Hip Exercises During Pregnancy – You Can Do At Home

Hip exercises during pregnancy are a great way to stay fit. For pregnant women, gentle hip stretches provide countless benefits, from relaxing the body to preparing for labor. Hip pain and muscle stiffness are some of the common pregnancy symptoms that lead to discomfort. But the good news is that adding gentle hip exercises or stretches to your pregnancy workout routine can manage these symptoms.

You may experience pain in any trimester of the pregnancy. It may be focused on the pelvic region, legs, and the back and side of the hip. You may feel it as a sharp or dull pain that may come suddenly or gradually. However, doing mild to moderate hip exercises can ease it. In this article, we will discuss how hip exercises during pregnancy can impact the body and their outcomes.

Are Hip Exercises Safe During Pregnancy?

Staying fit during pregnancy is good for you and your baby. Regular hip strengthening exercises during pregnancy ease pain and discomfort and give you relief. These exercises are safe and simple and provide various benefits (1). However, you may want to consult your doctor if you have any health issues.

3 Benefits of Doing Hip Exercises During Pregnancy

Performing exercises for thighs and hips during pregnancy can be beneficial. Not only do they keep you fit but also ensure your baby’s growth and development. Here are the benefits of adding hip stretches to your routine.

1. Relieves Back Pain

Back pain during pregnancy can arise due to postural changes and pressure on the spine. As the growing belly shifts your spinal alignment, this might exert pressure on the anatomical structures such as joints and muscles. Stretching regularly can improve the range of motion while easing muscle elongation. Further, it helps with relieving stiffness to ensure pain-free and easy movement (2).

2. Increases Muscle Strength

Stretching can help increase muscle strength during pregnancy to prepare you for labor. It keeps your muscles long, lean, and flexible while reducing the risk of injury. Moreover, it creates room for muscles to expand so you can carry your bump without experiencing pain (3). When it comes to delivery if your muscles are flexible it becomes easy to push the baby without experiencing multiple soft tissue tears.

3. Reduces Inflammation

You might already know that performing physical activity is the key to staying healthy during pregnancy. Exercises for hip pain during pregnancy relieve your discomfort so that you can perform your daily activities easily. Stretching your lower body muscles keeps swelling or inflammation at bay while improving blood circulation (4).

[Read: Leg Workout During Pregnancy]

Top 2 Hip Exercises To Practice During Pregnancy

There are multiple exercises to help with hip pain during pregnancy. These gentle exercises loosen and lubricate joints and ligaments to ease pain and facilitate movement. Here are some of the top hip exercises you can try. Also, here’s a quick important note- if you have any health issues, it’s good to seek medical assistance before incorporating these exercises into your workout.

1. Child Pose

Child pose is one of the easiest hip exercises you can do at home. It stretches your back and hip muscles and relaxes your body. This stretch is meant to lengthen your spine, stretch your thighs, and open your hips. Besides working on your lower body muscles, this renowned yoga pose increases blood flow in the upper body muscles and promotes relaxation (5).

Here’s how to do the Child Pose.

1. Kneel on a mat or floor and sit on the heels, keeping your arms at the side.
2. Bend forward so that your belly touches your thighs. Ensure to keep your buttocks on the heels; however, you don’t need to push yourself while doing so.
3. Extend your arms in the front with your palms down, resting them on the floor or mat.
4. Relax your neck while letting your forehead rest on the mat.
5. Close your eyes, breathe normally, and hold the position for 10 to 15 seconds.
6. Return to the sitting position slowly.

2. Cow Pose

This pose is a popular stretch for a reason. The exercise can be a part of your warmup or relaxation plan or can be done to relieve back ache. Performing the cow pose accompanied by the cat pose ensures flexion and extension of the spine which increases blood circulation in the spinal discs. Plus, this stretch can improve your balance and posture while easing movements.

Here’s the right way to perform it.

