How to Fix an Uneven Hip FOR GOOD
In this video, I'm going to
show you how to fix an uneven hip for good. Stay tuned. Hey, everyone. Dr. Rowe
coming to you from SpineCare in St. Joseph, Michigan. In this
video, we're going to go over easy exercises that can quickly
fix a lateral pelvic tilt commonly known as uneven hips.
So, if you feel like one hip is higher or one hip is lower,
definitely don't miss this video. What usually causes
uneven hips is because of weakness and tightness in
muscles that help support the pelvis and the hips. This
includes the quadratus lumborum (the QL muscle), the
glutes, and the adductors. So, I'm going to show you how to
specifically lengthen and strengthen these muscles to
help get your hips back into balance. I know nobody wants to
hear this but this is one of those videos that you have to
do all of the exercises. So, make sure to go through all of
them and then do them to get the best results.
As a note,
all of the exercises can be done at home and require no
special equipment. So, with that being said, let's fix
those uneven hips right now for good. So, before we begin with
the exercises, it's really important to identify which
side is higher and which side is lower. That way, we can
effectively treat the muscles to get everything imbalance.
Here's a really easy way to self check. Take a couple
fingers, put them right on your belly button. You're going to
pull across and slightly down at the same time. As you do
this, you're going to hit two bony landmarks. These are known
as the iliac crest. Now, looking in front of the mirror,
you're going to notice that one side is higher, one side is
lower. Identify this, we can now move on to the exercises to
effectively treat them to get everything imbalance. So, let's
start by targeting the quadratus lumborum or the QL
muscle which runs from the bottom of the ribs to the top
of the pelvis.
This muscle aids in elevating or lifting the
pelvis. So, when it becomes tight, you tend to get a high
hip side. When it becomes weak, you tend to get a low hip side.
As a note, with these exercises, always make it your
first priority to do strengthening exercises and
then stretches last. When it comes to the quadratus
lumborum, whatever side is lowest is going to be the weak
side.
So, I'm going to demonstrate what to do if your
right side is lower. If you have it on the left side, just
mirror these exercises. So, we're going to begin with a
strengthening exercise called the hip hike. Very easy to do.
You can do this one on a staircase or anything that you
can step upon. So, what I'm going to do is take the weak
side right here and have it off a stair just like this. What
you want to do is focus driving this weak side upward as much
as you can going through your hips through your pelvis don't
try to round your back or tilt like this all the movement
needs to come through our hips the more that you lift that hip
up the more that you're going to feel those muscles engage
you should feel it again bottom of the ribs going into the
lower back towards the hips right here you're also going to
feel the glutes engage hold this one comfortably for five
seconds and then you're going to relax and then you want to
repeat this one nice slowly for about 10 to 15 repetitions and
with each repetition try to build into it just a little bit
more and if it does feel like you have a little bit more
energy you can always throw in another set or two so after
we've helped strengthen the weak side we now need to move
on and stretch the tight side which would be my left side I'm
going to do an exercise called the ballerina which you're
going to see here in just a second why it's called that so
the tight side whatever side that you're having you're going
take that side's leg and put it over the other side just like
this.
Toes pointed straight ahead. Let's put our hand right
here which would be on my weak side over my hip. I'm going to
pull my hand over my head just like this and now what I'm
going to do is tilt through my waist towards the other side.
So, if my left side is tight, I'm going to tilt towards my
right. This will help open up and stretch that tight
quadratus lumborum. Again, you should feel that stretch from
the bottom of the ribs going into the lower back into the
hip. It usually feels really really good. With this one, you
want to hold for 30 seconds. You're going to relax and then
you're going to repeat this one three to five times and with
each repetition, try to build into it just a little bit more.
If you want to take this one to the next level, the hand that
is stabilizing on the hip, press it towards the other
side.
This will cause a much deeper stretch to form but
again, only to your comfort level. So, let's move on to a
muscle that is a personal favorite for many The glutes
also known as the buttocks. The glutes are a main pelvic and
hip stabilizer. When you get weakness off to one side, it
tends to cause a high hip. A tight glute tends to cause a
low side. So, here's a really easy strengthening exercise
that you can target a weak glute. Again, I'm going to
demonstrate if I have a low hip on my right side, a high hip on
my left.
If it's the opposite for you, just mirror these
images. We're going to what is known as a one-legged squat and
for this one, we need something sturdy like a chair preferably
one without wheels. So, I'm going to get into position by
putting all of my body weight onto that weak side. Put it all
onto your heel. You want your body nice and upright during
this exercise. The other leg is going to go out straight in
front of you just like this. The movement from here is very
easy. Let's tighten our core muscles for support around our
spine and then clench or squeeze the glutes to make sure
that we're activating those. Then, you're going to bend your
knee and then squat downwards. So, taking your bottom down and
slightly away at the same time. As you go down, you're really
going to feel a lot of muscles fire.
