Easy Exercises to treat a Hip Labrum Tear/ Sprain (Wellness Wednesday #27)

Welcome back y’all to Wellness Wednesday here at Spine and Rehab Specialists! We’re starting a new series focusing on exercises to do once you’ve had an injury and either trying to prevent having surgery or getting your body ready for surgery. Today, Dr. Earl Hayden, PT, DPT, CSCS and Chris McMillen will show you 6 exercise sequences to help if you’ve suffered an hip labrum tear or sprain. These exercises can be performed 2-3 times a week.

-Seated hip internal/external rotation: Take seat and lift your foot up towards the middle or out to the side. Lift as high as you can without hiking your hip or feeling bad popping, locking, clicking, catching. 5-20 repetitions with a 5 second hold should be good. If you need more help, you can use a Stretch-Out Strap like Chris is using here, or even a towel wrapped around your foot to lift your foot as high as what is comfortable. Then relax your pull and try to hold your foot up using your hip muscles. These make the muscles BURN, but the hip joint should feel okay.
-Clamshell exercise: So good, we had to use it again!. Lay on your side with your knees bent. Your shoulders, hips and heels should be lined up. Keep your toes pulled up and lift your knee. DON’T ROLL YOUR BODY. You should feel this on the back side of your hip. Start with 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions, work your way up to doing a 10 second hold. If that’s too easy, add a band/loop above your knee.
-Frog stretch: Start in a crawling position on your hands or elbows. Keep your knees wider than shoulder width, rock back and try to sit on your heels. You don’t have to hold the position long, 5-10 reps for 1-10 seconds is good. If it’s uncomfortable on the hip, don’t push as far back or turn your knees in or out to find an position that is comfortable and allows you to sink further into the stretch.
-Squats: You can start with assisted squats with the TRX or limit the depth by sitting onto a chair or stool. Find a stance that allows you to squat without having pain whether it’s narrow or even wider than shoulder width. Keep your feet flat, act like your sitting in a chair, or just sit in a chair. 10-20 reps should be good
-Hip thrust: The thrust is a must! Again, use a low bench or even your couch. Lay with your back on the edge of the bench/couch just below your shoulder blades. Keep the knees bent and the toes pulled up. Tilt your hips back and lift up! Once you can do 15 or more repetitions with weight, you can try doing this with a single leg
-Assisted lunges: It’s important to make sure your strength is close to equal on both legs. You can use a TRX for this. Keep the injured leg in front and pull with your arms to keep tension on the straps. Drop the back knee, push up through the front leg. Once you can do over 20 reps a set, try keeping the other leg off the floor the whole time.

If you’re still having problems after trying these exercises on your own, come see one of our physical therapists! We can help you take control of your pain using manual therapy, functional dry needling, Graston and create a custom exercise plan that fits your needs. We also perform musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging which is GREAT for identifying injury to muscles or ligaments while you’re moving! If you’re still having problems after 2 weeks of therapy, then it’s probably time to go to your physician to start exploring other options. Join us tomorrow on Thirsty for Knowledge Thursday where Harry Koster, PT, Cert. MDT and Dr. Anthony Durant, PT, DPT, will team up and teach you more about hip labrum tears/sprains. Come back next Wellness Wednesday for more exercises and ideas to keep you moving!