Thick legs and short appearance? It may be "false wide hips", these moves can solve the problem!

"The upper body looks like 90 pounds, but the lower body looks like 120 pounds?"

“I’m not fat, but I just can’t pull up my new pants?”

"He's about the same height as her, but looks like he's half a head shorter than her?"

Did you know that this may be caused by "false wide hips"?

What is "false hip width"?

Hip width refers to the width of the hips; "false hip width" refers to the pelvic junction between the lower pelvis and the upper thigh protruding, widening horizontally, accumulating a lot of fat, causing the hips to drop, the legs to be thick and short, and the lower body to appear heavy. "False hip width" is acquired and will reduce the proportion of the hips and legs, making people look short and small.

"False hip width" is mainly caused by weak gluteus medius and internal rotation of the hip joint. When the femur rotates internally, the muscles on the outside of the thigh - the tensor fasciae latae - will be pushed out by the greater trochanter of the femur, and the muscles responsible for hip abduction - the gluteus medius are weak, and the tensor fasciae latae compensate, resulting in imbalance and disorder of the hip muscles. Over time, the muscles on the outside of the thigh become overly tense, making them appear thick.

How to judge the real hip width and the false hip width

Three elements of self-assessment: whether the buttocks are expanded outward, the thighs are turned outward, and the greater trochanter is bulging outward.

Really wide hips: smooth body lines, thin waist and long legs, the lower body is more symmetrical and better looking.

False wide hips: Located at the base of the thighs, they cause the hips to visually move downward, the buttocks to sag, the legs to become thicker, and the whole person to look half a head shorter than the actual height. In simple terms, it means "thick waist, flat buttocks, and wide hips."

The harm of "false hip width"

● It is easy to have short legs, thick legs, sagging buttocks, etc., which affects the overall aesthetics;

● Often accompanied by excessive anterior tilt of the pelvis, which leads to a series of posture problems such as excessive internal rotation of the thigh, calf valgus, and X-shaped legs;

● It causes changes in the biomechanical line, poor stability of the hip, knee, and ankle joints, and is prone to knee pain and ankle sprains when walking;

● Weak hip muscles will cause excessive pressure and burden on the lumbar spine when standing for a long time, leading to low back pain, pubic symphysis pain, etc.

Causes of false hip width

1. Long-term poor posture

Bad habits such as walking with feet turned inward, knees turned inward, and crossing legs will cause the hip joint to be in an internally rotated state for a long time, causing the hip position to visually drop, resulting in a "false wide hips" posture.

2. Sitting for a long time and not liking to exercise

Office workers usually have this problem. Sitting for a long time puts pressure on the thighs, causing the femoral head to protrude, resulting in enlarged and flat buttocks, fleshy thigh roots, and lowered waistline, forming a "false wide hip"

3. The overall mechanics of the lower limbs are unbalanced, and the strength of the hip muscles is unbalanced.

The core cannot maintain balance, the medial longitudinal arch of the ankle collapses or the foot becomes flat, resulting in "twisted hips" when walking, causing the greater trochanter of the femur to bulge outward and leading to a false hip.

4. Excessive fat accumulation

The thighs are one of the parts of the body where fat is most easily accumulated. Due to hormonal reasons, women are more likely to accumulate fat at the base and outer sides of the thighs, making the muscles look looser.

5. Postpartum factors

This causes the pubic symphysis to separate, the hips to relax, and the hips to sag.

How to prevent "false wide hips"?

(1) Correct bad postures and avoid sitting for long periods of time, crossing your legs, walking with your feet turned inward, sitting in a W-shaped posture, etc.

(2) Adjust your diet, maintain healthy living habits, eat a balanced diet, and exercise scientifically to achieve the goal of reducing fat.

(3) To address the problem of "false hip width", you can do some corresponding functional exercises to reduce the fat on the thighs, thereby achieving the purpose of correction.

Can “false wide hips” be corrected and rehabilitated?

False hip width can be corrected by adhering to the correct exercise method over a long period of time (individual assessment and treatment are required under professional guidance).

Action 1: Seated forward bend

Sit flat on the mat with your knees bent, feet together, knees down as far as possible, hold the soles of your feet with both hands, inhale and straighten your body, exhale and bend your body forward to the limit, breathe evenly for 15-20 seconds, then inhale and stand up, stretching the adductor muscles of the thighs, repeat 5 times.

Action 2: Frog pose

Kneel on the mat, open your knees to the sides as far as possible, support your body with your hands, keep your pelvis directly above the line connecting your knees, straighten your calves to the back at 90 degrees with your thighs, hook your feet back, put your elbows directly under your shoulders, tighten your abdomen, push your tailbone back and down, and then return to the front. Keep your waist straight to avoid sagging your waist and lifting your hips. 15-30 times/day, 2 sets/day.

Action 3: Plank support with alternating leg lifts

Lie prone on the mat, support yourself with your forearms, keep your back and hips in the same straight line, and lift your legs alternately to the highest position. When lifting your legs, make sure that your supporting legs and upper body do not move. Lifting your legs to the left and right once is one movement, and do 20 movements each time in coordination with your breathing (if your core strength is not enough, you can switch to lifting your legs alternately with straight arms).

Action 4: Clam-style opening and closing

Lie on your side on the mat, keep your lower elbow slightly bent, place your ear above your elbow, bend your knees, place the elastic band on both sides of your thighs, keep your pelvis in a neutral position, push your pelvis with your upper hand, keep your heels close together when you exhale, lift your upper knee joint up to form a 120° angle with your body, inhale and relax downward. Tighten your core, focus on feeling the strength of your hip muscles, 10-15 times/set, 3 sets/day, switch to the opposite side.

Action 5: Variation of hip bridge

Lie on your back with your knees bent, place your hands on both sides of your body, support your body with your heels and the outside of your feet, keep your heels together and your toes hooked outward, open your knees to both sides, and lift your hips up while exhaling, so that your thighs and abdomen are in a straight line. Tighten your hips and abdomen at the same time, feel the tightening of the outer thighs and hips, stay for 3 seconds, inhale and slowly lower, then lift again. 20 times/set, 3-5 sets/day.

Action 6: Kneeling and alternating knee lifts

Kneel on the mat, support your body with your hands with your fingers open, shoulder-width apart, and knees together. Exhale and keep your hips still. Lift your right leg to the right (be careful not to flip your hips), hold for one breath, then lower it. Do 10-15 movements each time and then switch to the opposite side.

Action 7: Side-lying hip rotation

Lie on your side, bend your lower leg at the knee, straighten your upper leg, and keep your torso perpendicular to the bed. Then lift your upper leg up, and after it reaches a certain height, externally rotate your leg to the extreme, feeling the soreness and swelling in the outer hip. Hold for 30-60 seconds, and repeat 3-5 times.

Kind tips

Effective stretching and relaxation after training

Tensor fasciae latae release

Adductor stretch

Iliopsoas stretch

Back muscle stretch

Authors: Huang Dahai, Feng Bin, Yao Tao, Liao Zuqiong, Sun Ming

Unit: Guangxi Jiangbin Hospital

Chief Judge: Jing Rong, Vice Chairman of the Science Popularization Working Committee of the Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine Association, Director of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Yan'an University

This project is funded by the "National Society Science Popularization Capacity Improvement Project-Rehabilitation Science Popularization Service Capacity Improvement Action Plan"