I’ve come to realize I have modestly misaligned hips (and that misalignment manifests elsewhere in the chain, too, e.g. one of my shoulders is slightly dropped). That misalignment seems to be associated with some specific running issues, mild tendinitis on the inside of one knee and a tweaky hamstring on the other leg. A physical therapist in the past gave me a simple exercise to realign the hips, and when I do that exercise, the pattern reverses, i.e. the irritation shows up on the inside of the opposite knee. But not surprisingly, the hip pretty stubbornly reverts to its misaligned position over time (after all, I’ve presumably spent most of my life that way).
I’m trying to figure out the answer to two questions:
Whether it’s worth my while to try to fix my alignment longer term, or just learn to live with it.
If it’s worth fixing, whether a physical therapist or chiropractor (or some other specialty?) would be best equipped to help.
I’m leaning toward the notion that it’s worth trying to fix and that an athlete/runner-oriented physical therapist is best equipped to try to fix it. But even if I invest a bunch of time and money working with a physical therapist, I wonder whether I’ll be able to fix it in a way that’s stable or whether it still ends up reverting.
I think it’s worth addressing because as we get older asymmetries accentuate and harden, kind of like old tree trunks.
A quick and dirty way to assess uneven hip power is to get on an elliptical and move for 30 minutes at different resistances, feet absolutely flat and hands-free.
It clarifies how the hips/abs act as mutual levers through gait. You’ll find the weak spots and evasions pretty quick.
A quick and dirty way to assess uneven hip power is to get on an elliptical and move for 30 minutes at different resistances, feet absolutely flat and hands-free.
It clarifies how the hips/abs act as mutual levers through gait. You’ll find the weak spots and evasions pretty quick.Interesting - thanks.
I think it’s worth addressing because as we get older asymmetries accentuate and harden, kind of like old tree trunks. .
I agree with this. If you let it go you’ll end like a wizened, gnarled old man/woman with a lot of issues. Whenever I nootice that I’m walking around slumped over I start to work on my posture. Makes me feel much better when I’m straightened out.
I think it’s totally worth correcting. Improving pelvic dynamics will assist with improving efficiency while running. It will take time and you may have to stop running. Movement patterns don’t automatically correct with some gluteal exercises. You may also have to correct other issues such as thoracic spine and rib function.
Inefficiency means you have to work harder to cover the same distance. It also means other muscles are having to work twice as hard to compensate for the other less effective muscles which leads to tissue breakdown, late race breakdowns and eventually injury
I am now 58 and running for years. In my early 40’s I had a couple of injury issues and was told my alignment off, one leg longer ect…trying to fix caused more injuries.
An old runner who was a Dr for years told me " we ALL have misalignment to some degree, leg length discrepancies ect. Your body after forty years has adapted to it. Stronger in some areas. Imbalances are normal…stop trying to fix and been ok since. I believe my original injuries at the time were do to reasons everyone gets injured, overuse, running on camber roads or any number of things. The Dr told me if I was young it would be worth fixing, but I was now trying to change what had become natural
Many will highly disagree with me, so take it as worth two cents
I’m dealing with the same thing. It’s called a lateral pelvic tilt. I think it has contributed to some injury issues this year (hip flexor / piriformis), so I think it’s worth fixing.
It’s typically a case of:
one hip “hiked up” higher than the other
which makes that side’s leg feel shorter than the other side
and that shoulder will be lower.
It’s possible that the exercise you are doing is bringing the high hip back down / stretching it and you are continuing to do it past where the hips are even and now the other hip becomes the “high hip” and the issues happen on the other side. If you think that might be the case, maybe try doing the same exercise as before, but monitor closely when the hips are even again then go into maintenance mode.
I’m trying a few things to fix it. If I have permanent success I’ll try to remember to get back to you. Especially if it’s not an emergency, I wouldn’t spend a ton of money to fix it. A bit of web / youtube research will give you an idea of what needs to be strengthened vs. stretched and some exercises to try.
I’m dealing with the same thing. It’s called a lateral pelvic tilt. I think it has contributed to some injury issues this year (hip flexor / piriformis), so I think it’s worth fixing.
It’s typically a case of:
one hip “hiked up” higher than the other
which makes that side’s leg feel shorter than the other side
and that shoulder will be lower.
It’s possible that the exercise you are doing is bringing the high hip back down / stretching it and you are continuing to do it past where the hips are even and now the other hip becomes the “high hip” and the issues happen on the other side. If you think that might be the case, maybe try doing the same exercise as before, but monitor closely when the hips are even again then go into maintenance mode.
I’m trying a few things to fix it. If I have permanent success I’ll try to remember to get back to you. Especially if it’s not an emergency, I wouldn’t spend a ton of money to fix it. A bit of web / youtube research will give you an idea of what needs to be strengthened vs. stretched and some exercises to try.
Yep, I think that’s right. Part of the challenge is that I have a hard time seeing the misalignment. But I had a physical therapist in the past who could just glance at me and see whether my hip was misaligned, or aligned, and her assessment correlated perfectly with my running form/issues.
One thing I have noticed is that crossing my legs while sitting seems to push the hip out of alignment, so that’s something I avoid doing now.
It’s not an emergency, but my perception is that I’m healthier if it’s addressed. My hesitation comes from wondering whether I can address it in a permanent way or it’ll just keep reemerging as an issue.
