Hip Issues?

Skelders88

Backstory: This past November, I started back to work where I knew it would take a toll on my body. For 12 hours a day, I stand and some nights I'm constantly walking back and forth between a few different plastic press molds to inspect and pack parts. Some weeks I work M, Tue, F, S, S--other weeks I work only Wednesday and Thursday. It's not like a 5 day work week, but it's still grueling when you're standing and walking so much. I just wasn't sure how it would affect my body this time around (I worked there in 2012 as well).

In 2012, I was 80+ lbs heavier, and my feet and legs would constantly kill me. My ankles often felt like they were going to explode. It was bad. Now that I've lost so much weight, I'm noticing neither my feet nor legs hurt nearly as bad as before. Some nights they don't hurt at all. I take turmeric, potassium, and magnesium supplements along with a multivitamin and some other stuff to keep the cramps down and circulation moving, and I am extremely satisfied with my overall ability to do the work so much better now.

Here's my new concern: My hips are always stiff. If I sit for any period of time longer than 10 minutes, my hips don't want to move like normal. It takes a few steps to get them limber again, and I'd like to keep that from happening. I'm 30...I'm not 80. lol My hips kind of feel like the latter right now, especially with the 'slow to stand up accompanied by a groan' thing.

I've been there for about two months now (started late November), and it hasn't really improved at all. I do 10-20 minutes of yoga every day after work, and I'm also doing a plank "challenge" but I assume planks wouldn't hurt my hips.

My question: What do you recommend for getting my hips looser and less prone to stiffening and soreness?

AnnPT77

I'm not a PT, and obviously can't diagnose you over the internet even if I were.

Some of the things I've been recommended (by my osteopath, physical therapists, and massage therapist) for my tight hips are this pelvic clock exercise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4VpJ0eKFiM

. . . plus a similar exercise on a small (somewhere < basketball sized) squishy exercise ball, large enough to sit on, but small enough to let the hip bones drop from one side to the other. You then relax and lengthen your right side, allowing the pelvis to drop off toward the right; then do the same to the left (alternating x10). Then lengthen the front of the body, relaxing and letting the pelvis pivot down to the front; then lengthen the back so the pelvis pivots to the back (alternating x10). Finally, sit on the ball and twist to point your navel at your left knee, then at your right knee - you're rotating your pelvis in the 3rd dimension (alternating x10). You could do this kind of thing on a regular big exercise ball, but the small/squishy one creates more range of motion.

Piriformis stretches are another thing I need to do to keep my hips flexible, like the figure 4 stretch, and others that are all over the web.

These are not the only possible hip stretches, just the ones I've learned I need to do.

If you could get a physical therapy referral, that would be a great way to get your specific situation diagnosed, and get appropriate exercises.

Chieflrg

If you are doing a manual job with lots of standing it isn't unusual especially as we get older. Males in general suffer from sore hips joints considerable more than females simple because we have much more testosterone and that leads to less flexibility in general.

I would hazard no amount of yoga will make it go away if this is the case. Though yoga can be relaxing and allow you to deal with the pain in some sorts.

There are things that are known to help.
1. Lose more weight if you are overweight.
2. Wear good quality comfortable shoes/boots with work insoles.
3. You can request rubber matting at your workplace if you are walking on concrete or hard surfaces all day. This usually really helps the pounding that can effect the hips as well.
4. NSAIDs though this isn't something that is good long term or really a solution, just a band aid.
5. Practice good posture

asugar1390

Gentle Yoga

Skelders88

AnnPT77 wrote: »

" "

These are not the only possible hip stretches, just the ones I've learned I need to do.

If you could get a physical therapy referral, that would be a great way to get your specific situation diagnosed, and get appropriate exercises.

Thanks for the video and stretches! I threw my back out in 2009, and some of these stretches were given to me back then too. It was a lower back thing, and I think some of these stretches were also used for that.

Chieflrg wrote: »

If you are doing a manual job with lots of standing it isn't unusual especially as we get older. Males in general suffer from sore hips joints considerable more than females simple because we have much more testosterone and that leads to less flexibility in general.

I didn't realize that testosterone effected us in that way. As much as I hate to admit it, the whole getting older thing is pretty much to blame methinks. I've been taking supplements to counteract the effects of aging, but the hips are outpacing my planning.

I would hazard no amount of yoga will make it go away if this is the case. Though yoga can be relaxing and allow you to deal with the pain in some sorts.

