Anatomy of a Hip “Drop”
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This is the second in a series of short articles which describe the muscle actions of common Middle Eastern Dance movements. The “hip lift” is one of the most well-known and fundamental of our movement repertoire and will be the focus of this article.
It is important to understand the location and action of some of the main hip and thigh muscles which are used in a “hip lift”.
There are three gluteal muscles (Diagram 1). The best know is the large gluteus maximus, which is more commonly called the buttock. It runs from the sacrum and the middle portion of the back of the pelvic ilium bone and then down to the bump on the widest part of the hip (top of the thigh bone). Its main action is to straighten the thigh when it is flexed at the hip joint. The smaller lateral gluteus medius and minimus muscles run from this same bump up to the highest part of the ilium. These two muscles open the thigh to the side (abduction) with a concentric contraction or keep the pelvis level when standing on one foot when contracting ecentrically.
This action is the opposite to a large group of muscles called the Adductors (Diagram 2) that we briefly discussed in the last article. These run from the pubic bone and sit bone down to the inside of the thigh. They bring the thighs together (adduction) when they contract concentrically.
The large quadriceps muscles are located on the front of the thigh and they straighten the knee, while the hamstrings, at the back of the thigh, flex the knee and extend the hip (Diagram 3).
I will begin with a forward/diagonal variation of the hip lift, which if performed by pressing the ball of the foot against the floor to lift the hip on the same side.
The weight of the body rests on one foot (right), while the hip relaxes and stretches the (right) gluteus medius and minimus muscles. The ball of the other (left) foot is placed 2-3 inches in front of and slightly beside the first, then is gently pressed into the floor, as the left quadriceps shortens in a concentric contraction to straighten the knee. At the same time, the (right) gluteus medius and minimus will also contract concentrically to tilt the pelvis back to neutral and slightly lateral to the left. At the same time, the (left) gluteus maximus contracts to press the left side of the pelvis and the hip forward, while most of the weight remains on the right foot.
Gravity will suffice to let the hip drop back down to its starting position.
Variation #2
In order to add a slight rotational twist to this movement, the left external oblique (see article #1) and left adductors contract concentrically to twist the left hip slightly forward and inward.
Variation #3
For a playful “beledi” or “saidi” interpretation the quadriceps contract to straighten the knees and lift the entire body slightly on every beat.
These basic and beautiful hip movements not only gently strengthen and tone the thighs and all three gluteal muscles, they also maintains the health and mobility of our sacro-iliac joints. These 2 large joints are located between the sacrum (at the base of the spine) and the back of the two large pelvic bones, the ilia. The weight of the entire upper body is supported on and distributed through these joints. Therefore, it is quite common for one or, occasionally, both of them become immobile or “locked” from falls on the buttocks or hips, from long periods of sitting, from regularly crossing one leg over the other or standing with the weight on one foot.
Although the amount of movement at these joints is very small, it is crucial that this movement does occur during our normal walking cycles. There should be a small rotation and shift through the pelvis with each step. If a “locked” sacro-iliac joint prevents this rotation and shift, the resulting impact can eventually injure the foot, knee and hip joints on that side. It will also cause the ligaments of the opposite sacro-iliac joint to become overstretched and the joint itself to become hypermobile and unstable. This can result in chronic muscle spasm and pain on the hypermobile side as the muscles attempt to take over the stabilizing function of the ligaments.
During these variations of the hip lift, as we push the ball of the foot into the floor, the movement travels up the length of the leg and thigh and passes through the sacro-iliac joint on its way to the hip. This gentle sliding pressure gently and safely mobilizes the joint. Therefore, if we regularly practice this hip lift movement EVENLY on BOTH SIDES, both joints can remain healthy, mobile and pain-free.
However, if you already experience frequent or chronic pain in one hip or on one side of the lowest part of the back, please see a qualified massage or physical therapist or an osteopath. The highly-trained health care practitioners can rule out any underlying or related conditions and help you to restore healthy function and balance to these very important joints.
Variation #4
A very small and controlled variation is to lift the hip vertically, directly under the arm. This is done by contracting the external and internal obliques together with the quadratus lumborum and erector spinae muscles, on the same side as the hip lift. (article #1)
The knee straightening action of the quadriceps is refined by adding a contraction of the adductors on the same side.