With Coach Alexa, Online Running Coach and in-person coaching in South Oxfordshire
In today’s video, I want to talk about hip anatomy. If you have been watching the whole series, you’ll notice that a lot of this overlaps with upper leg anatomy and pelvic anatomy. That is because the hips are where the whole leg attaches to the pelvis, and therefore to the torso and the rest of the body.
They are really key joints, both for movement and for how the upper and lower body connect.
Where the Hip Joint Sits
Let’s start with the position of the hip sockets as a recap. As I explained in my videos about the pelvis, the hip sockets are at the front and slightly to the side of the pelvic area. They are a little further forward than most people think.
Many assume the hip joint is the bony bit on the outside of their leg, around the seam of their trousers. But that is actually the greater trochanter – a large bony area at the top of the thigh bone (femur) that acts as an attachment point for many muscles.
The true hip joint is much further in. You can get a sense of where it sits by placing your fingers at the crease where your thigh meets your pelvis when seated at a right angle. That is closer to the actual hip joint.
When people say “put your hands on your hips”, they are usually resting them on the top edge of the pelvis, not the hip joint itself.
Muscles Around the Hip
Looking at the muscular side of things, diagrams often strip away the larger leg muscles to show attachments around the hip.
Not much attaches directly on the hip joint itself. Instead, muscles attach to the greater trochanter and the inside edge of the femur. These include:
- Adductors (covered in a previous video), which move the leg inward towards the body’s centre line
- Glute muscles, which stabilise the hip, move the leg outward and rotate it externally
- Deep hip flexors, which you cannot reach through massage because they sit deep inside the lower back and pelvis before attaching to the inside of the thigh bone. These flexors lift the leg upwards in front of you
The hip is both a stabiliser and a mover. Muscles attach in many directions to provide stability, while also driving key movements such as walking, running, cycling and swimming.
Unlike four-legged animals, humans rely heavily on these stability muscles for balance and upright movement, which makes them especially important.
The Sciatic Nerve and Hip Function
One more important point: the sciatic nerve. This yellow structure runs from the lower back and passes through the glute muscles.
This is why sciatica or sciatic pain is often linked to muscle tightness or weakness in the hip and glute region.
Our modern lifestyle makes this worse – sitting for long periods keeps the glutes elongated (which can weaken them) and the hip flexors shortened (which can tighten them).
Why Hip Mobility Matters
To keep the hips healthy, it is important to:
- Work on hip mobility with gentle stretching
- Avoid long periods of sitting
- Strengthen both the stabilising and moving muscles of the hips
This helps balance muscle length and strength, preventing issues with posture, movement and nerve irritation.
Final Thoughts
That was a quick overview of hip anatomy. Next, we will be moving further up the body to look at the spine. Looking forward to seeing you then!
