Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHip AnatomyHip WeaknessStrengthening Your Hips
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Hip Anatomy
Hip Weakness
Strengthening Your Hips
If you have knee pain or other knee problems, yourphysical therapistmay pay close attention to your hips and the strength of your hip muscles. Why? Because your hip muscles, like the gluteus medius, control the position of your knees when you are walking,running, or jumping.
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Anatomy of the Hip
The movement and stability of your hips and knees work together and share several muscles. The hip is a ball and socket joint and is a major weight-bearing joint in the body. There are manyligamentous attachmentsthat add to the stability of your hip.
There are also many muscular attachments around the hips that help control the motion of your hip joint and your leg.
Thegluteus medius, a muscle group around your hips, can have an effect on knee pain.
The gluteus medius muscle helps to:
Weakness in the Hip
How Hip Weakness Affects the Knees
When your gluteus medius muscle becomes weak, it allows your thigh to rotate and pull inwards abnormally. This is called a “collapsing kinetic chain.” This abnormal position of your thigh can put excessive stress and strain around your knee joint andkneecap (patella).
A collapsing kinetic chain is often an indirect cause of ananterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. This can happen when the knee collapses in (possibly due to weak glutes) while running or jumping, and the knee buckles in, tearing the ACL.
Common knee injuries and problems that may occur as a result of hip weakness include:
If you are experiencing knee pain, you should visit your healthcare provider or physical therapist. They can evaluate your condition to determine the cause of your pain.
A thorough evaluation and assessment of yourgait, lower extremitystrength(including hip strength), flexibility, andrange of motioncan help your physical therapist provide the proper treatment for your condition.
If you have weakness in your gluteus medius and your thigh turns inwards abnormally during walking and running, then you may be prescribed a strengthening program to target specific hip muscles.
Basic hip-strengthening exercisesmay help, or you may need moreadvanced hip-strengthening exercisesto help strengthen your gluteus medius.
Other exercises, like thepelvic drop exercise, can also be effective in strengthening your gluteus medius. Since weakness in your hips can affect the position of your leg and your knee, balance andproprioceptionexercises are beneficial for restoring normal control and position of your thigh.
The use of aBAPS boardmay help to work on muscular control of your leg and thigh. This can help strengthen your entire lower extremity, placing your leg in an optimum position and taking stress off of your knee.
By working on improving your hip strength and overall balance, you may be able to keep your knees in the correct position and, ultimately, relieve your knee pain.
Be sure to check with your healthcare provider or physical therapist before starting any exercise program to ensure that it is right for you.
A Word From Verywell
If you have knee pain, you may need exercises and therapy to strengthen your hip muscles. In fact, knee pain could be a sign that you are at risk of eventually having an injury to your knee or other parts of your leg. By working closely with your physical therapist, you may be able to strengthen your hips, take the stress off of your knee, and return to your normal activity level quickly and safely.
3 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Brund RBK, Rasmussen S, Nielsen RO, Kersting UG, Laessoe U, Voigt M.The association between eccentric hip abduction strength and hip and knee angular movements in recreational male runners: An explorative study.Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018;28(2):473-478. doi:10.1111/sms.1292Santos TR, Oliveira BA, Ocarino JM, Holt KG, Fonseca ST.Effectiveness of hip muscle strengthening in patellofemoral pain syndrome patients: a systematic review.Braz J Phys Ther. 2015;19(3):167-76. doi:10.1590/bjpt-rbf.2014.0089Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.Dormant butt syndrome may be to blame for knee, hip and back pain.
3 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Brund RBK, Rasmussen S, Nielsen RO, Kersting UG, Laessoe U, Voigt M.The association between eccentric hip abduction strength and hip and knee angular movements in recreational male runners: An explorative study.Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018;28(2):473-478. doi:10.1111/sms.1292Santos TR, Oliveira BA, Ocarino JM, Holt KG, Fonseca ST.Effectiveness of hip muscle strengthening in patellofemoral pain syndrome patients: a systematic review.Braz J Phys Ther. 2015;19(3):167-76. doi:10.1590/bjpt-rbf.2014.0089Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.Dormant butt syndrome may be to blame for knee, hip and back pain.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Brund RBK, Rasmussen S, Nielsen RO, Kersting UG, Laessoe U, Voigt M.The association between eccentric hip abduction strength and hip and knee angular movements in recreational male runners: An explorative study.Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018;28(2):473-478. doi:10.1111/sms.1292Santos TR, Oliveira BA, Ocarino JM, Holt KG, Fonseca ST.Effectiveness of hip muscle strengthening in patellofemoral pain syndrome patients: a systematic review.Braz J Phys Ther. 2015;19(3):167-76. doi:10.1590/bjpt-rbf.2014.0089Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.Dormant butt syndrome may be to blame for knee, hip and back pain.
Brund RBK, Rasmussen S, Nielsen RO, Kersting UG, Laessoe U, Voigt M.The association between eccentric hip abduction strength and hip and knee angular movements in recreational male runners: An explorative study.Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018;28(2):473-478. doi:10.1111/sms.1292
Santos TR, Oliveira BA, Ocarino JM, Holt KG, Fonseca ST.Effectiveness of hip muscle strengthening in patellofemoral pain syndrome patients: a systematic review.Braz J Phys Ther. 2015;19(3):167-76. doi:10.1590/bjpt-rbf.2014.0089
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.Dormant butt syndrome may be to blame for knee, hip and back pain.
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