Patient Care
SPINE SPARING HIP E XERCISES
The hip is an elegant, complex joint and its function is likely connected to the health
of the spine and low back pain (LBP). Chiropractors frequently see patients with hip
issues, from basic stiffness and reduced range of motion to acute sports injuries and
chronic pain conditions.
O
ur hips help us accomplish
functional tasks every day.
From a healthy aging and
mobility perspective, people need
adequate hip strength and mobility for
Hip function should be considered in
assessment and management of the
following conditions:
almost everything they do:
∞∞ Mechanical low back, pelvic and
sacroiliac conditions.
∞∞ Activities of daily life including
carrying, bending, reaching, hygiene
and dressing.
∞∞ Basic mobility including stairs,
walking, sitting and getting into and
out of a car.
∞∞ Strength tasks including kneeling and
squatting.
∞∞ Exercise including cycling and
running.
∞∞ Local hip complaints.
∞∞ Knee pathology including arthritis
in older patients and functional
problems in younger patients.
∞∞ Lower kinetic chain issues and sports
injuries.
To help patients age with excellent
physical capacity, it’s important to
address hip function along with general
fitness and performance.
Any clinician who has observed patients
with hip pain getting up from a chair
knows that hip pathology affects how
a patient uses their lumbar spine.
However, current research evidence has
not yet clarified the exact nature of the
relationship between hip pathology and
LBP.
For more information on the current
state of the research on this relationship,
members are advised to consult the
OCA’s Webinar on Demand, Spine
Sparing Strategies, with Dr. Shawn
Thistle.
After reviewing the evidence, Dr. Thistle
offers three guiding assumptions he
uses in his practice:
1. A limitation in a specific hip
function (e.g. flexibility) is more
likely to be related to a patient’s
back pain if the patient regularly
relies on that particular aspect of
hip function. All patients are unique!
2. Using manual therapy and home
care to address that specific hip
function may alleviate or prevent
LBP.
3. When a patient has limited mobility
in the hips, they compensate by
using their spine for functional tasks
such as getting into and out of a
vehicle. Helping patients to improve
strength, range of motion and
stability in the hips can “spare the
spine” from this added stress.
6
SPRING 2016