A GOOD THING: Edition 7

Internal and external rotation is the theme of the week and this is where it starts to get a lil’ tricky.

Rotation at the hip joint is essential for so many aspects of life including posture, gait, proper muscle engagement, and flexibility. Because this can get a bit complicated, let’s just talk about the basic key points.

1. You NEED internal rotation to find full hip flexion in gait. What does that mean? You will strain other muscles and underuse some muscles if you internal range of motion is limited. (overuse of hamstrings and underuse of glutes is the biggest culprit here.)

2. If you have weak internal rotators or tight external rotators, this can affect if you supinate or pronate your feet. What does this mean? We talk about the effects of the “chain” all the time, so if your feet don’t strike correctly in your stride, it effects all the way up to your hips and can cause issues with low back, hips, and knees.

3. You get (on average) about 10-20 degrees more external rotation than internal rotation at the hip. What does this mean? That you will have more range of motion when you external rotate your leg (toes pointing out) than when you internally rotate your leg (toes pointing in.) This is important when doing Pilates because we talk about small ranges of motion constantly in class and this is a perfect example that no matter what, some ranges of motion will always be more capable than others.

Enjoy working in them hips with us this week, and let us know if you have any questions!