If you have problems with tired legs, back pain, or swollen feet after just a short walk, it is very likely that your hip flexibility is impaired. So in this article, we introduce stretches to soften your hip joints under the guidance of personal trainer Yasuzan Matsuura!
In 2016, he began working as a trainer as a member of Beyond Gym’s start-up staff. Served as store manager of the Horie store in Osaka, Japan; in 2017, he reached the pinnacle in the Mr. Japan contest, after which he went independent. In October 2022, he founded Waffle Gym in Tachikawa, Tokyo. He is always ready to propose muscle training menus that meet the needs of customers.
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What Causes Stiff Hip Joints?
Causes of stiffness in the hip joints (1) “Stiffness in the muscles around the hip joints due to sitting for long periods of time.
The iliopsoas muscle is greatly involved in hip joint functions such as maintaining posture and walking. Sitting for long periods of time causes the iliopsoas muscle to remain contracted for long periods of time, which results in blood flow stagnation, muscle stiffness, and stiffness of the hip joints. Even a five-minute walk every hour is said to improve the poor circulation caused by prolonged sitting, so try to stand up and move around as much as possible.
Causes of stiff hip joints (2) “It could be the way you walk!”
Not many people constantly pay attention to the way they walk, but it is not uncommon to find that their knees are bent or their hips move sideways when they walk. If you continue to walk in such a manner, your pelvis will become distorted, your skeletal structure will become unbalanced, and your hip joints will become stiff. When walking, we should be conscious of keeping the pelvis erect and try to walk straight, landing on the ground with the knees extended and the feet flat on the ground.
What are the benefits of stretching the hip joints?
One of the major benefits of softening the hip area is the improvement of pelvic distortion. This not only improves posture, but also facilitates the flow of blood and lymph, which improves metabolism, eases coldness and swelling, and reduces fatigue. In addition, stiff hip joints can lead to lower back pain, knee pain, and stiff shoulders, all of which can be prevented or improved. The benefits of softening the hip joints are so numerous and so important to maintaining good health that it is important to incorporate stretching into one’s daily routine.
The best time to stretch is after taking a bath!
Stretching can be done at any time of the day, but if you want to increase the range of motion more effectively, it is best to do it after taking a bath. The warmer the body, the more flexible the muscles become, and the more effective the stretching will be. The key to this is to “warm up the body thoroughly. It is important to soak in a bathtub, not just take a shower.
Should stretching be done every day?
If possible, stretching should be done every day, but if you are too busy to do it every day, it is OK to do it once or three times a week.
What stretches should be done before and after muscle training?
In fact, the type of stretching that should be done before and after muscle training is different. Dynamic stretching (dynamic stretching) to increase range of motion while moving the muscles before muscle training, and static stretching (static stretching) to increase muscle flexibility while cooling down after muscle training are recommended. Incidentally, some studies have shown that static stretching before muscle training can impair muscle contraction and performance. On the other hand, if dynamic stretching is performed before bed, the sympathetic nervous system becomes dominant and the quality of sleep declines.
