The Most Important Joint in the Body and What Does it Have to do With Balance
Obviously we all want to know what joint is the most important joint in the body. Otherwise you wouldn’t have clicked the headline. So which joint is the most important? The thumb? The knee? The back? Actually, it’s none of these. The most important joint in the body is one that supports all movement no matter what it is. If you roll over in bed, stand up, walk, reach to grab a drink, these all require use of the HIP. The hips are involved in almost any motion that we do because that’s where we develop our stability from. Even if we’re sitting down or even lying down, we use our hips for almost all movement.
Now I can just claim that the hip is important because it’s the center of all motion in the body, but what does that mean? Here an example, if you sit at your desk, but have to reach to grab a paper out of the printer movement originates at the hip. Yes the arm reaches, but because of the change in our center of gravity by leaning over, we activate all of the stability muscles in our hips and pelvis. If your center of gravity moves outside of the pelvis without muscle stability, you fall over. The same can be said in a standing position. If the muscles that stabilize the hip (because the chair from the previous example is no longer providing stability) aren’t strong, the center of gravity can shift dramatically with each step and can lead to loss of balance. This is the most common problem for my patients suffering from balance problems, their hips are WEAK and unable to stabilize the pelvis so they fall potentially breaking a hip.
Falls are the most common worry for patients over the age of 60. The best way to prevent falls is to keep the hip strong and mobile. The hip is the second most mobile joint in the body, but as we go through life it gets stiff and “rusty” so the movement gets harder. If we allow this to happen the hip becomes weaker in certain positions because it’s not being used anymore due to stiffness. This develops over time until one day we realize that we can’t crouch down or “stairs are just getting harder.” It’s not just the knees slowing you down, but it is the hip’s fault the knees are bad.
The hip is also the connecting joint between the back and the knees. The most common orthopedic problems in today’s society are bad knees and backs. The knee replacement is the most common orthopedic surgery performed today. What if I told you that the knee was just the symptom and all the deterioration in the knee is caused by the lack of stability in the hip. Additionally because the hip isn’t stabilizing properly it means the pelvis is going to be loose and that means the back has to work harder to help stabilize. This means that the hip is the direct link between having a bad back and a bad knee.
In conclusion keeping the hip mobile and healthy is the most effective way to keep yourself active and mobile in the later years and off a walker. Additionally, keeping the hip strong will help with balance and keep you off the floor. One last thing, keeping strength in the hips means some level of strength training which means that you’ll be treating osteoporosis in the most holistic way. More about that on another day.
If you’re looking for ways to get mobility back or keep the most important joint in your body healthy, call your friendly neighborhood Doctor of Physical Therapy today! (520)415-0747
Stay healthy movers!
