Hips- The Powerhouse to the Entire Body

HIPS
The Powerhouse to the Entire Body

The hips provide power to the entire body. When they are working correctly they are your best friend, but when they are inhibited they quickly become your worst enemy. The hips affect joints as far away as the elbow and the ankle. An improperly functioning hip can easily contribute to low back pain (disc bulges/herniations), knee injuries (ACL, tendonitis), shoulder injuries (impingement, rotator cuff) and elbow injuries (tennis and golfer’s elbow).
The hip joint is a tremendously mobile yet stable joint. It connects the femur (thigh bone) to the pelvis via a deep cup called the acetabulum. It has 17 of the thickest, strongest muscles attached to it and these muscles are held together by fascia which functionally links the hips to pretty much the entire rest of the body. The secret behind the power of the hip is its ability to load and unload in all three planes of motion. This allows the hip to control motion of the kinetic chain. Let’s use the knee as an example of how the hip has an effect down the kinetic chain. Most traditional rehabilitation stresses the quadriceps and the hamstrings, but these muscles really only control knee motion when the knee is flexed close to 90degrees. This excludes them from being the primary stabilizer during everyday activities like walking. The hip muscles, on the other hand, are well designed to control the three dimensional motion of the knee because they are oriented to slow down the motion of internal rotation, adduction and flexion of the knee. This takes tension off the ligaments of the knee (especially the ACL).
Now let’s look at an example of how the hip has effects up the kinetic chain. The hip helps protect the rotator cuff of the shoulder and the ligaments of the elbow. In this case it’s the muscles in the front of the hip that do the work. Namely, the iliopsoas, abdominals and adductors… When I see tennis players with elbow pain in my office, I always examine their hips. This is because they play a significant roll in stabilizing the body for movement. To see how the hips influence the shoulder stand up and take a long step forward with your left leg and then raise your right arm out to the side to shoulder height. Did you feel tension at your hip? This means that the muscles of the front of the hip are loaded and ready to contract. Now sit down and lift your right arm up. Did you feel the same tension? Probably not, because the flexed position of the hip inhibits its ability to contract and properly stabilize the body.
As you can see proper hip function is essential to injury prevention and optimal performance. It is important to keep the hips strong in order to stabilize the rest of the body. But be careful! Not all training exercises are the same. Most of the traditional exercises used to build abdominal and gluteal strength actually inhibit the ability of the hip muscles to contract at the right time. And activities like prolonged sitting actually promote faulty capsular patterns of the hip. Your training program should be unique to your needs and functional goals and should promote both mobility and stability. Whether you are an active or inactive person your hips are a key piece of a pain-free life.
Dr. Colling has extensive training an experience dealing with hip biomechanics. If you would like an evaluation, have an injury or would like advice on how to properly train your hips for optimal performance, please call 503-808-9145.

Chiropractic costeffective and safe

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Media Contacts:
Caitlin Lukacs: (703) 812-0218 | clukacs@acatoday.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 12, 2009

New Pilot on Quality Shows Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic Care for Musculoskeletal Disorders

A new pilot program shows that conservative heath care, including chiropractic, may reduce overall health care costs in patients with musculoskeletal disorders, such as back and neck pain. The pilot, conducted by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield to measure quality of patient care for its members in Iowa and South Dakota, also shows promising outcomes for the patients choosing chiropractic and other conservative care.

“The cost-effectiveness and safety of chiropractic has been documented in several studies. ACA is pleased that insurance companies are starting to recognize the value that doctors of chiropractic and other conservative providers can offer to their members,” said ACA President Glenn Manceaux, DC. “Especially during the health care reform debate, it’s important that chiropractic and other conservative care methods are taken into serious consideration as a cost-effective alternative to the utilization of expensive surgery and hospital-based care,” he added.

Wellmark conducted the Physical Medicine Pilot on Quality in 2008 for Iowa and South Dakota physical medicine providers. A total of 238 chiropractors, physical therapists and occupational therapists provided care to 5,500 members with musculoskeletal disorders. According to Wellmark, data from participating clinicians show that 89 percent of the patients treated in the pilot reported a greater than 30-percent improvement in 30 days.

The pilot compared data for Wellmark members who received care from doctors of chiropractic or physical therapists with a member population with similar demographics who did not receive such services. The comparison showed that those who received chiropractic care or physical therapy were less likely to have surgery and experienced lower total health care costs, according to Wellmark.

Chiropractic is widely recognized as one of the safest non-invasive therapies available for the treatment of back pain, neck pain, headaches and other neuromusculoskeletal complaints. A significant amount of evidence shows that chiropractic care for certain conditions can be more effective and less costly than traditional medical care. Recent research includes:

* A study published in the October 2005 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) found that chiropractic and medical care have comparable costs for treating chronic low-back pain, with chiropractic care producing significantly better outcomes.
* A March 2004 study in JMPT found that chiropractic care is more effective than medical care at treating chronic low-back pain in patients’ first year of symptoms.
* A study published in a 2003 edition of the medical journal Spine found that manual manipulation provides better short-term relief of chronic spinal pain than do a variety of medications.

The American Chiropractic Association is the nation’s leading chiropractic organization representing more than 15,000 doctors of chiropractic and their patients. To find a chiropractor near you, visit www.acatoday.org.


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