3 min read

Janny Chan

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Test Your Hip Mobility


How tight are your hips?
Test your hip mobility with these simple exercises.

Stiff hips may be an early indicator of arthritis.
Here’s what you need to know.


It’s estimated that roughly 10% of the population experiences some form of hip pain, increasing as we age. Hip stiffness is often the first sign of impending hip pain.

Understanding the characteristics of tight hips and what you can do to help is the key to preventing pain.


5 Ways To Test Your Hip Mobility
Here are a few movements you can do to test your hip mobility.

These movements are best reviewed with a physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist. Doing the tests yourself will give you an indication of your hip’s mobility and stiffness.

Squat Test: sink into a squat, and attempt to shift side-to-side. You may find one hip feeling more tension than the other.

Internal Rotation: lay on your back, bring your knees to a 90 degree angle, and rotate the feet outwards. This is the internal rotation of the hip. Compare range and feel side-to-side.

External Rotation: lay on your back, and bring one knee to a 90 degree angle. Keeping the thigh still, rotate your foot inwards. This is the external rotation of the hip. Compare range and feel side-to-side.

Flexion: lay on your back, with your legs flat. Bring one knee towards your chest. This is flexion of the hip. Compare range and feel side-to-side.

Extension: lay on your stomach, legs flat on the ground. Keep your knees straight, bring one leg off the ground. This is a hip extension. Compare range and feel side-to-side.




3 Common Reasons For Hip Stiffness
The hip is a highly mobile joint that relies on cartilage, bone, muscles, and nerves to work together. Each one of those components may contribute to feeling stiff in the hip.

Nerves: the ability to rotate the hip, and move it into adduction and abduction is limited by the mobility of the major nerves of the hip and thigh. Issues with major nerves of the hip build up over time due to movement, postural habits and/or a lack of mobility.

Muscles: your muscles and tendons are the most common sources of hip stiffness. Many office workers and athletes may complain of “hip flexor” stiffness or “glute stiffness”. The stiffness here may coincide with weak muscles, decreased range of motion in certain directions, and pain with use.

What starts off as stiffness and a pinch can become a chronic issue if not appropriately addressed. Hip pain can often feel like a pulling, cramping, or sharp pains at the front, back, and side of the hip. These will often be aggravated by general movements like sit-to-stands, side-to-side movements, running, or even walking.

Joint: cartilage damage (e.g. labrum of the hips) or surface degeneration of the articulating bones, “wear-and-tear” at the hip joint leads to significant reductions in the range of motion..

With joint issues, hip stiffness and pain are often felt deep in the groin. This pain is not palpable, meaning massage (or any other similar intervention) brings no temporary relief. There may be clicking, locking, or a feeling of “catching” at the hip. Athletic movements and stair climbing get more and more difficult.

Those with arthritis feel stiffness in the morning, continuing with aggravation and groin pain throughout the day, making a simple walk very difficult.



What Can I Do About My Hip Stiffness?
Regardless of the causes of your hip stiffness, understanding which movements are restricted or painful and what activities are limited is important to know moving forward. Thankfully, movement and exercise routines deliver amazing outcomes for hip stiffness.

Physical therapy can guide your hip mobility, and start creating movement goals. Along with massage therapy and chiropractic treatment, manual therapy techniques such as joint mobilizations and myofascial techniques provide relief for hip stiffness.



Want To Have FutureProof Hips?
Book a session with me! I’ll assess your movements and set you up on a FutureProof plan to increase your mobility, reduce pain and prevent injury.

Book your session today

1 min read

Myodetox

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Myo Run Club


Your best run yet.
From beginner to elite, we welcome all runners.

Los Angeles . Toronto . Vancouver
Join the Myo Run Club today!


Myo Run Club is led by our expert therapists. You’ll be guided through dynamic warm-ups, active-recovery cool-downs, and incredible running routes. Along the way, you’ll receive tips and tricks to make each run stronger than your last.

Amongst the feel-good endorphins, every runner gets to connect at our run club socials and win some giveaways! Running in a group provides support, education, and great vibes. The runs are completely free to join and designed to build a community of like-minded individuals.


myo-run-club



Should I do any exercises before I run?
Yes! Performing movement health exercises before and after a run will help prevent injury and strengthen your stride. From mobility training to static stretches, ensuring you properly warm up and cool down is key to running your best. During the run club, you’ll learn exercises to help transform your movement health.

Take a look at this article, it highlights a few of our favourite moves.

View article here



How to become a better runner?
Come in for a run assessment! A running assessment can minimize your risk of injury, and identify areas of opportunity for your body to perform its best. Our expert therapists will assess your movements and set you up on a FutureProof plan.

Learn more here



Ready to join our next run?
We can’t wait to start tracking some miles and sharing some smiles with you. Let’s make 2023 the year we run faster, longer. Join our community of people dedicated to feeling their best!

Sign up here

2 min read

Myodetox

Posted on

Hypermobility Explained:
More Than Just Party Tricks?


When does a party trick turn into a pain?
Understanding hypermobility and when it’s time to seek help.


We all have that friend who moves their joints in strange ways. Their classic party tricks include twisting their body into all sorts of shapes like hyper-extended elbows, knees, and thumbs.

These wildly mobile individuals are often labeled double-jointed when in fact, they have hypermobility. But what does that mean? And what, if any, are the risks?



What Is Hypermobility Syndrome?
The main risk of being hypermobile is developing hypermobility syndrome. The syndrome manifests when you have excessive joint mobility combined with debilitating symptoms. There is no issue with having joints that move beyond “normal”. Just ask dancers, yogis, musicians, and gymnasts – many will attest to benefiting from an increased range of motion. But when problems begin to arise, then it becomes a syndrome.

Increased “laxity” in the joints is often associated with other hypermobility disorders such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Marfan Syndrome, and Rheumatoid Arthritis (this list is not exhaustive). These disorders tend to appear due to genetics, affecting the strength of collagen in our body. When collagen becomes weak, our ligaments and joints become loose and stretch, leading to hypermobility. hypermobility-symptoms



What Are The Risks And Symptoms?
Though being hypermobile in itself is not bad, it becomes a problem if you present:

  • Pain or stiffness at the joint and muscle group.
  • Dislocations and subluxations at the joint.
  • Weakness at the muscle or muscle group.
  • Poor balance and movement coordination.
  • Generalized fatigue e.g. extremely tired throughout the day.
  • Dizziness and fainting.
  • Constant muscle strains and ligament sprains e.g. ankle rolling.
  • Thin and stretchy skin
  • Digestive issues.



    Who Is Most Affected?
    Children and adolescents, specifically females, tend to present with the syndrome more than adults. In fact, hypermobility tends to reduce as we age. It is believed that hormonal changes over time affect collagen strength in the body and reduce hypermobility symptoms.



    What Can You Do About It?
    You can think of hypermobility syndrome as over-indexing on the amount of space a joint can move within. The more range of motion (or “space”) you have at a joint, the more you need to strengthen and stabilize the area to reduce the risk of overuse and injury.

    Compound weight lifting and stability training can significantly improve symptoms. Speaking to a physician and physical therapist will be your main source to help create a plan for managing hypermobility.



    Worried You May Have Hypermobility Syndrome?
    Give us a call! We’ll book you a session with one of our incredible therapists. They’ll assess your movements and set you up on a FutureProof plan.

    Find your nearest clinic