Working Towards a Deeper Understanding of the Hip Joint
Because some of the muscles that cross the hip act attach to parts of the spinal column while others attach below the knee, hip anatomy concerns more than just actions that occur at the hip.
Hip anatomy also affects or can be affected by the spine and the knee. And it can be affected by muscles of the pelvic floor.
Single Joint Hip Muscles (The Stabilizers)
One of the easiest ways to begin to understand the anatomy of the hip joint is to study the single joint muscles of the hip. These are muscles that attach solely between the bones of the pelvis and the thigh bone. I've further limited this group so that muscles that attach to the sacrum are not included.
Focusing on only the single joint muscles of the hip isn't just an exercise in categorization. Most of these muscles can be consciously activated and relaxed, a topic I go into details inThe Hip Control Guide. But to begin with its handy to understand how these muscles interrelate and where they are actually positioned with respect to the thigh and pelvis.
Flexors and Extensors
Prior to moving on to other elements of hip anatomy it can be helpful to further divide single hip joint muscles into hip flexors and extensors.
These muscles tend to normally be classified with respect to internal and external rotation. However, they can actually be very useful in tilting the pelvis forwards or backwards relative to the thigh bone. These muscles can be used to assist (or even drive) forward bends and backward bends.
Both actions can be really useful for aspiring yogiis, particularly those with tight hips and more especially, tight hamstrings.
Creating Space
One action that I learned as a result of studying hip anatomy is creating space in the hip joint. I first started practicing it and teaching it after reading about it in "The Anatomy of Movement." Learning to do this action can be a start to learning to control the muscles of your hip.
Special Mentions
Some of the single joint hip muscles that have gotten special attention are the adductor magnus, the obturator internus.
Not Using the Anatomical Position
When studying anatomy in general, the anatomical position is the usual reference. I'm going to break that tradition and use two standing positions as references for understanding hip anatomy. The first reference is standing on both legs. The second reference is standing on one leg.
I read an anatomy discussion where therapists asked someoene who was actually taking part in a dissection to look for certain connections or relationships.
While studying a dead body does have it's advantages I'd like to suggest here that the way that the body acts (and responds) while upright under it's own power is quite different than when laying down (or while dead.) More importantly it is something that we can experience for ourselves in our own body. And that is the bigger point of this discussion on hip anatomy.
Hip anatomy is anatomy that you can understand, experience and actually control in your own body. (Part of my job as a teacher is to help you control your own anatomy where possible.)
Multi-joint Hip Muscles
Single joint hip muscles are reasonably easy to learn to control and feel since they act only on one joint. Multijoint muscles of the hip may be slightly more challenging to learn to feel and control since they operate on more than one joint.
When dealing with the multijoint hip muscles that cross the knee, these muscles can be used to help control the pelvis when the shin is stabilized (as when standing on one or both feet) or they can be used to control the shin of a lifted leg while standing on the opposite leg.
Multi-joint Hip Muscles and the SI Joint
The piriformis can be thought of as multijoint since it crosses both the si joint and the hip joint. Likewise fibers of the gluteus maximus do the same (act on both the si joint and the hip joint.) When learning to activate or relax these muscles it may be helpful to control the pelvic floor muscles, either relaxing them or contracting them as required.
The Psoas
The psoas almost deserves its own section. This muscle attaches to the lumbar vertebrae as well as the lowermost thoracic vertebrae. Thus this muscle can affect the joints of the lumbar vertebrae as well as the hip joint.
I'd suggest reading all articles to help you understand (and stretch) the psoas mucle.
A Different Point Of View
Most anatomists talk in terms of rotators, flexors, and extensors. I thought it would be helpful to look at hip anatomy as I've done above so that you can understand how at each level the muscles of the hip can work with each other to support the hip.
But this is only one view, helpful for understanding the hip in isolation, and perhaps even for learning to control the muscles of the hip and feel them.
Also important is understanding the hip joint in context.
And that's one of the reasons that I choose two standing positions as my "anatomical references."
While initially not very precise, they can be made more precise, or better defined depending on what you are trying to do. But for now that is an aside. (And actually it is relevant when trying to feel and control specific hip muscles. I'll get into that in the hip control guide.)
Meridians
Two analytical contexts for looking at the hip are the meridians. Well actually that's only one. However, there are myofascial meridians and then there are the traditional chinese medicine meridians. Personally I think they are nearly identical. Myofascial meridians are in part a discovery by Tom Myers. He uses them in main as a diagnosis tool. They are continuities in the fascia network. Meanwhile tcm meridians are a network of meridians that channel "energy." I like this system because there is a "flow" to the meridians.
The nice thing about Myers work is he details which muscles can be foun in which meridian. So the adductors for exampel can be found as part of the deep front line. Meanwhile the abductors are part of the lateral line.
What does this mean? How is it useful?
It means that the muscles of the hip can be affected by the tone or tension in other muscles further along in the train.
If you want better control of your hip muscles you can lengthen your torso to add tension to the fascia that contains these muscles. You can also engage the feet to add tension from below.
Then with this tension, the muscles of the hip may function more affectively or be easier to feel and control.
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