Whether you are a man or a woman, the hips (pelvic girdle) is more important to your health and activity level than you realize. And there are many ways it can be out of position and cause serious, life-changing issues. It’s like driving your car and the whole front end is completely out of alignment and falling apart.
High-heeled shoes, accidents, inactive lifestyles, and pregnancy are just some of the main causes that create changes in the position of your hips (pelvic girdle).
High-heeled shoes:
There are plenty of women who simply adore high heels. Those high heels are throwing the entire body forward. And if you are a “toe-walker”, you have this same problem, it is not just women who walk on their toes. Once this happens, the body begins to subconsciously try to pull itself back to center of gravity. This creates a cross-action that results in muscle imbalances which lead to pain and discomfort. It also causes your hips to tilt forward (anterior pelvic tilt).
As the body tips farther forward, the low-back muscles, quads and calf muscles all engage to help hold the body height out that far from center. Your abs and glutes are not contracting in this position. All the body weight is now concentrated onto the ball of the foot. The tibialis muscles going down the front of the lower legs are being strained (which causes restless leg syndrome). The longer we are in that position, the more torque we are putting on the specific muscles listed above (as well as joints). As they become stronger, they also become larger because of overuse.
And you wonder why you have hip problems.
Accidents:
If you have ever been hit by anything that knocked you off your feet, in a car accident or even taken a fall, you may have knocked one or both the joints of your hip (S. I. Joints) out of position. Once this happens, they are unstable and only get worse with time.
Sciatica and/or low back pain can be a symptom. You may also be told that one leg is shorter than the other.
Inactive lifestyle:
When you hurt, you tend to stop moving. You may sit more and more. You find walking is painful, so you take many rests and then one day you just stop going anywhere or you buy an expensive motorized chair to do the walking for you.
Whether you see people who bend at the waist while walking, shuffle their legs instead of taking wide strides, or even walking slowly with short, small steps, you are witnessing a snowball affect on that person’s life. It only gets worse for them and in the end, they will become so stiff they can no longer function. These people end up in care facilities someday.
We had one 69-year-old man so stiff his wife could no longer care for him and was contemplating putting him in a care facility. He arrived using a walker for his first two sessions. He is home gardening and enjoying life now!
Correcting your posture by building and stretching specific muscle groups keeps toxins from building up in the muscles of your body and helps you live a longer, more active, and healthier life!
Whether you simply want to be able to travel again, play golf like you used to, or be able to move freely (and stay out of a care facility) correcting your posture by building specific muscle groups will improve your life! “Hip! Hip! Hooray!”
Pregnancy:
At the time of delivery, the S.I. Joints and pubic symphysis joint all separate and the sacrum moves back to allow more room for the baby’s head and shoulders to deliver with more ease.
How do we know if those joints all went back into their proper positions? They did not, that is why your hips still hurt!
The low back is supposed to have a slight curve (neutral position) in it. If it is too deep you will see what we call “sway back” and no curve at all is called “flat back”. The low back tilts the pelvis too far out of its proper position, either way.
The pelvis puts your legs into position, so if your pelvis is off, your legs are NOT where they are supposed to be. Knocked knees or bowed legs is the outcome. Next thing you know, you have external rotation or internal rotation at the ankle and pronation or supination of the feet. So, you can see how the pelvis will have a direct effect on the legs, ankles, and feet.
Fitworks Perfect Posture has been successfully solving these problems (and more) for over 21 years! Call us to get your free Posture Evaluation! “Hip! Hip! Hooray!” 407-408-7588