Try these mobility exercises to prevent hip and back pain

When it comes to staying pain-free, sometimes it’s a joint venture between you and your physical trainer. 

If you don’t happen to have a trainer, fear not, Tonal trainer and running coach Kristina Centenari shared her simple stretching tips for preventing hip, back and ankle pain. 

“Mobility is essentially how well your joints function in terms of both range of motion and strength. Someone who has strong mobility will be strong within different ranges of motion,” Centenari told Today.com.

She said mobility training is important before exercises like weightlifting and even walking. 

“Walking entails a lot from the body: foot plantar flexion, to ankle dorsiflexion, to hip flexion and extension, to rotation in the pelvis and stability in the core … just to name a few” said Centenari. 

“Doing mobility exercises before a walk is important to prime the body for all of these functions.”

She shared the following two mobility exercises:

For mobility, before a walk: The CAR  ankle exercise

“This exercise is called an ankle CAR. CAR is an acronym for controlled articular rotations,” Centenari said.

“When performing an ankle CAR, or any joint CAR for that matter, you are taking the joint through its full range of motion, exploring how well you can control these outer ranges of motion. This will begin to uncover where you may be limited or where progress can be made, both neurologically and kinesthetically.”

The first step is to sit on the floor, then raise your right leg off the ground and pull it to your chest by using both hands to hold up your knee so that your leg stays suspended in the air. 

Use your foot to create a circle by pointing your toe and rotating your ankle. Do it in one direction for 30 seconds then switch directions for another 30 seconds. Switch legs and do the same exercise on the other side. 

For low back pain: The 90-90 exercise

“90/90 is a floor-based position that focuses on hip internal and external rotation,” Centenari said. 

“Not only does this help increase range of motion and functionality in the hips, but it will also help to address a lot of low back issues as this oftentimes stems from hip dysfunction.” 

To do this exercise, start by sitting on the floor. Bend your right leg in front of you with your leg on the floor and your knee bent at 90 degrees. Your left leg should be behind you and your other knee should also be bent at 90 degrees. Sit up, breathe and slowly stretch yourself over your knee and hold for one second before sitting up again. Repeat this stretch for 90 seconds before switching to the other side and performing the same stretch.