Healthy Habits For Healthy Hips

One of the largest joints in the body is the hip. Since people who experience hip problems are often plagued by joint pain and suffer from the inability to exercise, participate in some daily activities, and are limited in their ability to remain mobile, it is important to maintain hip joint health.

In order to maintain healthy hips, there are a few habits you can try implementing into your daily routine.

• Exercise the muscles around the hip in order to prevent improper hip movements, which can eventually damage to the cartilage in the hip. Weakness of the hip abductors (the muscles that move your thighs outward) is a common cause of hip injury. An effective exercise for these muscles is to lie on your side and lift you leg away from your body, with a recommended repetition of three sets of ten.
• Eating a healthy diet and taking supplements can aid you in maintaining hip and overall joint health as well. Diets rich in glucosamine, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D are recommended. Studies have shown that approximately 75 percent of people who suffer from hip injuries are actually vitamin D deficient.
• Become conscious of your weight. Excessive weight places strain on your hips, and can lead to hip injury.
• Use a walking stick to help take some of the strain off of your hips while walking or hiking. The force that is placed on your hips during these activities can be up to six-times your body weight. If you are experiencing joint pain, place a walking stick or cane on the opposite side from the pain while walking.
• Perform stretching exercises regularly. Lunges are a great way to stretch the hip flexors; they concentrate on the hip flexors and the joint capsule. Ten second lunges three or four a day are recommended.
• Maintain your range of motion by performing squat holds for about 30 seconds. Be sure to squat as deeply as you can each time. You can put your back against the wall to help with stability and work up to free standing squats.

Although prevention is the key to hip health, sometimes injury or strain just happens. By developing the proper hip health habits, however, your chances for hip problems can be significantly reduced. If you experience hip joint pain, don’t be afraid to use a natural topical pain reliever such as Absorbine Jr Plus to assist in reducing your symptoms.