Your lumbo-pelvic-hip-complex (LPHC) consists of muscles in your abdominals, lower back, hip and parts of your upper thighs. Its job is to stabilize your spine and pelvis while you move your body in different directions. Your LPHC is the source of your body's strength and center of balance, states Thomas Myers, a licensed massage therapist and author of "Anatomy Trains." If it is weak, you are not able to generate enough strength and endurance to exercise.
Functional Anatomy
Your LPHC is made up of the inner and outer group of muscles. The inner group stabilizes your spine, hip and joints to maintain your posture, and it includes the transversus abdominus, deep spine muscles, diaphragm and connective tissues that surrounds them. The outer group moves your body in different directions, and it includes the rectus abdominus, obliques and erector spinae. According to Anthony Carey, owner of Function First in San Diego, California, both groups work together to allow you to move freely and to prevent injury. Never isolate muscle groups when you exercise, because your LPHC works with other muscles groups and joints to produce movement.
Effects
LPHC exercises emphasize maintaining your posture and balance and your ability to control movement at the same time. This allows you to develop higher levels of strength and power, prevent falls and injuries, and endure longer in athletic events, such as soccer and marathon. A weak LPHC promotes poor posture, which requires more energy to move and places more stress upon your joints, notes Carey. Therefore, LPHC exercises also prevent chronic fatigue, arthritis, and joint disorders.
Misconceptions
Many people who do sit-ups, crunches, back extensions and similar exercise do strengthen their LPHC. However, these exercises focus on one muscle group rather than the entire body and on one movement pattern. Gray Cook, a physical therapist and founder of Functional Movement Systems in Danville, Virginia, states that you should do LPHC exercises from a standing position and moving in multiple directions rather than isolating one muscle group on the ground or on a machine.
Sample Exercises
Cook recommends doing the standing chop and lift exercises using a cable column machine or a rubber tubing attached to a hook. The chop is moving your arms across your body from a high position to a low position, while the lift is simply the exact opposite movement pattern of the chop.
If you are using a cable column machine, adjust the height of the machine's handle to the highest level. Grab the handle with both hands, and stand with the right side of your body facing the handle. Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Pull the handle toward your heart, and push down toward your left hip in one fluid motion. Gradually return your arms back to the starting position. Do not rotate your pelvis or spine as you chop.
Expert Insight
Cook suggests that you do LPHC exercises as part of your warm-up before exercising or training for a sport. They help your body and mind to prepare for the upcoming activity and minimize your risk of injury.
References
- "Pain-Free Program"; Anthony Carey; 2005
- "Anatomy Trains"; Thomas Myers; 2008
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
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