WAs Elvis’ pelvis spun and made his way across national television screens, audiences rejoiced and censors were scandalized. But the physical therapists were probably standing in their seats cheering at the display of such healthy and graceful hip movements.
The hips are a major weight-bearing joint, yet we rarely give them the amount of love and attention they deserve.
“You may not realize how important it is or how impactful it is until it becomes painful or restricted in some way, and you’re no longer able to use it in the same way you could before,” says physiotherapist Dr Michael O’Brien of La Trobe University in Melbourne. A hip fracture, especially in older adults, can be preceded by a serious decline in health, making maintaining a healthy hip vital to healthy aging.
Strengthening the hip muscles
The ball-and-socket hip joint is very mobile, able to move in many directions and rotate, so it’s essential to keep the muscles around the hip joint strong to support it, and reduce the risk of pain and inflammation of hip arthritis, O’Brien says.
“This could be through doing reformative Pilates, or doing some simple exercises at home, and some simple weightlifting exercises,” he says.
It’s also important to work the hip through all planes of motion, not just back and forth. Some simple exercises include standing on one foot and rotating your pelvis from side to side, or holding a lunge position and moving your front knee slightly from side to side.
Physiotherapist Dr Gillian Isles from the University of Sydney says the glutes in the buttocks and abdominal stabilizing muscles are also important for hip health.
“Little, boring butt exercises really hurt [in terms of fatiguing muscles] And they are really boring… [but] “They’re the really helpful people,” Ailes says.
Gluteal exercises include squats, lunges, and “glute bridge” — lying on your back, planting the soles of your feet on the floor or bed and lifting your pelvis off that surface. To strengthen and tone your abdominal muscles, she also recommends reformer Pilates or yoga.
Stay active
Despite all the hype about “10,000 steps a day” being the ideal – and unproven – target for physical activity, the evidence actually suggests that significant benefits accrue at much lower step counts, says Professor Rana Hinman, a physiotherapist at the University of Melbourne.
“[Ten thousand] “It was a really scary number, and I think even for someone who doesn’t have health issues…for someone who has joint pain, or someone who’s older, that’s just an unachievable goal.” But research indicates Even 7,000 steps per day can have significant health benefits.
“Even for every 1,000 additional steps you can take, we’re seeing that now with mortality benefits, cardiovascular benefits, and we’re seeing it with osteoarthritis, knowing that we can prevent functional decline over time as well,” Hinman says.
She also stresses that even older adults with hip pain or osteoarthritis should not prevent them from participating in the physical activity they enjoy. “In general there is no evidence of this “Physical activity will make your
Fall prevention
More than 16,000 Australians are over 45 years old Hip fracture Each year, 90% of these require surgery, and about a quarter of people with a first hip fracture die within a year. For older Australians, fall prevention is a vital part of hip health.
Part of this is just realizing that activities that were easy when we were younger can become dangerous as we get older and our balance and vision weaken.
“When a lot of people put their underwear or shoes or socks on, they’ll try to stand on one leg while they’re doing it,” O’Brien says. “A lot of times this is something we stop doing as we get older, and we sit because it’s a little safer.”
Fall prevention clinics, which can be found in hospitals across the country, can also provide education, physical therapy and exercise programs to help reduce the risk of recurrent falls.