The hips are some of the most important joints of the body…they support almost our entire bodies and contribute to our ability to walk, run, and move our legs to the side, forward and back. Most of our movement stems from the hip. But these joints can also be irritated by a lack of movement, little to no support, or by a misalignment in the body.
Support these important joints, and avoid hip pain, by trying out these 5 tips!
Maintain a Healthy Weight
While we’re not here to body shame anyone, it makes sense that part of avoiding hip pain is avoiding placing extra weight on your hips. Any joints or muscles that have to support more weight than is natural will feel the impact. Excess weight means excess pressure on the joints so by staying active and keeping your weight at a healthy level, you can avoid excess strain on the hip joints.
Stretch Before a Workout
Many injuries occur when you haven’t stretched or warmed up properly before a workout, this can be especially true for joints like the hips. A Proper warmup before a workout will improve flexibility and increase blood flow to the muscles and joints which will prevent injury.
“Planned functional resistance training includes moves we do in everyday life, like squats, lunges and step-ups. Doing these exercises with light dumbbells or resistance bands can help improve hip stability and lower the risk for developing osteoarthritis.”
Practice Good Posture & Change Your Position
We frequently stress the importance of proper posture and alignment both while standing and sitting, and for good reason. Your alignment and posture can impact your entire body, including your hips. Leaning too far forward or to the side, can put an uneven amount of strain on certain areas of the body. Sitting for long periods of a time with your legs crossed, for example, can cause your hip flexors to shorten and tighten and increase pain when you finally unstretch.
To avoid pain from sitting too much, make sure to change positions frequently and stand or even walk every few hours if possible.
When sitting, practice good posture by sitting with your feet flat flat on the floor, hip-width apart, and stretch the top of your head toward the ceiling to lengthen the spine.
Wear Supportive Shoes
To protect your hip joints while walking, running, or working out, make sure to wear supportive shoes and maybe even supplement that support with insoles in your daily shoes as well as your workout shoes. Without the right support, your body can shift out of alignment and you’ll be more prone to aches, pains, and injuries.
The features of our Orange Insoles help give you the support to keep your body in alignment.
The deep heel cup locks your heel in place to provide natural shock absorption. This reduces the strain to your feet, hips, knees, and back.
The lift under the arch helps to align the lower extremities and spreads weight through the foot. All the features of Orange Insoles create a strong base for your body and contribute to better alignment throughout the entire body.
Eat a Healthy Diet
Make sure your diet includes foods that contribute to healthy bones to increase or maintain bone strength as you age. As we get older, our bones lose density and become prone to not only aches and pains but also breaks which then take longer to heal.
To protect your bones and hips, eat:
- Lots of green, leafy vegetables
- Nuts
- And dairy (in moderation!)
Take care of your whole body with these tips and it will be easier to avoid hip pain down the road.
