Mobility training – avoid hip / posterior chain injuries

Why are hip injuries becoming more common?

When hip injuries were less common, most people were much less sedentary. They spent less time sitting, more time moving, and were likely to have active occupations. Even top-flight ruggers had “real jobs” to support themselves and, being big and strong, these were often in things like farming and the building trade.

This increased level of activity meant that pre-professional-era rugby players often had better hip joint mobility, flexibility, and stability than many modern players simply because they sat less and moved more. Movement helps keep your joints healthy, partly because muscles are less likely to tighten up with disuse, and partly because movement increases synovial fluid production, the substance that lubricates and nourishes your joints.

The current batch of ruggers is more likely to make a living sat behind a desk. Sitting for long periods of time can have an adverse effect on hip strength and mobility. This leads to problems not only on the pitch, but in the gym too.

Unlike muscles, the structures that make up your joints have no blood supply and repair themselves very slowly. That’s why joint injuries take so long to heal, and why prevention is such an important consideration.

Lack of hip mobility, stability, and strength can adversely affect performance in the squat, deadlift, and lunge, as well as affecting running, jumping, and sprinting mechanics. Poor movement quality can mean stress that should be borne by muscles ends up on the joints, and those joints are exposed to very significant and potentially injurious loads.

A lot of players dive head-first into intense strength and conditioning programs but lack the joint mobility and stability to perform their chosen exercises properly. They focus too much on the weight on the bar and not enough on learning proper technique. This is often compounded by the competitive atmosphere of a group training session and is a recipe for injury.

In many cases, ruggers would benefit from taking a step back from their regular workouts and doing some targeted pre-hab training to make sure their bodies are up to the demand more intense strength and conditioning work. Time spent pre-habbing can save on time rehabbing!

In summary, the stresses on rugger’s hips has increased but too much sitting means many player’s hips cannot cope with these greater demands.

How do you avoid becoming one of the ever-increasing number of hip injury sufferers? The answer is to address the triumvirate of mobility, stability, and strength. It’s no good working on just one of these elements – they are co-dependent. Mobility without strength and stability, or stability without mobility will not reduce your risk of injury and may compound the problem. Instead, all three elements require your attention.