(Your personalised exercise)
This page holds the exercises prescribed for you. Each one includes a short video demonstration and instructions to guide your technique. Sets, reps, and any specific notes for you are listed alongside each exercise. Work through the programme at the pace agreed with your physiotherapist, and get in touch if anything feels unclear.
For the first 6-12 weeks, complete these exercises 2-3x per week, ideally with a day's rest in between. Try and avoid doing them on days when you're playing netball, but feel free to add them into your gym programme. For the time being, because it sounds like your hip doesn't really like that movement, avoid using the hip abduction machine at the gym. Instead you can introduce the side lying leg raise below, this should be more comfortable and still achieve the same results.
Side Lying Leg Raises
3 sets of 15 reps, each leg
Single Leg Mini Squat
3 sets of 15, each leg
Exercise explanations
Side Lying Leg Raises
Side Lying Leg Raises (Bodyweight)
3 sets of 15 reps, each leg
Lie on your side with your bottom knee bent for balance and your top leg straight.
Line yourself up so your shoulders, hips and ankles are in a straight line. Your top hip should be stacked directly over your bottom hip, not rolling backwards.
Bring your top leg slightly behind your body, so it sits in line with your trunk rather than in front of it.
Point your toes forward or slightly down towards the floor, not up to the ceiling.
Lift your top leg towards the ceiling, leading with your heel.
Stop when you feel your hip start to roll back or your waist start to hitch up.
Lower slowly over 3 seconds. Stop when the leg is level with your hip. Don’t let it drop down towards the floor.
You should feel it in the side of your hip and buttock, not the front of your hip.
Note from Robyn: You should be tired by the end of the 15 reps. If you feel like you could keep going, then add resistance using a band around your knees or ankles. Resistance bands come in different strengths, so keep increasing the resistance of the band so that you're always tired at the end of your 15 reps.
Equipment:
Single Leg Mini Squat
Single Leg Mini Squat (Bodyweight)
3 sets of 15, each leg
Stand on one leg. Use a wall or the back of a chair for light balance if you need it.
Lift your other foot just off the floor, with that knee slightly bent.
Spread your weight evenly through your whole foot: heel, big toe and little toe.
Keep your hips level. Don’t let the hip of the lifted leg drop.
Bend your standing knee and push your hips back slightly, as if starting to sit down.
Only go down a short way, about a quarter of the depth of a full squat.
Keep your knee pointing over your second toe. Don’t let it fall inwards.
Keep your chest up, with a slight forward lean from the hips.
Push through the whole foot to stand back up, squeezing your glute.
Move slowly and with control, about 2 seconds down and 2 seconds up.
Note from Robyn: Make sure you're focussing on the quality of the movement and if you notice your knee getting wobbly, just stop at that point. In a few months you should be able to do 25-30 good quality reps in one go. Start with sets sets of 15 reps and just add 2-3 more on each week.