There are things that are known to help.
1. Lose more weight if you are overweight.
2. Wear good quality comfortable shoes/boots with work insoles.
3. You can request rubber matting at your workplace if you are walking on concrete or hard surfaces all day. This usually really helps the pounding that can effect the hips as well.
4. NSAIDs though this isn't something that is good long term or really a solution, just a band aid.
5. Practice good posture

I have all of those things except good posture. I'm working on that, but I feel my pelvis slide forward when I'm standing. I need to keep the butt pulled back, and that might actually help a lot. I also try to stay away from NSAIDs unless absolutely necessary. Luckily, I don't get hip pain when I'm standing or walking at work. It's only when I've sat down for a while and get back up that I'm stiff and a little sore. Thanks for the info and tips!

asugar1390 wrote: »

Gentle Yoga

I've been using an app called Down Dog. It's fairly gentle on beginner settings. Even on intermediate, I haven't found anything that's too distressing. The hip stretches aren't really don't a whole lot yet though. Thanks for the suggestion!

urloved33

yoga.especially yin yoga.

Je55ica_79

Go to the doctors, my husband is 40 and needs both hips replaced. It's a rare condition he has that he was born with and now he has the hips of a 90 year old. Nothing he could have done about it.

But your doctor can see what's going on take an mri maybe physically therapy, maybe you have arthritis and need meds. Who knows but I would urge you to see a doctor. Your joints aren't something you want to ignore.

Mithridites

See if you could commit to 30 days of Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube. And I second the suggestion to look into medical solutions, doctor, physical therapist, massage therapy.

gearhead426hemi

You might be suffering from weak hamstrings or other muscles which is causing your hips to feel sore and tight. I work 12 hour rotating shifts and I sit for the majority of my shift and I was noticing hip soreness as well. I mountain bike, run and hike when I am off and never had pain for any of those activities. I started adding some hip adductor exercises to my routine and I try to stand and move around every 30-60 minutes and the pain has gone away. I personally tried yoga and it actually made things worse for me. Just my 2cents. Best of luck!

debrakgoogins

Others have suggested a PT referral which is the first step. I thought I had tight hips but what I really had was a lack of core strength and flexibility. Losing weight, strengthening my core and doing yoga helped my hip issues and gave me better balance as well.

Skelders88

urloved33 wrote: »

yoga.especially yin yoga.

Never heard of yin yoga. Sounds interesting though! Will do!

everjcjv wrote: »

Go to the doctors, my husband is 40 and needs both hips replaced. It's a rare condition he has that he was born with and now he has the hips of a 90 year old. Nothing he could have done about it.

But your doctor can see what's going on take an mri maybe physically therapy, maybe you have arthritis and need meds. Who knows but I would urge you to see a doctor. Your joints aren't something you want to ignore.

Yeah, joint pain isn't something to mess around with. My plan for losing weight was to be fit and healthy for a lot longer, not to be immobilized by hip pain! It's nowhere near that bad yet, but I can imagine if it's something serious, letting it go certainly won't help anything.

Mithridites wrote: »

See if you could commit to 30 days of Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube. And I second the suggestion to look into medical solutions, doctor, physical therapist, massage therapy.

I'll look up that YouTube series. Sounds interesting! I think I'm going to schedule an appointment with my doctor as soon as I can, just to get it checked out. Seems like a good plan!

gearhead426hemi wrote: »

You might be suffering from weak hamstrings or other muscles which is causing your hips to feel sore and tight. I work 12 hour rotating shifts and I sit for the majority of my shift and I was noticing hip soreness as well. I mountain bike, run and hike when I am off and never had pain for any of those activities. I started adding some hip adductor exercises to my routine and I try to stand and move around every 30-60 minutes and the pain has gone away. I personally tried yoga and it actually made things worse for me. Just my 2cents. Best of luck!

I've been looking at different stretches and exercises outside of yoga. I'll look up the hip adductor exercises, and add them to the list. When warmer weather kicks in, I'm pretty set on starting to bike and hike myself. Hopefully with everything, it'll help get the soreness under control. I mean, it's not like it's out of control per se. They never feel sore or anything when I'm just standing or sitting anywhere, it's only when I first stand up after sitting for longer than 10 minutes...and even then, it's not all the time. Yoga hasn't made anything worse for me, it just hasn't helped a whole lot yet either. I do notice other areas of my body that are more flexible from it. I just want to get my hips feeling as good as the rest of my body. Thanks!

debrakgoogins wrote: »

Others have suggested a PT referral which is the first step. I thought I had tight hips but what I really had was a lack of core strength and flexibility. Losing weight, strengthening my core and doing yoga helped my hip issues and gave me better balance as well.

Physical therapy will be the most helpful I think. They can identify the root cause most likely, and they'll be able to offer specific exercises and stretches to get things moving again. Along with the yoga, I'm also doing a plank challenge (can't remember if I mentioned that) to work on core strength. I hope it all comes together, and my hips start functioning normally again!

Thanks for the replies, folks!