What Is Your Hip Telling You About Your Pelvic Floor?

Twenty-one muscles in the hip control three planes of motion. The pelvis can lose motion and control, and the pelvic floor may try to pick up the slack. 

Signs of emerging hip dysfunction could be reduced tolerance for sitting, hip clicking, hip flexor tightness, groin discomfort, mid-buttock discomfort, and difficulty taking the first few steps after prolonged sitting. 

Let's narrow down the discussion to the hip rotators which can become overactive for many reasons, but glute and posterior chain weakness are often a component.

The obturator internus (OI) is one of the rotator muscles. It is active during hip extension, external rotation, and abduction. 

This study highlighted this muscle’s stabilizing role especially when it works with other deep hip rotators (obturator externus, superior gemellus, and inferior gemellus muscles) as they are essentially fused.

With the addition of quadratus femoris and piriformis, this whole rotator team can generate a great amount of force as they attempt to control the femoral head position in the acetabulum as we move. 

The OI shares attachments and fascial connections with the pelvic floor muscles, so each can influence the other. As a result, we often see pelvic floor hyperactivity when this hip muscle is overactive. Pelvic floor hyperactivity results in pelvic floor dysfunction which in this case would in part improve by focusing on resolving the hip and kinetic chain issues.

Any questions? Brentwood Pelvic Health would love to hear from you.

*Blog content is for informational purposes only and is not considered medical advice.