The clam shell is a fantastic exercise for those suffering from knee and/or lower back pain, as well as those who are trying to avoid it in the first place!
In fact, there’s research that correlates hip weakness and/or dysfunction with low back pain, knee pain, lower extremity pain, and a host of other maladies!
This video will describe how to effectively perform the clam shell, and provide you with insight as to how clients and athletes will cheat or compensate during this motion.
Here a couple of cues and thoughts that work well for me:
- Try and really isolate the glutes. You should ONLY rotate from your hips, not from your lower back.
- Turn your torso down towards the ground slightly.
- Place your hand (or have them place their hand) on the back of the hip to faciliate gluteal function.
- A tip I picked up from Charlie Weingroff that I’ve been using – get their neck in neutral! A foam roller or Airex pads will work well here.
This exercise looks extremely simple, but the devil is in the details. Do it right, and then re-build tri-planar strength and stability with quality single-leg training.
If you’re interested in learning more about knee and lower back health, you’ll definitely want to pre-register for the Bulletproof Knees and Lower Back seminar DVD’s which we’ll be launching next week! I’ll provide the link below.
Stay strong
MR
(Lead Photo Courtesy of Dan Century)