There can be many reasons why you feel like your hips need to be stronger. You may have noticed that you’re feeling more unbalanced when you walk. Bending down to pull weeds in your garden may have become painful. If so, you may be looking for hip strengthening exercises.
A physical therapy specialist can help you find hip strengthening exercises that offer the most benefit for you. They can also be an integral part of a physical therapy plan to treat a hip issue like osteoarthritis. Two examples of exercises that your physical therapist could recommend to increase hip muscle strength are:
- Sitting straight-leg raises
One physical therapy exercise that can help improve your hip strength is the sitting straight-leg raises. This exercise helps work several muscles that are important to your hips, including your thigh muscles, hamstrings and glutes. Additionally, this version of straight-leg raises can place less stress on your body, which makes it easier for older people to do.
How to perform sitting straight-leg raises
- Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you.
- Lean back slightly and support yourself with your hands.
- Bend the knee of your left leg so that your foot is flat on the floor.
- Tighten your thigh muscles and glutes, and raise your leg off the floor as high as you can. You shouldn’t raise it higher than your bent knee.
- Hold this position for two to three seconds.
- Slowly lower your leg back to the ground and repeat the last two steps until you’ve done the exercise eight to 10 times.
- Switch legs and do another 10 repetitions.
- Clamshell exercise
Your physical therapist could add this hip strengthening exercise to your physical therapy plan as well. Often, it’s most helpful when you need to tone and strengthen your gluteus medius muscles. It can also help your pelvic floor muscles.
How to do the clamshell exercise
- Lie down on the floor on your right side.
- Bend your knees so that they form about a 45-degree angle, and keep your feet together.
- Tighten your abs to protect your back.
- Tighten your glutes, and slowly raise your left knee upward as far as you can while still keeping your feet together.
- Hold this position for three to five seconds.
- Slowly lower your knee back to the starting position.
- Repeat the previous three steps until you’ve done 10 reps; then lie on your other side and do 10 more reps.
Find more hip strengthening exercises and techniques at Panther PT
Ready to learn more physical therapy exercises and techniques that can boot your hip strength? Our Panther Physical Therapy team is primed to help you find what you’re looking for. We can evaluate your hips to determine any underlying weaknesses you have. Our physical therapists can then create a personalized therapy plan designed to reduce hip weakness and prevent its recurrence.
Want to get help from home? We can do that! Our physical therapists offer virtual therapy and at-home care sessions that allow you to work on your hip strengthening from home.
Contact us today for more information about our hip-related physical therapy services or to schedule an initial appointment.