Do the hippy hippy squat

Read Do the hippy hippy squat by Dr. Rod MacMillan DC(chiropractor) to learn more about Greenwood Spine & Hypnotherapy Clinic

We look forward to serving you! Call – 01442 767 347

As chiropractors we see a huge number of people with low back and pelvic pain and this is very commonly associated with poor hip health and mobility.

In our society most people know at least one person who has had a hip replacement. So just why is it so prevalent and what can you do to help reduce your chance of needing this? In my opinion much of this comes from our movement habits. We spend much of our time sitting, standing and walking however we rarely move in other planes of motion and the hip is ‘designed’ to move into a wide variety of positions.

Our ancestors
As a species we developed in a natural environment that was not very comfortable. We would not have sat for long in one position as the environment would encourage constant movement. Sitting would be done on the floor but more commonly the resting position for a short stop would be a squat, particularly if performing some task or other.

The perfect squat
Our children spend a lot of time on the floor which helps develop these habits and a healthy toddler demonstrates a perfect squat without even thinking about it. But as we age, we spend more and more time in chairs or moving through a very small range of motion. As a result the tissues around our hips, pelvis and low back become weak and tight resulting in pain in the back and pelvis, poor hip function ultimately with damage to the joints.

Here are a couple of simple exercise you can do to help.

Quadraped rock back.
Move from all fours back to this position
Holding squat.
Use a support to hold on to and lower in to a squat keeping your back straight. Go as low as you are comfortable and over time try to increase the depth.
Done daily and consistently, along with your chiropractic care, these will help improve your mobility, hip health and spinal health.

To your better health.

Dr. Rod MacMillan DC (chiropractor)
Greenwood Spine & Hypnotherapy Clinic
Greenwood Cottage, Tower Hill, Chipperfield,
Hemel Hempstead, WD4 9LU
Phone: 01442 767 347