You're going to feel it
in the front part of the leg and the quadriceps but you're
also going to feel it over your backside into the glutes.
Really focus on feeling it into the glutes. Go down as far as
you feel comfortable. Don't go to the point of pain. If that's
the case, come back up just a little bit and with this
exercise, you want to keep your knee straight ahead so don't
let it buckle out or in like this.
Keep it nice and
straight. Hold this one comfortably for about three to
five seconds. You're going to come back up and then you're
going to repeat this one nice and slowly. On each repetition,
challenge yourself to go down just a little bit more because
the further you go down, the more this will really activate
those glutes. I like to do this for 10 to 15 repetitions but if
it feels like you have a little bit more energy, you can always
throw in another set or two. So, after we've done
strengthening the weak side, let's now move on to addressing
the tight side. This stretching exercise we can do seated. So,
again, we can use our sturdy chair. Whatever side that
you're having tightness, you're going to take that side's ankle
and place over your other side's knee.
So, when you look
down, should look like a figure four. If this position is
really hard to get into, here's how to make it easier. Just
straighten your other leg out like this, pull your ankle over
your shin, grab your pant leg or in front of your leg and
then just slide it into position just like this. What
we want to do first is take our hands and cup on the outside of
our bent knee. What I'm going to do is pull this bent knee
towards my other side shoulder just nice and slowly. As you do
this, you're going to feel a deep stretch form on the
outside of your hip that targets the glutes. You want to
hold this one comfortably for 20 to 30 seconds. You're going
to relax and then you're going to repeat this one three to
five times and with each repetition, try to build into
it just a little bit more.
To take this one to the next
level, you can do this to target the muscles just a
little bit differently. So, let's get back into our ritual
position but this time around, take your bent knee and press
it down towards the floor as much as you can. Only the knee.
Don't use your hands to do this. You're going to feel
those muscles start to fire around the glutes.
So, you want
to hold that position and then you're going to take your arms
and cross them over just like this. What I'm going to do is
keep my back straight and pivot forward through my waist lower
my elbows down towards the floor. As you do this, you're
going to feel a deep stretch form in the glute. Hold this
one comfortably 20 to 30 seconds. You're going to come
back up and then just repeat this one three to five times.
If you want to take this one to even the next level, what you
can do as you go forward, rotate through your waist
towards the other side. So, away from the bent knee side.
You'll really feel it open up in the lower back going down
into the hip. Give that one a try and you can also go the
side of the bent knee.
Go through all of those positions.
If you notice that one is just targeting glute tightness just
a little bit more. At that point, throw more repetitions
in. The last muscles that we're going to focus on are the
adductors which run on the inner part of the thigh. These
are important hip and pelvic stabilizers. When you get
imbalances in these muscles, you tend to notice weakness on
the low hip side and tightness on the high hip side. We're
going to start by strengthening the weak or low side and for
demonstrated purposes, I'm going to show it if my right
side is lower. Just mirror these images if needed. So,
this strengthening exercise is very easy to do.
You can do it
in bed or on a floor. Just position your body where your
low side, your weak side is going to be facing down just
like this. We're going to support our upper body on our
forearm, have our body in a nice, straight line and this
top leg right here is going to go over our other leg just like
this. So, we're going to treat our bottom leg right here, the
weak side like a pull. Just keep your knee straight, keep
that leg locked, and then you're just going to lift up
with that leg towards the ceiling as much as you can. As
you do this, you're really going to feel those adductors
start to fire. You should feel it in the inner part of the
thigh. Challenge yourself to go up as much as you can. Hold
this one comfortably for three to five seconds.
You're just
going to relax and then you're going to repeat this 10 to 15
times. So, each repetition, build into it just a little bit
more and if it feels like you have a little bit more energy,
you can always throw in another set or two. So, after we're
done strengthening the weak side, we're now going to move
on to stretching, the tight side. A really easy stretching
exercise that you can do for a tight adductor is the stepping
side lunge. Again, I'm going to demonstrate a high hip on my
left side. So, that's the tight side. To get into position,
you're going to have very good upright posture.
You want to
your back as straight as possible during this exercise.
Take your hands, put them right on your hips. What you're going
to do is take a big step towards the opposite side. So,
if I have a left side that's tight, I'm going to step
towards my right and then I'm going to lunge into it just
like this keeping this other leg straight as possible and
don't lift up on your foot.
Keep it flat. The more that you
lunge into this, the more that you're going to feel a deep
stretch on the inner part of your thigh. That's the
adductor. So, really focus on feeling it there. Hold this one
comfortably for 20 to 30 seconds. You're just going to
relax, come back up. On the next repetition, try to build
into it just a little bit more. You want to do this one nice
and slowly for three to five repetitions. If the exercises
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questions, please leave them below. I'll get back to you as
soon as I can. Thanks for watching..
