Why your tight hips might be making you more stressed
Shakira was right after all - hips don't lie!
Shakira-Shakira really knew what she was talking about.
If I was to summarise this little piece for the TL-DR, it would be: "everything is connected to everything; and change one thing, change everything".
Here's what that means in non-summary.
We have a number of sensing systems and one of them, the interoceptive system, specifically senses what's going on inside our body.
When I say "we want to let our nervous system know that we're safe and everything's OK"..this is the system that's managing that message.
It's generated by the organs and all your internal systems (e.g. GI-tract and your CV and immune systems) and allows you to be aware of bodily states and emotions.
E.g. that you're thirsty, tired or your heart rate is elevated; and to notice your emotions as physical sensations (e.g. butterflies in your stomach).
What's stress got to do with tight hips?
Let me put you into a state of hypothetical stress to switch your fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system (SNS) on.
What happens? Your body's flooded with adrenaline and cortisol. Heart rate raises. Breathing becomes shallow. Glucose is released into your bloodstream and your muscles are primed to make a run for it.
Your hip flexors are super important for running, so they tense up ready for you to have it away on your toes.
Your interoceptive system says "oh, hello. Loads of stress messages here. Let me tell the brain we're under threat and ready to leg it".
Which is fine if there's a tiger waiting to gnaw on your juicy flesh.
Why are my hips tight all the time?
OK, let me give you a different scenario.
You've been sitting at your desk all day. Your upper body's all hunched over and your breathing's shallow.
"Hmm", says the interoceptive system "Shallow breath and tensed upper body? Those are stress signals".
And your hip flexors have been stuck in that same shortened position all day as you've been sitting there.
"Wait there!" it says "Contracted hip flexors? That's a big signal we're in danger and need to be ready to scarper".
So, it's sending messages back to your brain saying "Alert!"
And your brain's going "Wha'? Huh? Danger? Well you're the interoceptive system, so you know best! OK, Imma flood the system with adrenaline, raise the heart rate, make breath more shallow and release sugar. And those hip flexors? They had better get set 'cos it is GO time!"
So it's all a bit chicken and egg: stress = tight hips; and tight hips = stress
Everything's connected - change one thing, change everything.
You already know that tight hips go hand in hand with back pain.
But they can also cause pelvic floor dysfunction and digestive issues (as they can compress organs and restrict blood flow).
And because of the way that connective tissue wraps the body, you might also feel this tension in your shoulders or jaw.
All these messages of "not-rightness" are passed via the interoceptive system back to the brain.
Because your brain's not quite sure what's going on, your emotions get triggered - a sense of unease; bit of anxiety; maybe some restlessness as it readies for fight or flight.
All of which are also sensed by the interoceptive system as messages that something's not right.
This means we can approach our tight hips from several different angles, all of which can trigger a cascade of improvement while not being an obvious fix:
1. Move more (preferably outside)
Obviously, we can do strength and mobility work to help the hip flexors. But if we're just gonna go sit straight back down again, it's a temporary fix at best.
So we need to get up and move about regularly. Ideally, once an hour.
And it's even better if we move about outside because being in nature leads to reduced stress responses and decreased levels of anxiety, depression and stress.
It also reduces our blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol levels
2. Speak to a friend
Social interaction can also help to inhibit defensive systems and involuntary responses such as stress. It needs to be a conversation that has some meaning - just passing the time of day when you pay for your sarnie isn't the same thing!
Do try and avoid ranting though 🤬
3. Eat your veggies
75-90% of seratonin, the feel-good neurotransmitter is made in your gut. And the release of this triggers "everything is OK" messages"
So add more veggies that are rich in tryptophan such as spinach, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes and garlic so more seratonin can be created.
4. Actively manage your response to stress
Often when we're in a stress cycle, everything's swirling about in our head and it can be difficult to stop it.
A great way to calm some of this noise is to stop, get curious about what you're feeling in your body and notice what happens when you change the the signals the interoceptive system is getting.
"Oh, my teeth are grinding. Let me release my jaw and put my tongue on the roof of my mouth" (👈🏽 if nothing else, your dentist will be happier with you!)
"I'm breathing right at the top of my chest. I'm going to take five blocks of 4-2-6 breaths, feeling the expansion and contraction of my ribs" (👈🏽 if you can do this while walking about outside, so much the better)
"Err, actually, I'm a bit thirsty. Let me slowly sip a glass of water, noticing the coolness of it as it goes down" (👈🏽 even slight dehydration has an impact both on brain function AND on how our connective tissue feels)
Will these fix your tight hips right away?
No. This is an ongoing effort.
But over time, the more of all of these things you do, the better things will feel
Want more info?
Here are some blogs:
Why your brain's stressing you out
Are my achy hips due to butt amnesia?
How can I close out my stress cycle?
Videos for hip releases.
Here's a link to a lower body mobility session; and this one is specifically for hips, covering both strength and stretch exercises.
Join the Priority Wait List and be first to hear when spaces open up for our fantastic "Goodbye Achy Back" Pilates classes where you'll learn all the best exercises to do any time your back or hips feel gnarly!
