Lateral hip strength is important for the pelvic floor, low back, and knee health as well as maintaining optimal bone density in the femur. The neck of the femur is one of the main areas of the body where fractures happen due to osteoporosis.  When our bones are aligned correctly, it provides the most amount of squish to build and maintain bone density.  According to the CDC in 2009 the total knee replacements in the US equaled 676,000 and total hip replacement equaled 327,000!  Of the 676,000 knee replacements,  303,000 of those were from the ages of 45-64!  And of the 327,000 hip replacements, 152,000 of those were from the ages of 45-64!

Disclaimer: The following exercise is for educational purposes only. If you’re going to do the pelvic list exercise you should be cleared by your doctor, especially if you have osteoporosis or a hip replacement. Every body has different needs and no one exercise stands on its own. The following is what I found helpful in learning the pelvic list.

Try this simple test to evaluate your femur position.

Pelvic List

  • Make sure you start with proper foot alignment (and footwear), feet forward, outside edges of your feet straight, and your greater trochanter in line with your malleolus. Cool? (see image below). If you can’t do this without force, perhaps you should start with the calf stretch and transition slowly out of wearing positive heeled shoes.
  • Fully extend knees, no bent knees but not locked. If you can’t do this, perhaps you should start with the calf stretch and hamstring stretch.
  • Relax the knee caps down. (stop clenching the quadriceps).
  • Don’t twist the pelvis (ASIS face forward like headlights on a car)
  • Don’t use quadratus lumborum to hike the hip up. The action is coming from the lateral hip.
  • Don’t use a cat for support.
  • The gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and Tensor Fascia Lata, TFL are the prime muscles of movement in this exercise. So, you should feel the burn at the lateral side on the hip and slightly posterior of the weight-bearing leg. The TFL helps stabilize the hip and knee joints by putting tension on the iliotibial band. The gluteus minimus and gluteus medius stabilize the hip. Weakness in these muscles results in a dysfunctional gait pattern where the pelvis shifts laterally instead of aligning over the standing leg.
  • Push the standing foot into the ground to clear the other foot. Another way to think about it is to push the earth away from you.
  • Try to work up to one minute on each side at least three times a day.
  • Do these while standing at your standing workstation, at the crosswalk while waiting for the walk signal, doing dishes, standing in line at the grocery store, in line at a concert….

See Plumb Line in Red.

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