It's All in the Hips: Preventing Foot, Ankle, and Knee Injuries
JULY 12, 2011
KT Tape is used to keep you active while your foot, ankle, knee, and even hip injuries are healing, and even to prevent those injuries from starting in the first place! But often times, focusing on healthy hips can go great lengths in helping to prevent these common injuries as well. Check out these tips and exercises from Runners World on how to strengthen your hips and avoid other injuries:
Runners who are looking for the cause of their foot, ankle, or knee pain may need to look higher. Weak hips are often the culprit behind patellofemoral syndrome, Achilles tendinitis, and iliotibial-band syndrome, according to Reed Ferber, Ph. D., director of the University of Calgary's Running Injury Clinic. "Inadequate hip muscle stabilization is a top cause of injury in runners," he says. "The hips need to be strong to support the movement of the feet, ankles, and knees."
In 2007, Ferber conducted a study of 284 patients who compared leg pain. He found that 93 percent of them had weak hip muscles. After putting these people on a targeted strength program, 90 percent of them were pain-free within six weeks.
Those exercises (shown here) are now a major part of Ferber's practice. He recommends doing them daily after you run. Start with one set of 10 reps and gradually increase sets so that you're doing three sets of 10 by your fourth day. You should see improvement in two weeks. If you don't, Ferber says to see a doctor because your injury could lie elsewhere.
SEATED HIP EXTERNAL ROTATOR1. Attach a resistance band to the left end of a bench and loop the other end around your right foot.
2. Keeping your knees together, lift your right leg out to a count of two, then release back down to a count of two.
3. Repeat on the other leg. STANDING HIP FLEXOR
1. Put your right foot in the resistance band and turn so you are facing away from the band's anchor.
2. Keeping your right leg straight, lift it forward to a count of two, then release it back down to a count of two.
3. Repeat on the other leg. STANDING HIP ABDUCTOR
1. Anchor a resistance band to a stable object.
2. Loop the other end around your right foot so the band crosses in front of you.
3. Standing with your left leg slightly behind you, keep your right leg straight and lift it out to the side. Lift it to a count of two, then release it back down to a count of two.
4. Repeat on the other leg. To read the entire article, visit Runnersworld.com.
