04/03/2024
Monday Musings: The hip flexors
In my past corporate career, I undertook a personality test or two and I was most definitely a "reflector". I'm the one who never has an immediate answer – even if I do actually know it! I ponder, and “aha” strikes me later....I also like detail and as you'll have noticed use far too many words on paper than are necessary.
I had one such an “aha” moment today as I had a rare solo run in the equally rare sunshine (I’m normally found in the group setting!) and put some recent musings together which I hope are helpful.
In the past few weeks, I've been trying to re-emphasise the importance of running technique gently onto my wonderful chatty groups - for efficiency and to prevent injuries.
I've noticed the more the chatting ramps up, the more shuffling goes on rather instead of a proper running stride. Certainly, I have become aware of more niggles cropping up amongst them during the winter season, and many moans about tight hips. So, I'm looking at how to minimise this.
As the run proceeds many of the group become slightly bent forward at the shoulders, at the hips and at the knees and sometimes with more movement happening from the knee downwards (see the exaggerated runner in red below).
This leads to compromised breathing on the run and is very inefficient, so the result is - running becomes hard work. Over time it can lead to knee issues and it also results in tight hip flexors – my focus today.
Hip flexors are muscles at the front of the pelvis that flex the hip i.e. bring the knee closer to the chest. If they are always trying to work but don’t have enough room to move, they’re going to get tighter and tighter and more uncomfortable.
Now, I tried to explain how to counter this, by focussing on the movement of running - saying something along the lines of shoulders back, push off with the back leg to allow it to drive forwards, as we want our glutes and hamstrings/posterior chain doing most of the heavy work, allowing the legs to bend and straighten fully, taking the strain away from those smaller muscles. Verbose. I’m not sure this explanation hit the mark, so I’ve been trying to work out a better one.
Then on today’s run I realised that my own inciteful Pilates teacher Zoe at ChannonStudios pointed out the simplicity I was reaching for last week. I was lazily taking a short cut when trying to stretch my own hip flexors. She said, “always shorten first, then lengthen, then stretch”.
I was lying at the end of a Pilates box, drawing my knees into my chest and letting one hang off the end.
Zoe's point was, to get the most effective stretch, it’s a case of being intentional and dynamic. Draw the knees in (hold one there) straighten one leg to the ceiling, then, still straight, reach it away from you towards the floor to get the stretch in the pelvis and front of the hip.
Dear reader, you will recognise this pattern is actually the same as a running/walking motion but from lying down and works through all the necessary muscle movements.
The hip flexors need to shorten and lengthen in order function, so take a moment to think about your posture and how your leg works when running.
If we are always bent over at the hip, then there’s no space for the hip flexors to work, so they’ll get tighter and tighter and weaker and weaker, leading to all the niggles I mentioned before.
Whether this explanation resonates, or alternatives such as “run from the hips” or “imagine you’re being pushed forwards from behind” try and free your body to do what it’s made for – reflect, play around and hopefully you’ll have your own “aha” moment.
x Fi
p.s. if you want pictures to help - in style we’re aiming for something in between John Cleese in “Monty Python and The Ministry of Silly Walks” and the efficient form of Michael Johnson….we’re only human after all!!
(Image Source: MKChiropractic)
