Did you know that most people have weak or inflexible hips from excessive sitting and too little exercise? It’s essential to stretch and strengthen the muscles in this area to help build stability and flexibility. This, in turn, increases mobility functioning and prevents injury and subsequent hip pain from sitting too much.
Squats, hamstring stretches, hip circles, and wall sits are all great if you exercise at home, but what do you do when you are at your office all day and experiencing tightness and pain?
If You Have Hip Pain From Sitting Too Much, Try This!
When you’re stuck in an office cubicle with limited space to move around, your hips can become exceedingly stiff. Below are five desk stretches you can do to help loosen your hips.
1. Forward Fold Hamstring Stretch
The standard yoga forward fold pose loosens up the back of the legs and your lower back. You can do a modified version easily while sitting at your desk.
Prop your right heel up on a shelf or your office printer, suck in your belly button to your spine, and fold over, hinging at your hips. You can reach your right and left foot for a deeper stretch or try putting up both legs and bending forward. Hold for 20-30 seconds, breathing in slowly and evenly.
2. Hip Flexor Warrior 1 Stretch
If you do yoga, then you are familiar with the Warrior 1 pose already. For this exercise, stand up from your office chair and step a foot forward, right or left, and step the opposite foot back.
Make sure your feet are wider than your hips. Bend the front knee while keeping the back leg straight. Turn your toes on your back foot, so they are facing forward at a 45- degree angle.
Pull your abs in, relax your shoulders, and place your hands on your hips, your desk, or reach them up overhead. Hold this pose for 20-30 seconds. Switch your legs and do the opposite side.
3. Revolving Triangle IT Band Stretch-Office Style
This pose is typically done standing in yoga; however, it has been modified to do while sitting at your office desk.
Straighten one of your legs and leave the opposite leg bent with that foot on the floor. Flex your straightened leg’s foot and squeeze your quad (the front thigh muscle). Fold forward and reach the opposite arm towards the straightened leg’s shin.
Then twist to the right and reach your right arm upward toward the ceiling. If you are doing this correctly, you should feel a good stretch along the right outer thigh and IT band.
Hold this for 20-30 seconds. Then repeat on the opposite side.
4. Seated Pigeon Stretch
This yoga pose is loved by runners, as it gives an intense stretch in the hips, opening them and loosening them up. This pose can also be done sitting at your desk. Sit upright in your chair, cross your right ankle over your left knee.
Flex your right foot. You should feel this stretch in your right glute and outer hip. Slowly hinge forward at your waist if you don’t feel anything, leaning into your right hip. Hold it for 20-30 seconds. Just like the other stretches, remember to stretch out the left side.
5. Desk Chair Wide-Legged Seated Forward Bend
While sitting in your office chair, turn your chair so that you can place your right heel onto boxes, a shelf, or anything that is elevated. The goal here is to stretch your inner thigh.
If you need a much deeper stretch, just like in the Seated Pigeon pose, you can lean forward slowly to increase the intensity of the stretch in your adductors. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds, then switch sides with the rest of the stretches.
Conclusion
For optimal hip mobility, it’s essential to commit to regular stretching and strengthening either at home or modified to perform at your desk. Building this healthy habit takes time, but before you know it, you’ll feel the difference and never look back.
Emily Henry writes for Dissertation Writer UK. She writes articles about health and fitness.
