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A Runner’s Hips Don’t Lie Recent research shows the key to rehabilitat- ing and potentially even preventing many lower limb running injuries may all be in the hips. According to several studies out of the University of Calgary, Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, hip strengthening can contribute to the rehabilitation of Iliotibial Band Syndrome ( ITBS) and Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome ( PFPS) - two common knee injuries that often plague runners.

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Dr. Reed Ferber’s group from the University of Calgary used two simple hip strengthen- ing exercises on 15 patients with PFPS. Following 3 weeks of exercises, the patients showed a 32% increase in hip strength and a 40% decrease in knee pain. Dr. Fredericson and his group from Stanford University conducted a similar study using patients with ITBS. Fredericson had his patients do two hip strengthening exercises in combination with two hip stretches for 6 weeks.

Following the 6 week protocol, 22 out of the 24 patients were pain free. Just as the feet can influ- ence your mechanics from the bottom up, the hips help to control your mechanics from the core down. The hip muscles that were the focus of these studies include the Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Minimus and Gluteus Medius along with the Tensor Fascia Lata. These muscles are responsible for abducting your

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