Hip Anatomy
Hip injuries are often overlooked in baseball players. Understandably, more focus is placed on the upper extremity, particularly the shoulder and elbow as that is where many injuries occur. A study by Mlynerak and Coleman showed that 5.5% of baseball injuries involved the hip or groin in Major and Minor League Baseball. “Arm care” has been a hot topic lately with significant energy and focus put on developing exercises to prevent arm injuries, but the same attention is not paid to the hips. Also, a hip injury can manifest itself into an arm injury due to a disruption in the kinematic sequence, as I addressed in a previous blog.
Before we get too far into the specifics of hip injuries and how they relate to baseball, it is important to review some anatomy. The most common hip injury in baseball is some combination of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) and a labral tear (I wrote about FAI here if you are interested). A brief reminder about what the hip joint looks like:
The femur is the long bone in your upper leg and the head of the femur rests inside the acetabulum creating a ball-in-socket joint. The labrum is a cartilaginous tissue that extends the socket while providing stability for the femur. FAI can involve either a cam impingement, a pincer impingement, or a combination of both. A cam impingement refers to a bony overgrowth on the femur while a pincer impingement is a bony overgrowth on the acetabulum. Either deformity can result in damage to the labrum and other tissues in the area. This can result in pain along with hip tightness, locking, and clicking.
We will get into further details later on, but an important consideration is the rotational nature of baseball. Imagine you are a 100 meter sprinter. You probably do some rotational training, but your sport requires you to run in a straight line. Many other sports involve primarily straight line running as the stress on the hip. Some sports like basketball include jumping, which can result in other stresses of the hip. Baseball and softball are primarily rotational sports regarding hip stress. Running in the field or around the bases involves straight-line speed, but the most repetitive stress typically comes from hitting or pitching (catcher is an exception to this that we will discuss). Therefore, strategies to address hip impingement should focus on rotational solutions primarily.
Causes of Hip Tightness
There are several possible causes of hip tightness particularly in baseball players. The first is related to joint restrictions, part of which can be explained by FAI and labral tears as mentioned above. These require dedicated intervention from a healthcare professional to assure that the hip is able to move safely. Muscular tightness can also be a cause of limited hip mobility. Take a look at the next couple images showing the front and back of the hip and all of the muscles that are involved:
As you can see, there are many muscles that insert into the hip and can create restrictions. While mobility exercises and stretching can be helpful in some cases, tightness in a muscle can also be caused by weakness. Imagine if you tried to curl 1,000 pounds. Your biceps would feel tight after doing this, but they would not need to be stretched. They would feel tight because you contracted the muscles past their limit and they tightened to protect themselves. A similar phenomenon can occur in the hip muscles if they are not strong enough. They can tighten to protect themselves, causing the sensation of tightness. I will discuss exercises later on, but oftentimes strengthening exercises can actually increase mobility.
Hip tightness or pain can also be a result of limited mobility elsewhere in the body. If the lower back or pelvis is tight, then more rotation needs to come from the hip. If the hip only has normal rotation and is unable to rotate to compensate for the low back and pelvis, then it may feel tight. The limitation does not actually occur in the hip, but it is the culprit of tightness elsewhere.
Hip Tightness in Pitchers
Pitching requires significant hip mobility from both the front and back leg. Look at the back leg in the full stride position below courtesy of faketeams.com
You can see that he is in a position of extreme extension as well as internal rotation. If he lacked extension in his hip, then he would need to compensate elsewhere. This typically occurs in the lower back creating excessive extension. Too much extension of the lower back can decrease power transfer and cause a pitcher to overuse his arm. This is a simple example where a lack of hip extension can result in low back issues as well as arm pain.
You can also see above that the lead leg is forced into significant flexion and eventually internal rotation as the body continues to rotate. FAI is particularly aggravated in positions of flexion and internal rotation. Limited lead leg hip flexion can cause poor stabilization in the lead leg while pitching. As I mentioned before, rotation is the primary generator of force in baseball and there needs to be a point around which you can pivot. If front hip flexion is compromised, then it is not able to adequately absorb force. Imagine a pitcher such as the one below courtesy of cmllonline.org
You can see that his front leg stays relatively straight. This forces much more of his power to come through his upper body, stressing his shoulder and elbow. The decreased hip flexion can be a mobility issue or a stability issue where he is not strong enough to control the greater lunge position that was evident in the first picture.
The trail leg is also subject to significant internal rotation stress in the leg lift position as seen below courtesy of sanzeribaseball.com
Imagine if the pitcher above had hip tightness and was unable to assume this position. He would either compensate with his back or try to twist through his knee. Too much rotation through the low back can create stress reactions and eventually stress fractures such as a spondylolisthesis that I covered here. Twisting through the knee can result in damage to the meniscus, which I discussed in another blog post here. Our hips have a significant range of motion, particularly in rotation because the segments above and below do not provide much rotation. If we rely on our low back or knee to rotate, we are decreasing our power potential and increasing injury risk.
