Stronger Together: The Hip-Pelvic Floor Connection
- Eileen Herriott
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Valentine’s week is about strong partnerships. For hybrid athletes, runners, and lifters, one of the most important relationships isn’t obvious at first glance. It’s the connection between your hips and your pelvic floor.
At The Impact Initiative Physical Therapy & Performance, we work with athletes every day who are strong, consistent, and highly motivated, but still feel restricted, unstable, or limited through the hips and pelvis. Whether they’re lifting heavy, running long, or blending both, the issue is often not a lack of strength. It’s how load and movement are being shared between the hips and pelvic floor.
When the hips and pelvic floor work together, athletes move more efficiently, manage pressure better, and train with greater confidence. When that relationship breaks down, performance suffers, even if strength numbers look good on paper. Understanding the hip–pelvic floor connection is a critical step for athletes looking to improve performance, reduce symptoms, and stay resilient in training, especially for those seeking physical therapy in Woodstock, GA that goes beyond generic rehab.
What Is the Issue?
Many active adults and athletes think pelvic floor problems only apply after pregnancy or injury. In reality, pelvic floor dysfunction often shows up in high-performing athletes due to how load is managed through the hips and pelvis.
When hip mobility is limited, the pelvic floor often compensates by:
Over-tensing to create stability
Struggling to relax under load
Absorbing forces it wasn’t designed to handle alone
This isn’t a weakness issue. It’s a movement and load-sharing issue.
Why Hip Mobility and Pelvic Floor Health Matter
The pelvic floor is a dynamic support system, not a muscle group meant to stay “on” all the time. It plays a key role in:
Pressure management during lifts
Force transfer while running
Core stability and coordination
Recovery between training sessions
Your hips and pelvic floor share fascial, muscular, and neurological connections. When the hips don’t move well, the pelvic floor often works overtime—leading to symptoms that athletes tend to ignore until they become limiting.
How This Affects Runners, Lifters, and Hybrid Athletes
From a performance ortho-pelvic physical therapy perspective, here’s how this imbalance shows up:
Difficulty reaching depth in squats or hinging efficiently
Feeling “stuck” or tight at the bottom of lifts
Leaking, pelvic pressure, or discomfort during heavy or high-volume training
Hip or low back tightness that never fully resolves
Reduced stride efficiency or fatigue during longer runs
These symptoms don’t mean you need to stop training, they mean your system needs better options.
Why Hip Mobility Improves Pelvic Floor Function
Hip mobility isn’t about being loose or flexible for the sake of it. For athletes, it means:
Accessing range under control
Distributing load efficiently across joints and tissues
Allowing the pelvic floor to respond instead of constantly brace
When hip joints move well, the pelvic floor can:
Contract when support is needed
Relax when pressure decreases
Coordinate with breathing and core strategy
That’s what a healthy relationship looks like, shared responsibility instead of constant compensation.
What Athletes Should Do Instead
Rather than asking, “How do I strengthen my pelvic floor?”, a better question is:
“How can my hips contribute more effectively to movement and load?”
Helpful strategies often include:
Hip rotation work integrated with breathing
Split-stance and single-leg training with pelvic awareness
Controlled eccentrics instead of forcing depth
Learning when to brace and when to let go
This is where performance-based pelvic floor physical therapy stands apart from generic core or Kegel-only approaches.
How Performance Physical Therapy Helps
At The Impact Initiative Physical Therapy & Performance, we combine orthopedic and pelvic floor expertise to assess how your hips, pelvis, breathing, and strength interact under real training demands.
Our approach focuses on:
Movement quality, not just symptoms
Load tolerance for lifting and running
Sport-specific return to performance
Building resilience, not dependency
Whether you’re seeking physical therapy in Woodstock, GA or physical therapy in Canton, GA, our goal is to help you train hard without your
body working against you.
Ready to Strengthen the Relationship That Supports Your Performance?
If you're dealing with hip restrictions, pelvic floor symptoms, or feel like something is limiting your performance, The Impact Initiative Physical Therapy & Performance in Woodstock and Canton, GA is here to help hybrid athletes, runners, and active adults perform better and stay pain-free.
Click here to schedule your discovery call and check out all our services. Rekindle the relationship between your hips and pelvic floor to optimize training and performance.
Fitness-Forward. Evidence-Based. Impact-Driven.
Performance Physical Therapy
Woodstock, GA
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