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🔈 ABDOMINAL MUSCLES AS PROXIMAL STABILIZERS FOR THE HIP FLEXORS

The hip flexor muscles are used for a variety of everyday functional activities such as advancing the lower extremity during gait, running, or lifting the leg when going up steps. Efficient ex*****on of these hip flexion activities is highly dependent on the stabilizing forces provided by the abdominal muscles.

This important point is nicely illustrated by analyzing the role of the re**us abdominis muscle while performing a straight leg raise. Fig A shows two primary hip flexor muscles generating a force to lift a fully extended lower extremity. The relatively long extended leg places very large force demands on the hip flexor muscles. To successfully perform this action, the hip flexors must produce a force that likely exceeds 10 times the weight of the leg. With weakened abdominal muscles, attempts at flexing the leg often result in an unwanted anterior pelvic tilt and associated excessive lumbar lordosis (Fig. B). The unstable pelvis and lumbar spine are pulled toward the anterior femur—into an anterior pelvic tilt—because the pelvis and the lumbar spine are more free to move than the leg. To prevent this, the abdominal muscles produce a posterior tilting force that stabilizes the pelvis (Fig. A). As is shown in Fig. B, the unwanted anterior tilt of the pelvis simultaneously increases the lordosis in the lumbar spine. For this reason, excessive lumbar lordosis is often a clinical sign of weak abdominal muscles.

The iliopsoas (and all other hip flexors) and the abdominal muscles share the responsibility of performing a basic sit-up. Although the sit-up is often discussed within the context of abdominal strengthening programs, this basic action is essential for the performance of many routine movements such as rising out of bed in the morning.

A person with weak abdominal muscles usually demonstrates a characteristic strategy when attempting to perform a sit-up, one that is dominated by strong contraction of the hip flexor muscles. Consequently, the hip flexors immediately take over the action—most notably by the exaggerated anterior pelvic tilt and increased lumbar lordosis—as the pelvis and trunk are rotated forward and upward.

Reference: Science Direct

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