Improve right hip mobility – lying down.

Warning! This set of exercises is not designed for people with artificial hip or knee replacements. Please consult your surgeon and/or physical therapist about your needs.

Purpose: Our hip joints are ball and socket joints that manage the force transition between our spine and our legs. Mobile and healthy hip joints provide power and mobility for daily living as well as sports. As we get older, hip joints get tighter. The length of the gait decreases and approaches a ‘shuffling’ gait in the later stages of life. The goals here are to restore hip joint space and improve hip mobility throughout the gait cycle. Improved hip joint space may improve the chances for cartilage regeneration.

Schedule: Perform Hip Exercise Stages 1 and 2 together in one session.

Start: Begin by lying flat on your back, using a folded towel to support your neck if needed.

Step 1: Bend your right knee up and leave your left leg resting on the floor.

Step 2: Using both of your hands, hold your right femur (thigh bone) near your groin.

Step 3: Drop your right knee down to the right side as far as comfort allows. Holding your femur, push with your arms so that you feel your leg moving away from your hip joint and towards your knee (distraction).

Step 4: Perform the Core Pump three times while maintaining your hip joint distraction.

Step 5: Now drop your right knee across your body to your left as far as comfort will allow. Again distract the hip joint in the direction shown by the arrow.

Step 6: Perform the Core Pump three times while maintaining your hip joint distraction.