Exercise 7: Hip Hinge
Exercise: Hip Hinge
(Called “Hip Hinge” in video walk-through)
Purpose | Teaches proper bending and strengthens hips and back |
Appropriate for Pain Level | 1-5 |
Indications | Functional lifting, posterior chain training, hip mobility |
Muscles Involved | Glute max, hamstrings, spinal extensors |
Common Compensations | Rounding lumbar spine, bending from knees |
Instructions: Stand with feet hip-width apart. Slightly bend your knees and push your hips back as if closing a drawer with your hips. Keep your back flat, then return to standing.
Provider Tips
Dowel cue (head, T-spine, sacrum contact) helps teach alignment.
Differentiate hip motion vs. spinal flexion.
Clinical Rationale
Reinforces proper movement patterns: hip hinges retrain the ability to move from the hips rather than the lumbar spine, promoting hip-dominant movement while maintaining a neutral spine. This helps reduce repetition flexion-related stress on the lumbar spine during daily activities like bending, lifting or sitting.
Reduces lumbar shear and flexion strain: teaches patients to minimize lumbar flexion during forward bending, decreasing strain on discs, ligaments and facet joints, which are vulnerable during the sub-acute healing phase.
Activates posterior chain muscles: promote activation of the gluteus maximinus, hamstrings and hip external rotators, muscles that support the pelvis and help offload the lumbar spine during movement. Strengthening these muscles improves pelvic control and reduces compensatory lumbar overuse.
Supports functional rehabilitation: hip hinges mimic real-life movements such as squatting, lifting objects or transitioning from sitting to standing, making them essential for restoring safe mechanics during functional tasks. Hip hinges also encourage confidence and independence as patients return to normal daily activities.
Improves lumbopelvic awareness and motor control: teaches the patient body awareness, especially regarding pelvic tilt, lumbar position and core stabilization, which are often altered in patients with low back pain. Facilitates neuromuscular re-education helping to normalize movement patterns disrupted by pain or fear of movement.
Easily modifiable for pain and ability level: can be performed with no load, using a dowel for feedback or progressed with light resistance (e.g. bands or weights) as tolerance improves. Suitable for patients transitioning from low-load core exercises to more dynamic functional tasks.