the larger leg bone of the thigh, which is connected to the hip via a ball-and-socket joint. The acetabulum is the socket in this equation and part of your hip structure. When the femur becomes restricted in movement due to pain or a physical blockage (for example, a bone spur), then a person may be suffering from femoroacetabular impingement. This condition, known as hip impingement, occurs when there is abnormal contact or friction between the femoral head and the acetabulum of the hip joint, leading to pain, stiffness, and a decreased range of motion.
Potential causes for hip impingement include torn or damaged ligaments within the hip socket, damage to the cartilage between the leg and the hip, a torn labrum on the edge of the acetabulum, or the growth of bone spurs blocking the femur. When aggravated by movement or manipulation, an FAI mostly results in deep pain felt near the groin, near the top of the hip, or the buttocks.
Not all forms of hip pain indicate a hip impingement. Hip pain can also be caused by stress injuries to the ligaments or muscles surrounding the hip, damaged adductors and other smaller muscles, or an overstretched or damaged hip flexor. An impingement can only be diagnosed through imaging and physical tests confirming a blockage within the hip causing restricted movement. Hip impingement pain can significantly impact daily activities, making it essential to address the symptoms promptly.
In cases where the cause of the blockage is a bone spur, there are very few options for long-term improvement without surgery. Cam lesions are bone growths along the head of the femur physically impeding the mobility of your leg, while pincer lesions occur along the acetabulum. In both cases, exercise and stretching may be able to relieve arthritic pain, but long-term improvements require surgical intervention.
After surgery, exercise and physical rehabilitation become key. Ensuring that the surrounding musculature is strengthened, and improving mobility gradually through appropriate movements can help restore full function to the hip and maximize a person’s quality of life.
In cases where the cause of the blockage is not a bone spur, non-surgical interventions can bring both lasting pain relief and improved mobility.
The Importance of Hip Flexor Stretching for Hip Impingement
Stretching both lengthens and strengthens the muscles and tendons involved. A deep stretch, especially if assisted with some form of resistance, such as weight or a band, brings a muscle and its connective tissues through a deep stretch which, as research has shown us, promotes muscle growth when combined with appropriate periods of rest and a protein-rich diet. Incorporating hip impingement stretches, particularly those targeting the hip flexors, into your routine can alleviate pain and improve mobility, playing a crucial role in nonoperative treatment protocols.
Adding resistance at the deep end of a stretch further increases the rate at which stretching can develop muscle, although stretching with resistance should be supervised by a physical therapist.
Staying active within a person’s capacity can promote the healing of damaged ligaments by strengthening the surrounding muscles and reducing pain through the release of natural pain-killing endorphins from exercise, the same way an injured shoulder feels better when it’s sufficiently warmed up.
Even when bone spurs are involved, staying active can help reduce pain and ensure that a person’s muscles continue to support their mobility as far as is physically possible. Good stretches to try include:
- Hip flexor stretch: in a lunge position, lean toward your front leg and keep your back leg straight, focusing on gently bringing your hip down toward the ground.
- Piriformis stretch: lie on your back with one leg crossed over the other, and gently pull the lower leg towards your chest.
- Adductor stretch: sit with your feet together and knees bent outwards, and slowly press your knees towards the floor.
- Hamstring stretch: sit with one leg extended away from you, and reach towards your toes.
- Groin stretch: sit with your legs spread wide apart and gently lean forward, focusing on stretching the inner thigh muscles. This stretch is beneficial for alleviating tightness associated with hip impingement and improving overall mobility.
Strengthening Exercises to Support Hip Impingement Stability
Strengthening the hip muscles around the hip joint is key to alleviating pain and preventing further injury.
Why focus on exercises for hip impingement and strengthening the muscles? Hip impingement is primarily indicated by pain and loss of mobility – that pain further decreases motivation to stay active, further decreasing mobility, and increasing the rate at which a hip impingement can cost someone their quality of life. Keeping the surrounding muscles strong reduces the burden on the hip joint itself, improves mobility through repetitive motion, and maintains that mobility through practice.
Engaging the abdominal muscles during physical therapy exercises not only improves overall stability but also aids in strengthening the hips to alleviate pain.
It’s important to train within the context of pain. Some discomfort during training is normal, and the pain can give a person a guideline through which to avoid certain movements or try different exercises.
For example, if a glute bridge is regularly accompanied by pain levels over a certain threshold as deemed by your physical therapist, it’s important to find an alternative exercise that both strengthens the glute and helps stretch the hip appropriately. Finding ways to train unilaterally (one side at a time) can reduce the total amount of load or resistance needed, which reduces pressure on the joint during particularly uncomfortable days. Useful strengthening exercises to try include:
- Glute bridges: lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Lift your hips up as high as you can, while balancing on your arms and upper back.
- Clamshells: lie on your side with your knees bent and lift your top knee while keeping your feet together. For a difficult variation, keep both legs extended and lift your top leg as high as you can.
- Copenhagen plank: take a bench or chair, and place one foot on top of it. Support yourself on one elbow and perform a side plank. Bring the bottom leg up under the chair or bench, relative to the position of the top leg.
- Lateral banded walk: place a short resistance band over your knees and walk side-to-side.
Mobility Drills to Improve Hip Joint Range of Motion
Both stretching and strengthening exercises for hip impingement can improve mobility. These drills can be used to test your newfound mobility before and after training, or as a gauge of how your exercises have helped expand your ability to move with an impinged hip. Incorporating specific stretches, like groin and hip flexor stretches, into a hip impingement exercise program can alleviate tightness and discomfort. Consider using a camera to record your progress, so you can track incremental improvements over multiple weeks.
Hip impingement physical therapy is also crucial in managing the condition through tailored exercise programs that address muscle imbalances and enhance joint flexibility.
Some good mobility drills to test hip impingement might include:
- Fire hydrants/hip circles: while on all fours, move one leg at a time to draw a large circle in the air with your knee. Try to expand the circle over time.
- Leg swings: while standing and supporting yourself against a wall, gently swing one leg backward and forward, and side to side. Do not forcefully swing your leg. Test how far you can swing and stretch your hip without pain over time.
- Walking lunges: these test strength, mobility, and balance. Take them nice and slow, without resistance, and on comfortable ground.
Take the First Step Towards Pain-Free Living Today
