Most of us will be staying at home over the next few weeks. As gyms are closed we will need to get creative with workouts. This is an excellent opportunity to self assess and treat your mobility. Over the next 14 days, I will present you with a daily mobility workout to enhance your function 🤸🏼‍♀️

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This should not require much time, less than 10 minutes. I am intending the drills to be able to be completed at home with minimal equipment

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Today’s mobility will be Hip Internal Rotation. This is movement is most readily observed with pivoting, twisting and turning. Interestingly, it is a contributor to the total range of movement needed in the push off phase of the walking cycle. Similar to hip flexion, when hip internal rotation is diminished, the body compensates upstream at the SI joint and lower back. Clinically, motion loss here is associated with lower back pain, hip osteoarthritis and impingement.

Assessment

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Key Points:

• Don’t hike your hip on the same side

• The knee does not move in or out,

• Smile!

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If you passed this test, then excellent job! if you found maintaining your back position, keeping the knee in line required a lot of work, or you felt tension or discomfort while doing the test, then I would highly recommend going through the next exercises. Additionally, if when you squat there is a pinch in front of your hip, then I would bet your internal rotation needs some upgrading.

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Mobilization

Motion loss is typically due to two sources: soft tissues and joints. When working to optimize mobility at a joint the best way is usually to treat both. The next two videos will review mobility workouts designed to enhance hip internal rotation functional mobility.

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MOTOR CONTROL

Immediately following mobility work, we need to teach the body and the brain how to use the new range of motion or hold these new positions. If we did not do this extra step you will not maintain the gains. This exercise will be slightly different from past days. In the clinic, I rarely focus on active control of hip internal rotation. Rather, I focus on optimal low back and hip control through functional movements like, squatting, walking, and lunges. Through control of these aspects of the kinetic chain, hip internal rotation is maintained.

As a result, I provide you with another mobility drill with a touch of motor control thrown into it to help control the position.

Let me know how it goes! Enjoy.

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