By in Osteopathy

Hip Workshop Attendance in Oxford

Last July, I took myself to a hip workshop in Oxford with a very reputable osteopath teaching the day class, John Gibbons. The aim of the day was to come away with more knowledge to use on my patients with not just hip issues, but lower back, hamstring, quadriceps and even upper back problems.

The human body is connected in every way from one part to the other. As the hips are in the middle and act as pivot points, they can be responsible for many aches and pains.

The gluteal muscles were half of the day’s focus, looking into their more detailed function and not just the text book version. The gluteus maximus extend the hips back and if they don’t engage the way they should, there is an overworking factor on the hamstrings. As I’ve found over the last month in most cases the hips are extended primarily by the hamstrings. This means that the glutes in some patients haven’t been firing correctly, and therefore overloading the hamstrings. This can of course lead to tightness or tendon inflammation if it carries on. You should always consider joints above and below an injury, and what role they may play in causing the problem. In this case treating and managing the hamstring is all well and good, but after some time the likelihood of reoccurrence is significant as the source of the problem hasn’t been addressed. After learning these new modern techniques on how to address misfiring glutes, it bodes well for patients who do suffer with not just hamstring tightness, but also quad tightness by counteracting the hamstrings which then could lead to knee pain!

The other half of the session was based on hip flexors psoas major and minor. These muscles are deep into the abdomen and hard to palpate.  I of course learned how to treat the area but it can still be very difficult to manage, but after some revisiting of the muscle group and newer techniques on stretching and muscle control education it seems like a simple task. Psoas tightness can be the reason for lower back pain, so it’s a vital tool to have on your belt to be able to locate and treat.

For any other information about the hip and ways to self assess your glute activation to prevent further issues, give The Body Matters a call and ask to speak with Kieran. 

Make an enquiry

Kieran
Latest posts by Kieran (see all)