Let's set the scene for how our BIG brains
Lead to deep sockets + hip arthritis
Deep sockets* like this..

*That socket crosses the ilioischial line (first arrow), touching the inside of the pelvis


From our evolutionary look at us mammals..

Humans are born to run
We're NOT good sprinters, but
We are remarkable endurance runners.
 
We can outrun horses over 25-and 50-miles. 
(Well, some of us can at least)


We are runners.. from head-to-toe 
How so..? Well, let's take 5 examples:
 
1. Upright movement 
Our abdominal organs no longer crash into our breathing diaphragm.
Our 4-legged friends only get 1x breath per step.

We can breathe FASTER.

2. Long limbs
Our limbs grew L  O  N  G  E  R
And lighter (relative to bodyweight)

3. A spring in our step
Short toes, a springy foot and long Achilles’ tendon...
..allow us to pogo-stick along when we run.
 
4. A long efficient stride
Stretching out to 3.5m or 10foot
..in elite runners like this guy..

5. Heat loss
Reduced body hair + abundant sweat glands
Heat evaporates away.

AND our tall skinny frame is more exposed to the wind
We lose that heat even more efficiently.

AND that posture has biomechanics advantages..
 

Beanpole-like posture

Picture trying to move about with a donkey-like snout 🤔
Yep, our short snout is definitely easier!

And a strong nuchal neck ligament at the back stabilises our head further.
A ligament forms a tell-tale dent + ridge in the back of fossilised skulls. 
Distinguishes running species from the non-runners.

We have big bum muscles and a strong back that stabilise our trunk.
Any deviation from our beanpole posture..

• Asks those muscles to work harder +
• Makes our movement less efficient

 
That makes me sit up a bit straighter.

Any movement away from an upright posture saps energy.
And that’s key to explaining how humans got..
 
 
Deep Sockets
 
Walking upright came before our big brain.
 
Since we last shared a chimpanzee common ancestor
(6 to 7 million years ago)
 
Our body size has DOUBLED while our brain has TRIPLED.
 
Giving birth to a relatively under-developed new-born helps..
And females with a wide pelvis were more likely to survive childbirth.
 
Evolution ‘selected’ a wider female pelvis
AND that is an important move away from our beanpole posture.
 
Wider pelvises survived.
Setting up a biomechanical challenge.
 
A surgeon-palaeontologist collaboration from the Netherlands put it nicely..

‘..an evolutionary conflict between upright gait and obstetric requirements’

Thanks for bearing with me(!)

I love how we've worked out recent evolution
And how that underlies modern day hip pain..

Next I'll make the argument that the human female pelvis is 
THE most important bony structure.
 

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