Lie on a counter so that your legs can hang off the end. Raise one knee, grasp it with both hands, and slowly bring it as far toward your chest as you can. If the other leg lifts off the table, you're too tight. If you can't raise it so your legs form a 90-degree angle, it's going to affect the way your pelvis is sitting and give you low back pain. M.S. A s the geography of the body goes, the hip is about as well understood as totem-strewn Easter Island.
Most people think of the joint as something that concerns only brittle geriatrics.
There's tons of information out there on the knees, the back, the feet, but there's really not that much on the hips. While trouble in these other areas often sidelines athletes of every level, the hip joint itself is so impervious to injury that it's taken for granted. No one should take for granted the muscles that stabilize the hip, however. Even headaches can result from a bunched-up girdle, says Valerie Sinkus, a physical therapist in Whittier, California, who has worked with track greats Mike Powell and Michael Johnson. What's more, the hips play a key role in nearly every move you make, on any playing field.