Maintaining an active life where you can exercise frequently, play sports and participate in outdoor adventures requires a strong frame.
Healthy hips are essential to building a solid foundation for your body; Our hips are the center.
It's a joint that extends greater mobility, allows us to lift weights, and supports our movement. A ligament in the hip, the iliofemoral ligament, is the strongest in the body. That demonstrates how essential our hips are - the strongest tissues to connect bones are in the hips and not in another body part.
Hip muscles have different functions.
Flexion: Allows you to move your leg forward and up past your waist
Extension: Enables you to extend the leg downward and backward
Abduction: Allows you to move the leg outwards to the side
Adduction: This allows you to move the legs inwards and across to the front of the body
Hip abductors: This muscle is dynamic, allowing you to lift your legs and turn them sideways
Tensor fascia latae: Small muscle that works along with the gluteus maximus, stabilizing the hip and allowing the hip to rotate
Falling is a leading cause of injury and death (due to injuries) for adults age 65+ in the United States. Therefore, it's a public health concern.
Wherever we are in our lives, it's vital to strengthen our hips, whether you're a young adult or senior. Unfortunately, many people have hip instability due to their jobs; even sitting for hours can take a toll on our bodies. In addition, prolonged periods of sitting down can cause the hip muscles to shorten. There's a ubiquitous phrase 'if you don't use it, you lose it.'
We must frequently stretch and exercise our hips to maintain the healthy lives we want to live.
Source: (1)National Library of Medicine: Anatomy, Bony Pelvis, and Lower Limb, Hip Joint (2) CDC: Keep on Your Feet - Preventing Older Adult Falls (3) NASM: 5 Yoga Hip Stretches For Increasing Flexibility