The pubic symphysis joint is a specialized joint located in the pelvis, specifically between the left and right pubic bones. It connects the 2 halves of the pelvis.  The joint is composed of fibrocartilage, which provides strength and stability while allowing slight movement.

The pubic bone itself is a thick, flat bone that forms the lower part of the front of the pelvis. It serves as an attachment site for various muscles, including the adductor (groin) muscles of the inner thigh, the abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor muscles. (You could think of the pubic symphysis and the coccyx as the 2 fixed ends of your pelvoc floor ‘hammock’. Together, the pubic symphysis joint, along with the surrounding pelvic floor muscles, play a crucial role in maintaining pelvic stability and supporting the pelvic organs. During activities such as walking, running, and standing, these structures work together to provide strength and control to the pelvis.

💪The hip needs to withstand massive forces inside the joint in our everyday tasks.

Here are some examples of the size of these. Muscles of our hip, especially the abductors, need to offer huge amounts of tension and power to withstand these loads. The abductors are a part of our larger gluteal muscles. No wonder it’s all about squats and glutes strength at the gym!

😮 Walking: 160-330% of our body weight passes through the hip joint.

😮 Stair ascending: 251% of our body weight passes through the hip joint.

😮 Stair descending: 108% to 260% of our body weight passes through the hip joint.

😮 Standing stationary: 32% of our body weight passes through the hip joint.

😮 Single leg stance in walking : 230 to 290% of our body weight passes through the hip joint.

😮 Single leg stance in running: 600-800% of our body weight passes through the hip joint.

Furthermore, the way we stack our body above our hip has a huge role to play in keeping our hips healthy and loading safely. Aiming for a strong and stable pelvic foundation is critical and being always aware of the way we hold our hips over our ankles will give the mighty hip a better chance!

No wonder hip pain, hip arthritis, gluteal tendon issues and ITB issues are so common. Imagine the impact also of carrying too much weight on these loads without the strong musculature to support it all! Better get back to the gym!

#thehip #hippain #glutealtendinopathy #hipbursitis #pelvis #levers #mindfulposture #pilates #clinicalpilates #thefixprogram #thefixprogramonline #physiotherapy #physio #pictureworthathousandwords

I adore moving slowly, especially in a mindful movement class like Pilates reformer or my mat classes. The same can be said for weights at the gym. Moving slowly feels safe and it feels really good. The after effects are huge in the days that follow, but why do slow movements work so well? There are many great reasons why slow movements are used in muscle strengthening.

💪Training slow brings your muscles to exhaustion by keeping them loaded throughout the movement. This is called ‘time under tension’ (TUT).

💪Using a slow weighted movement to fatigue produces greater increases in rates of muscle protein synthesis than the same movement performed rapidly.

💪Lifting with a slower tempo, when controlled for the same relative load, increases the total energy required and improves your metabolic function.

💪Slow movements reduce your injury risk, requiring better awareness of technique and movement patterns. Making any needed changes here are more possible than when moving explosively or quickly.

💪Slow movements in each direction ask much more of your smaller supporting and postural muscles. These important stabilisers to all of our movements can really benefit with gains in strength and endurance with slower movements.

💪 Slower, controlled movements are often used to stimulate muscle hypertrophy or growth, while faster, uncontrolled movements are typically employed to develop strength and muscle power.

So, learn to move a little slower within parts of your gym, Pilates or boot camp classes and routines.

#strength #musclestrength #strengthtraining #thefixprogram #thefixprogramsydney #thefixprogramonline