1. Kneel on the mat, outstretching your hands and keeping the heels vertical on the toes.
2. Keep your neck long and out. This is the position before beginning the exercise.
3. After this, curl your toes under and tilt your pelvis at the back so that your tailbone raises.
4. This movement will create a wave-like spinal shape. While doing so, your belly will drop. At the same time, extend your neck towards the ceiling.
5. Then, draw your navel in, and this will tighten your abdominal muscles.
6. Now, take your belly up while lowering your pelvis.
7. Bring your neck to the normal position slowly.

[Read: Squats During Pregnancy]

Precautions to Take While Doing Hip Exercises During Pregnancy

Keeping the precautions in mind before exercising is crucial to ensure your and your baby’s safety. Here are a few precautions to consider.

1. Avoid exercises if you are not feeling well or have any health issues.
2. Hydrate yourself before, during, and after exercising.
3. Exercises in a well-ventilated room.
4. Wear comfortable clothes to support your body structures, especially your belly.
5. Stop exercising if you experience symptoms like chest pain, vaginal bleeding, contractions, or dizziness.

Who Should Not Do Hip Exercises During Pregnancy?

Although exercising is good for health, it can be avoided in health conditions like cardiac diseases, asthma, or diabetes. Further, it can be harmful in obstetric conditions like incompetent cervix, bleeding, preeclampsia (pregnancy hypertension), etc. There are some risks associated with exercising; hence, it’s important to consult a doctor before planning for an exercise workout (6).

Hip exercises during pregnancy include effective hip stretches that help relieve pregnancy symptoms and prepare for easy delivery. Doing gentle stretches daily can aid pain and discomfort while promoting flexibility and mobility. Additionally, it’s good to visit your doctor and check your health before exercising.

FAQ’s

1. When Should You Stop Hip Exercises During Pregnancy?

Bleeding, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, and swelling in the legs are some warning signs that you should stop exercising. If any of these conditions occur, it’s high time to seek medical assistance.

2. Is Walking Good for Pregnancy Hip Pain?

Low-impact exercises like walking are good in pregnancy to avoid hip pain. However, if the pain is persistent and intense, it can make walking difficult. Hence, a pregnant woman may consider avoiding it. Gentle hip stretches can be a great alternative in such a case.

3. What Week Does Hip Pain Start in Pregnancy?

Typically, hip pain starts in the middle of the second trimester. As the pregnancy proceeds, the pain may increase. This is due to the growing belly and widening and loosening of the pelvic joints.

Read Also: 10 Amazing Benefits Of Prenatal Yoga

References

1. Hinman SK, Smith KB, Quillen DM, Smith MS. Exercise in Pregnancy: A Clinical Review. Sports Health. 2015 – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4622376/#
2. Fontana Carvalho, A. P., Dufresne, S. S., Rogerio de Oliveira, M., Couto Furlanetto, K., Dubois, M., Dallaire, M., Ngomo, S., & da Silva, R. A. (2020). Effects of lumbar stabilization and muscular stretching on pain, disabilities, postural control and muscle activation in pregnant woman with low back pain. European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32072792/#
3. Thomas, Ewan & Ficarra, Salvatore & Nunes, João Pedro & Paoli, Antonio & Bellafiore, Marianna & Palma, Antonio & Bianco, Antonino. (2022). Does Stretching Training Influence Muscular Strength? A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. – https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362750839_
4. Berrueta L, Muskaj I, Olenich S, Butler T, Badger GJ, Colas RA, Spite M, Serhan CN, Langevin HM. Stretching Impacts Inflammation Resolution in Connective Tissue. J Cell Physiol. 2016 Jul – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5222602/#
5. Dian Soekmawaty Riezqy Ariendha, Irni Setyawati, Kusniyati Utami, & Hardaniyati. (2022). The Effect of Pregnancy Exercises on Low Back Pain in Pregnant Women. Journal for Quality in Public Health, 5(2), 607–612. – https://www.jqph.org/index.php/JQPH/article/view/364#
6. Ribeiro, Maria Margarida, Andrade, Ana and Nunes, Inês. “Physical exercise in pregnancy: benefits, risks and prescription” Journal of Perinatal Medicine, vol. 50, no. 1, 2022, pp. 4-17. – https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jpm-2021-0315/html?lang=en#