Strengthening your hips could transform your running and prevent injuries
Running is a single-leg sport. That may sound a little confusing as you need both legs to run. But only one foot is in contact with the ground at one time; you are running you are constantly swapping over from one leg to another. While one leg is on the floor, you may notice that the hip of the opposite leg has dropped down – aptly named a hip drop.
Or you may easily not notice. If you are not too familiar with running biomechanics, you may not even realise you are dropping your hip every time you take a step. Try wearing a belt and standing on one leg to see it clearly. Is the belt level? Perpendicular to the ground? Well, if you notice it is at an angle, with one side closer to the ground than the other – that is a hip drop.
But why is this significant? Does it have a big impact on the way you run?
Well, if your hip is dropping side to side with every step you take as you run, it indicates that your muscles are inadequate at providing stability in this area. As such, you will place significant tension on other sites, such as the ITB band, knees and lower back. If you are experiencing pain in these areas as you run, you may have the hip drop to blame.
Find out more about how a hip drop can be detrimental to your running with our latest Top Tip: