Unlock Pain-Free Movement: How Hip Mobility Can Relieve Low Back Pain
Imagine this: you’re gearing up for your favorite activity—whether it’s a morning run, a tennis match, or an afternoon hike. You start moving, but there it is again—a tightness in your hips or a dull ache in your lower back. It’s not debilitating, but it’s enough to make you pause and wonder if something isn’t quite right.
For many active adults, this scenario is all too familiar. Our bodies carry the stories of our lives—years of movement, occasional injuries, and the wear and tear of daily routines. Over time, these experiences can lead to subtle imbalances that restrict movement and create discomfort. One of the most common culprits? The hips.
At Vive Recovery Center, we see this story unfold every day. The good news is that it’s possible to rewrite the narrative. With the right approach, you can restore your hips’ natural mobility, reduce strain on your lower back, and move with greater ease and confidence.
Let’s explore the vital connection between your hips and your lower back. You’ll learn why this relationship matters, and how hip mobility can relieve low back pain.
The Connection Between Hips and Low Back Pain
Your hips are designed to be mobile, allowing for a wide range of movements like walking, running, bending, and twisting. When your hips lose their natural mobility—due to tightness, poor posture, or inactivity—other parts of the body, particularly the lower back, step in to compensate. This compensation can lead to overuse, strain, and eventually, pain.
Think of your body as a chain: if one link (your hips) isn’t functioning optimally, the adjacent links (your lower back and pelvis) must pick up the slack. Over time, this imbalance stresses the lower back, contributing to the stiffness and discomfort that many people experience.
Why Traditional Approaches Fall Short
Often, the instinct when faced with back pain or tight hips is to stretch or focus on isolated exercises. While stretching can provide temporary relief, it doesn’t address the root cause of the problem. Similarly, simply strengthening the back or legs without improving hip mobility can perpetuate the cycle of pain.
True mobility isn’t just about being flexible—it’s about moving with strength and control. To break free from the cycle of pain, you need an approach that combines mobility, stability, and strength.
A Three-Step Approach to Better Hip Mobility to Relieve Low Back Pain
At Vive, we believe that restoring hip mobility and protecting the lower back requires a structured, holistic plan. Our three-step model—RESET, RESTORE, and REBUILD—is designed to help you move better, reduce pain, and reclaim your active lifestyle.
RESET: Releasing Tension and Resetting the Nervous System
In the RESET step, our primary goal is to influence the nervous system. Most of the range of motion we gain during mobility exercises comes from addressing nervous system tension.
When the nervous system perceives tightness or potential injury, it often creates protective tension in the muscles and connective tissue. In turn, this limits your range of motion.
By resetting the nervous system through self-myofascial release and deep breathing techniques, we can decrease this protective tension, allowing for greater flexibility, mobility, and better overall movement.
360 Diaphragmatic Breathing with a Hip Lift
Purpose: This exercise helps reset your nervous system by engaging your diaphragm and core. Deep, 360-degree breathing activates the body’s parasympathetic system, signaling the muscles to relax and reducing the tension that restricts movement.
How to Perform:
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, about hip-width apart. Place your hands on your ribs and belly.
Inhale deeply through your nose, expanding your belly and ribs outward (360 degrees of diaphragmatic breathing).
As you exhale, gently engage your core and lift your hips toward the ceiling, squeezing your glutes at the top of the lift.
Lower your hips back down and repeat the breathing pattern, ensuring a steady, controlled movement. Perform 8-10 repetitions.
Foam Rolling/Lacrosse Ball for Glutes
Purpose: The glutes are a common source of tension, particularly in people with tight hips or low back pain. Foam rolling or using a lacrosse ball helps release this tension, increase blood flow, and reset the nervous system. This promotes a more relaxed state in the hips and lower back.
How to Perform:
Sit on the floor with a foam roller or lacrosse ball positioned under your glutes.
Cross one leg over the other knee (figure 4 position) to deepen the pressure on the glute of the crossed leg.
Roll back and forth, applying gentle pressure to any tight or tender areas. Focus on spots that feel especially tight or restricted.
If using a lacrosse ball, you can press it into the muscle and hold for 20-30 seconds on any particularly tight spots. Repeat on both sides.
Foam Rolling Hip Flexors
Purpose: Tight hip flexors are a common contributor to low back pain and restricted hip mobility. By releasing tension in the hip flexors through foam rolling, you help reset the nervous system. This improves flexibility, and promote proper hip extension, which is key for reducing strain on the lower back.
How to Perform:
Begin by positioning a foam roller horizontally underneath your hip flexors, just below the crease of your hip.
Slowly roll back and forth over the foam roller, focusing on any tight spots or areas of discomfort.
To increase pressure, use your arms to lift your body, allowing the foam roller to apply deeper pressure.
Spend 1-2 minutes on each side, concentrating on any areas that feel especially tight. Perform this regularly to improve hip mobility and relieve tension in the hip flexors.
These RESET techniques are essential for reducing nervous system tension and resetting your body’s movement patterns. By addressing tension before stretching or mobilizing, you allow your muscles and connective tissue to move more freely and comfortably. This sets the stage for greater mobility in the following phases of your recovery or performance plan.
RESTORE: Mobilizing Muscle and Fascia for Deeper Flexibility
The RESTORE step focuses on improving mobility by targeting both the muscle and connective tissues (fascia) that surround and support your joints.
While muscles are often the primary focus in traditional stretching, fascia plays an equally critical role in mobility. Fascia is the connective tissue that wraps around muscles and other structures. It can restrict movement if it becomes tight or adhered.
90/90 Trail Leg Hip Internal Rotation
Purpose: This exercise targets hip internal rotation, a key movement for optimal hip function. The goal is to restore mobility in the hip joint while also stretching the surrounding fascia and connective tissues. This exercise also helps release any restrictions in the posterior and lateral chains. They often contribute to tension and discomfort.
How to Perform:
Begin seated on the floor with one leg bent in front of you at 90 degrees, and the other leg bent behind you at 90 degrees.
Keeping your chest upright, gently rotate the trail leg (the leg behind you) inward, aiming to bring the foot towards the floor.
Hold this position for 20-30 seconds, feeling a stretch across the hip and groin of the trail leg.
Repeat on the opposite side. Perform 2-3 sets per side, working on increasing the range of motion with each repetition.
90/90 Pigeon Stretch
Purpose: This stretch targets the glutes, hip flexors, and surrounding fascia, releasing tension in the hip region and enhancing mobility in the entire lower body. It is especially beneficial for improving external rotation and flexibility in the hips, which is key for healthy movement patterns.
How to Perform:
Begin seated with one leg bent in front of you at 90 degrees and the other leg bent behind you, with the foot resting on the floor.
Slowly lower your torso toward the floor over your bent leg, keeping your back flat and feeling the stretch in the glutes, hip flexors, and outer thigh.
Hold for 30-60 seconds, ensuring you breathe deeply into the stretch.
Repeat on the opposite side. Perform 2-3 sets per side, focusing on deepening the stretch with each breath.
Band Distracted Hip Flexor Stretch
Purpose: The band distracted hip flexor stretch helps open up the hip joint and release tightness in the hip flexors by using the resistance of the band to “distract” the joint and create space. This technique mobilizes both the muscle and the fascia surrounding the hip, which is often tight in individuals who sit for prolonged periods.
How to Perform:
Attach a resistance band to a stationary object at ground level, and loop it around the top of your thigh, just above the knee.
Step back to create tension on the band and kneel on the floor with the band pulling your hip away from your torso.
Push your hips forward, feeling a deep stretch in the hip flexors and front of the thigh.
Hold this position for 30-60 seconds, breathing deeply and allowing your hip to open. Repeat on both sides for 2-3 sets.
Half Kneeling Side Bending Lateral Line Stretch
Purpose: This stretch targets the lateral line of the body, which includes the fascia that runs along the sides of the torso and legs. It’s a great way to improve the mobility of the lateral kinetic chain, reducing tension that may be contributing to hip or low back pain.
How to Perform:
Begin in a half kneeling position, with the back leg away from the band.
Reach your top arm overhead and gently lean to the side, allowing the stretch to travel along the lateral line of the body from your hips through your torso and arm.
Hold the stretch for 20-30 seconds, feeling the stretch along your side and down into the hip of the bent leg.
Repeat on the other side for 2-3 sets, focusing on deep breathing to relax into the stretch.
In the RESTORE phase, the focus is on actively releasing tension in the muscles, fascia, and fascial chains, which allows for greater mobility.
By using targeted stretches that engage both the muscles and their connective tissue networks, you’ll improve flexibility, reduce discomfort, and enhance your body’s capacity for movement.
REBUILD: Stability and Articular Control
The REBUILD step focuses on addressing the root cause of mobility restrictions—weakness in key stabilizing muscles. Often, muscles feel tight or stiff, but the issue isn’t always tightness at all. In many cases, the sensation of tightness comes from muscle weakness or a lack of stability, particularly in the deep core and smaller stabilizing muscles that help control movement. When these muscles are weak, larger muscles often compensate, creating unnecessary tension that limits mobility.
For example, if the deep core muscles aren’t able to stabilize the pelvis and lower back, the larger muscle groups like the glutes and hip flexors may overwork to provide stability. This compensation leads to increased muscle tension and discomfort, which many people mistake for tightness.
By strengthening these foundational muscles, you can improve stability, reduce the feeling of tightness, and allow your muscles and joints to move more freely.
Mobility vs. Flexibility
At Vive, we believe that mobility is about more than just flexibility. While flexibility (the ability to stretch and lengthen muscles) is important, true mobility comes from the combination of flexibility and stability. Without stability, mobility is incomplete and may even lead to injury.
That’s why we focus on both aspects in our RESET, RESTORE, and REBUILD approach—ensuring you not only have the flexibility to move but also the stability to do so safely and efficiently.
The Role of Stability in Hip Mobility
One of the key reasons for a loss of hip mobility is the lack of stability, especially in the deep core and in controlling rotational movements. Weakness in the deep core can cause instability, limiting the range of motion in the hips and causing compensation in the lower back. By rebuilding stability in these areas, you not only improve your hip mobility but also reduce the risk of pain and injury.
Hip Mobility Can Relieve Low Back Pain
Improving hip mobility can help in relieving low back pain and enhancing overall movement quality. By following the Vive mobility model—RESET, RESTORE, and REBUILD—you can address both the flexibility and stability needed to maintain healthy hips and prevent injury.
Whether you’re an athlete looking to enhance performance or simply seeking pain relief, prioritizing hip mobility will help you move better, feel better, and stay healthy.
