In this second blog of our 2-part series, we look at ways to reduce hip pain at the gym, whether you develop pain or other symptoms immediately or over the 24 hours after a workout. The first blog of this series answered the question “Which gym exercises should I avoid for hip pain?” This blog helped you understand why certain exercise might aggravate your hip pain.
Many people ask professionals about the exercises they should avoid to reduce hip pain at the gym. In most circumstances you won’t need to completely avoid an exercise, but you might need to swap equipment or change your technique to keep your hips happy. In this blog we will look at several key gym exercises for the lower body and ways to reduce hip pain at the gym by modifying these exercises. Remember this is meant as a guide only – for more assistance make sure you contact a Hip Pain Professional (click here).
The exercises we will pay particular attention to in this blog are:
To read more about why Leg Press might be irritating your hips, return to our last blog (click here).
To reduce hip pain related to Leg Press, the first important consideration is equipment. If you are using an incline leg press – where you push your feet up towards the ceiling on a 45degree angle, its simplest to find a different machine. In most cases it is not possible to modify the hip loads enough to avoid pain aggravation. Instead on the include leg press, move to a supine or adjustable seated leg press.
In this second blog of our 2-part series, we look at ways to reduce hip pain at the gym, whether you develop pain or other symptoms immediately or over the 24 hours after a workout. The first blog of this series answered the question “Which gym exercises should I avoid for hip pain?” This blog helped you understand why certain exercise might aggravate your hip pain.
Many people ask professionals about the exercises they should avoid to reduce hip pain at the gym. In most circumstances you won’t need to completely avoid an exercise, but you might need to swap equipment or change your technique to keep your hips happy. In this blog we will look at several key gym exercises for the lower body and ways to reduce hip pain at the gym by modifying these exercises. Remember this is meant as a guide only – for more assistance make sure you contact a Hip Pain Professional (click here).
The exercises we will pay particular attention to in this blog are:
To read more about why Leg Press might be irritating your hips, return to our last blog (click here).
To reduce hip pain related to Leg Press, the first important consideration is equipment. If you are using an incline leg press – where you push your feet up towards the ceiling on a 45degree angle, its simplest to find a different machine. In most cases it is not possible to modify the hip loads enough to avoid pain aggravation. Instead on the include leg press, move to a supine or adjustable seated leg press.
Here are some other ways you can reduce hip pain related to leg press:
If you have made these changes and you are still experiencing pain during or after leg press, swap to a different exercise e.g., a hacksquat, Smiths machine, or a free barbell squat with limitations on how deep you squat. Start at a 90degree maximum bend at the the hip and see how that goes. You may then be able to go a little deeper depending on your hip shape and technique.
If you are unsure about the leg press and if you need help to alter this gym exercise to reduce hip pain, seek help from one of our Hip Pain Professionals. They will help you understand more about your condition and the modifications you might need to make in the short and/or long term.
The main principles around ways to modify gym exercises to reduce hip pain are to minimise the extremes of ranges, particularly in the deadlift. Hip, pelvic and back overload can occur both in the fully bent over position and at the top of the lift. You might like to return to our previous blog to find out why, if you haven’t already read our first blog in this series.
Here are some tips for avoiding excessive forces on areas you are trying to protect, and potentially utilising the whole body more – sharing the load more effectively:
If you are still having difficulty with deadlifting, try changing equipment and using a hex bar that allows you to carry the load further back, or return to doing squatting for a while. For isolated hamstring strengthening, you can also do prone (lying on your tummy) hamstring curls.
The Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat or Bulgarian Split Squat is a challenging exercise and usually requires a higher level of strength and control of body position to perform well, particularly to do a deeper squat. Here are some tips for reducing hip pain during or after this exercise:
If you have tried these adjustments to the split squat and you are still experiencing aggravation of your hip and pelvic pain, you might need to step back to a less challenging exercise such as an “offset squat.” You may benefit from having a professional assess and adjust your technique or provide guidance on the best alternative exercise for you.
Search our “Find a Professional” directory (click here) to find someone near you, or someone you can talk with over video consult.
As we discussed in the previous blog (click here to read more), make sure decide on the correct bike to use – reclined versus upright.
Here are some key things to consider:
If your pain is really aggravated by exercising in sitting, you might be better off doing your cardio in upright – a cross-trainer is often a good option to try. But remember, always start off slowly with anything new you start – test a short period or 5-10 minutes or a new cardio exercise and then gradually build up if your pain is coping well.
We have already covered this topic in a previous blog, so head to this blog for further information – “3 Simple Strategies to Reduce Hip Pain with Walking and Running” ( click here to read more). This is full of helpful tips on this topic.
Should you stretch after or before doing your gym workout?
And which stretches should you modify for your hip, groin, buttock or pelvic pain?
This is another frequently asked question – we cover this in a lot of detail in this great blog “Can stretching Make Hip Pain Worse?” – click here to read more.
In answer to the question “What are the ways to reduce hip pain at the gym?” (felt during or after), we hope this blog has helped.
This is a very general guide only and with any uncertainties or if pain persists then make sure you get the help of a Hip Pain Professional (click here), someone that knows hips.
And don’t forget, don’t stop.
Motion is Lotion! Exercise is Essential!
But some simple modifications can help you get the most out of your workout without aggravating your hip pain. Have a great workout!
Search For A Hip Pain Professional Here.
REFRENCES:
This blog was written by Dr. Alison Grimaldi, with contribution from one of our Hip Pain Professionals, Kirsty McNab, experienced physiotherapist.
Dr. Alison Grimaldi is a globally recognised expert physiotherapist, researcher, and educator, who has over 30 years professional clinical experience helping patients recover from a wide range of hip and pelvic conditions.
Dr. Alison Grimaldi BPhty, MPhty(Sports), PhD, FACP
Dr Grimaldi has completed Bachelor of Physiotherapy, Master of Physiotherapy and Doctor of Philosophy (Physiotherapy) degrees. She is a fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapists, Practice Principal of PhysioTec Physiotherapy, an Australian Sports Physiotherapist , an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland, as well as an author and global educator. Her passion is helping people with hip pain, and educating other health professionals around how to help more people with hip pain.
