If you’re one of the many people experiencing lower back or knee pain, “Spanish” and “goblet” squats can help you build leg muscle without added stress.

But strengthening your hips can go a long way towards reducing your risk of further pain, too.

It can help to stabilise your spine and even reduce strain on your knees.

And according to a paper published in the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, “clamshell” exercises are one of the best ways to strengthen the area and protect against future injury.

It involves lying on your side in the foetal position. Your knees should be bent at a 45-degree angle, and the sides of your feet should be touching.

Keep your knees stacked on top of each other, rather than rolling the top one over the bottom one. Rest your head on your lower arm.

From there, lift the knee that isn’t touching the ground into the air.

Keep your hips and core engaged and your spine straight.

Ben Shatto, a physical therapist, shared on his YouTube channel that “it needs to be a painfully slow exercise”.

He recommends lifting the knee for five seconds, holding it there for five further seconds, and then dropping the knee back for (you guessed it) five seconds.

Shatto recommended “at least 10 repetitions” on each side.

If you like, you can add a resistance band to the exercise by placing it around the front and back of your knees.

It helps to strengthen the “deep rotators of the hip,” Shatto said.

Clamshell exercises mostly target the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. These help to stabilise your body and maintain your posture.

The stronger these are, the more likely our knees are to remain aligned, taking extra pressure off existing sore knees and reducing the risk of harm in the future.

And speaking to Woman & Home, Paola Di Lanzo, a personal trainer, pilates instructor and founder of Paola’s Body Barre, said: “Clamshells support better pelvic alignment by activating deep glute muscles, which can alleviate tension in the lower back and hips.”