Hip Tightness in Hitters
The hips do not go through quite the extreme ranges of motion in hitting, with the exception of the lead leg into internal rotation. Take a look at the front hip in this hitter.
The farther he is able to internally rotate over that front hip, the more power he can generate with his swing. This is similar to the lead leg in pitching because the rotational torque created in a swing has to rotate around an anchor. The front leg is that anchor point, but if it is unable to rotate enough to absorb and subsequently create force, then the low back and knee can once again take on additional load.
Hip Tightness in Catchers
Just look at the typical position of a catcher and you can imagine the mobility needed in the hips.
The main stress on a catcher is pure hip flexion with minimal rotation. Catcher is a unique position because the extreme hip range of motion is held for a prolonged period of time. This means that catchers need excellent mobility as they are not just relying on momentum as some pitchers and hitters do. Catchers will sit in a deep squat for 30-60 seconds between pitches with no breaks. If there is any presence of FAI, this can result in damage to the labrum from pinching in the flexed position.
Exercises for Hip Tightness in Baseball Players
I want to give a few exercise examples that I typically utilize for hip mobility with baseball players. Some of these exercises target mobility of the surrounding joints to decrease stress on the hip. These first couple of exercises focus on pelvic mobility in rotation. The first one is called knee shifts and it is pictured below courtesy of posturedirect.com
The purpose of this exercise is to rotate the pelvis side to side with minimal hip compensation. The exercise involves pushing one knee up towards the sky and then the other, trying to feel your pelvis rotate with each movement. Sometimes, people struggle with feeling their pelvis rotate and differentiating it from the hip and low back. This exercise is simple and provides excellent feedback.
Another pelvic rotation exercise is pictured below courtesy of mytpi.com
In this exercise you bring your feet together, keep your hands on the opposite shoulders, and try to twist your hips back and forth. The key is to keep this move subtle and not compensate above or below your pelvis. You should feel your pelvis rotating separately from your low back.
The next couple of exercises focus on ankle mobility and stability. The first is particularly useful for catchers, as poor ankle dorsiflexion can increase stress on the hip joint. The image is courtesy of theprehabguys.com
The goal of this mobilization is to improve dorsiflexion by stretching the calf muscles and mobilizing the talocrural joint, which is the main joint of your ankle. By pulling the talus bone backwards with the band, you are creating more space for the joint to move. This allows for greater ankle mobility and less stress on the hip.
As I mentioned before, sometimes you can improve mobility by increasing stability. I find this to be particularly effective in the ankle joint rolling in and out. Stretching into this motion is often uncomfortable and ineffective, so I prefer to strengthen it. I like to use airplanes, which are demonstrated here courtesy of effortism.wordpress.com
Simply maintaining this position is difficult and stressful on the inside and outside of the ankle. I like to make it harder by passing a light weight between either hand while maintaining a stable ankle. Doing a few sets of this exercise will often significantly increase ankle mobility, all without needing to stretch!
Regarding hip mobility, I prefer loaded exercises to holding stretches for 30-60 seconds. I find them more effective in the short and long term. One of my favorite exercises for hip internal rotation is the kickstand deadlift, shown below courtesy of elitefts.com
The leg in front is supporting almost all of your weight and the dumbbell is held in the opposite hand. Performing a deadlift without bending the knee too much will provide a significant stretch on the lead hip. The dumbbell being to one side forces the leg to stabilize into internal rotation, providing a loaded stretch. This exercise provides rapid results and is easier for baseball players to feel because it is similar to pitching or hitting in terms of stabilizing the lead leg into internal rotation.
The final hip mobility exercise that I will include is a simple lateral lunge. We often train in the sagittal plane, meaning most exercises are simply forward and backwards such as squats or lunges. Training in the frontal plane which involves working side to side can provide huge benefits in terms of hip mobility. A lateral lunge is shown in the image below
You can hold weight in front of you to provide a deeper stretch and greater stabilization. The goal of this exercise is to go as low as you can comfortably control before returning to standing.
Those were just a few examples of exercises that I program for baseball clients dealing with hip pain or tightness. It is important to tailor the exercises to the individual, as this will provide the best results. It is imperative to have a qualified medical evaluation to rule out FAI or other pathologies that will worsen from aggressive exercise.
As always, if you are suffering from pain, nerve symptoms (numbness, tingling, or weakness), or anything else significant, please see a healthcare provider. This blog is meant to be educational and is not a substitute for medical advice.
Hopefully you learned something about hip mobility and pain in baseball players. If you have interest in other hip injuries, check out our hip page. If you found this blog helpful, please share it with someone. We hope to continue to grow and help people better understand how our bodies move and work. If you want to subscribe so that you don’t miss any other posts, click the sign in button on the top right of this page. Once you have created an account, click the drop-down menu in the top right next to your name and go to your settings page. Click the subscribe button next to “Blog Subscription” and you won’t miss any future posts! If you are in the Sterling, Virginia area and would like to work with me or you have any questions, please email me at danny@eclipsewellnessnova.com or follow me on Instagram or Twitter @drdannydpt.
Cant stop reading all these baseball blogs. fantastic info