This is Optimal Health Daily, episode 1784, The Hidden Victim of the Pandemic, Your Hips, by Emma Hogan

of lesmills.com, and I'm Dr. Neal, your very own personal narrator.

Happy Monday and a very happy 4th of July, for those of us in the U.S., and welcome back to another

week of Optimal Health Daily.

This is where I read to you from some of the best health and fitness blogs on the web,

kind of like an ongoing audiobook, and always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

And with that, let's get right to today's post as we optimize your life.

The Hidden Victim of the Pandemic, Your Hips, by Emma Hogan of Les Mills.com

From your posture to your physical power and your emotional resilience, hips play a remarkable

role in holding everything together. So, what makes your hips a hotspot for physical

and emotional health, and what can you do to ensure they're in good shape? We constantly hear that

core strength is fundamental to athletic performance, reducing injury risk, and living a healthy life.

But you can't pin everything on your core. If your hips are not in good

health, you'll soon know about it. Back pain, knee pain, shin splints, iliotibial or IT-band syndrome,

plantar fasciitis, and all sorts of other aches and pains often stem from your hips. It's the muscles

around your hips that support your core

and pelvis, creating a strong foundation for your limbs to move from. When these muscles, primarily the

sois, iliacus, and the gluteus maximus are not in good shape, you don't have the strong foundation

you need, meaning other parts of the body have to pick up the slack.

When these other muscles do too much compensating, overuse or repetitive stress injuries can soon kick in.

Quote, stretching and strengthening my hips helps me feel confident in any movement.

I know I have much less likelihood of injuries.

...