I’ve come to realize I have modestly misaligned hips (and that misalignment manifests elsewhere in the chain, too, e.g. one of my shoulders is slightly dropped). That misalignment seems to be associated with some specific running issues, mild tendinitis on the inside of one knee and a tweaky hamstring on the other leg. A physical therapist in the past gave me a simple exercise to realign the hips, and when I do that exercise, the pattern reverses, i.e. the irritation shows up on the inside of the opposite knee. But not surprisingly, the hip pretty stubbornly reverts to its misaligned position over time (after all, I’ve presumably spent most of my life that way).
I’m trying to figure out the answer to two questions:
Whether it’s worth my while to try to fix my alignment longer term, or just learn to live with it.
If it’s worth fixing, whether a physical therapist or chiropractor (or some other specialty?) would be best equipped to help.
I’m leaning toward the notion that it’s worth trying to fix and that an athlete/runner-oriented physical therapist is best equipped to try to fix it. But even if I invest a bunch of time and money working with a physical therapist, I wonder whether I’ll be able to fix it in a way that’s stable or whether it still ends up reverting.
As a PT who sees a ton of runners and triathletes:
Don’t worry about trying to fix it…I can go pull 10 people off the street right now and they all probably have some “alignment” issue. We aren’t perfectly symmetrical beings. Heck, even the inter-rater reliability on palpating bony landmarks is crappy.
see #1
Just focus on an overall good LE and hip strengthening routine. Maybe pay for 1 session of a thorough overall assessment from a PT who sees runners and knows running mechanics. But I wouldn’t chase trying to “fix” your alignment.
I’ve come to realize I have modestly misaligned hips (and that misalignment manifests elsewhere in the chain, too, e.g. one of my shoulders is slightly dropped). That misalignment seems to be associated with some specific running issues, mild tendinitis on the inside of one knee and a tweaky hamstring on the other leg. A physical therapist in the past gave me a simple exercise to realign the hips, and when I do that exercise, the pattern reverses, i.e. the irritation shows up on the inside of the opposite knee. But not surprisingly, the hip pretty stubbornly reverts to its misaligned position over time (after all, I’ve presumably spent most of my life that way).
I’m trying to figure out the answer to two questions:
Whether it’s worth my while to try to fix my alignment longer term, or just learn to live with it.
If it’s worth fixing, whether a physical therapist or chiropractor (or some other specialty?) would be best equipped to help.
I’m leaning toward the notion that it’s worth trying to fix and that an athlete/runner-oriented physical therapist is best equipped to try to fix it. But even if I invest a bunch of time and money working with a physical therapist, I wonder whether I’ll be able to fix it in a way that’s stable or whether it still ends up reverting.
As a PT who sees a ton of runners and triathletes:
Don’t worry about trying to fix it…I can go pull 10 people off the street right now and they all probably have some “alignment” issue. We aren’t perfectly symmetrical beings. Heck, even the inter-rater reliability on palpating bony landmarks is crappy.
see #1
Just focus on an overall good LE and hip strengthening routine. Maybe pay for 1 session of a thorough overall assessment from a PT who sees runners and knows running mechanics. But I wouldn’t chase trying to “fix” your alignment.
Thanks. To be clear, I’m not thinking about trying to fix it for the sake of fixing it. I’ve had persistent modest knee tendinitis and hamstring issues, and have had both a physical therapist and a coach say, hey, that seems to be based in part on some hip misalignment, and tweaking my hip alignment does seem to change how those issues show up. But of course it’s possible that flexibility and strengthening could address the issues without actually changing the alignment (or maybe my hips would fall into greater alignment if my underlying flexibility and/or strength improved).
Fix. We have something called Adapt here, a version of PT and exercises that correct imbalances, basically retraining the body into correct form. I had shoulder issues from being hit on my bike, which translated down to hip and knee issues. We resolved that but I have to keep up on the routine. I also ended up an inch taller! For several years I have been injury free but will get niggles when I have not kept up on the various routines. My opinion is some arthritis is due to misalignment. Keep wearing on a joint that is not aligned, one is bound to wear away cartilage etc.
It is worth it. Doc was telling my mother to take Tylenol etc for back and knee. Took her to two sessions to find hips too tight and things not balanced. A few weeks of strength routines and stretching to balance things out and she is pain free.
Do the work, pain meds, arthritis, injury not worth it in my book. What seems insignificant now, will only be magnified as you age.
Your tendinopathy issues likely won’t be resolved by “fixing hip alignmentâ€. It’s just not a Road to go down in my opinion. I’m sure they’ll be disagreement on here. Do what you feel is best
^^^^^^^ This is correct. As PT also, I’ve never come across anyone who didn’t have asymmetries. Consider asymmetries to be normal and typical. Your body is so flexible that it accommodates to these alterations. Perhaps without these asymmetries, you’d be in real pain. Consider this- you’ve had these differences all your life. They are long bones, muscle developments, joint arrangements, etc. These aren’t truly modifiable, don’t waste your time with trying to correct it. Modify your training, do some cross-training, maybe take some time off.
With a major hip or glute imbalance, what’s the longest you’ve seen for correction? If I have a major glute imbalance, with a dedicated strength program aimed at balance…and trying to get the muscles properly firing…how long can I expect…? Is months or much longer possible? Thank you
With a major hip or glute imbalance, what’s the longest you’ve seen for correction? If I have a major glute imbalance, with a dedicated strength program aimed at balance…and trying to get the muscles properly firing…how long can I expect…? Is months or much longer possible? Thank you
Well, what is your definition of a “major hip or glute imbalance”?