5 Killer Stretches For Tight Hip Flexors
Sunday, January 5, 2025
Your hip flexors are a group of muscle that run from your hip bone to your kneecap and activate when you flex your hip in doing something like lifting your knee. Activities like running, practicing yoga, and even sitting at your desk can contribute to increasingly tight hip flexors if you're using them a lot.
The best things you can do for tight flexors are not only to stretch and lengthen them, but also to strengthen them and the surrounding muscles so that you're not overcompensating.
Here, we'll be exploring how to know when you have tight hip flexors, how to treat them, and what stretches you can do to find some relief.
How Do You Know If Your Hip Flexors Are Tight?
There are a few tell-tale signs that your hip flexors are tight and they're not always obvious. The following symptoms are indicative of tight flexors:
- Lower back pain
- Your pelvis tilts to compensate
- Sore and tight hips
It's important to consult with a physiotherapist to determine whether your hip flexors are tight or weak. In some cases, painful hip flexors indicate weakness rather than tightness. A physiotherapist will be able to assess the difference and work with your body accordingly.
How Do You Treat a Sore Hip Flexor?
To treat a sore hip flexor, start with 1-2 days of rest and consider icing the area if there is noticeable damage. Avoid physical activity that make your symptoms worse during this period. You can likely still do a lot of exercises that are pain free. Usually exercises such as squats, cycling, and swimming are totally pain free and safe to do during this period.
Once rested, focus on stretching and strengthening the hip flexors. A physiotherapist can guide you in targeting the muscles that need stretching and those that need strengthening for optimal support.
If you sit for long periods, such as at a desk, take regular breaks to move around. This helps release tension and prevent pressure buildup, which can contribute to hip pain.
Stretches for Tight Hip Flexors
As always, make sure to warm up your body before performing any of these hip flexor stretches. Also, if you're unsure about proper alignment and technique, make sure you consult with a physiotherapist.Here are five killer stretches that will target the hip flexors.
Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch
- Kneel with the support knee underneath the hip and the extended foot place flat on the floor at a 90-degree angle with the knee above the ankle.
- Squeeze your glutes to activate a posterior tilt in the hips.
- Activate your lower abdominals to further the stretch in the hip flexor and front of the leg.
- For an even deeper stretch, lean slightly forward while maintaining a tight core and posterior tilt in the hips.
Psoas Quad Stretch
- With a workout bench behind you, place the top of one foot onto the bench.
- Bend your standing leg to come into kneeling with the flat foot placed directly below the knee.
- Activate a posterior tilt in your hips and breathe as you hold this position and feel a deep stretch in the hip flexor and front of the quadriceps.
Low Lunge with Side Extend
- Get into a low lunge position with your right knee in front, knee in line with your ankle.
- Reach your left arm to the sky.
- Keeping your hips square, reach your left arm up and over to the right.
- Breathe while you stretch the left hip flexor.
- Carefully release and switch sides.
Reclined Figure Four
- Lie on your back with knees pulled in towards your chest.
- Cross one ankle over the opposite knee creating the shape of the number four.
- For a deeper stretch, reach your hands behind the supporting thigh and pull your ankle closer to your chest.
Scorpion Stretch
- Lie on your stomach with feet together and arms outstretched to your sides in a T-shape, palms down.
- Lift one leg toward the sky and rotate your hips, bending your leg across your body until your toes touch the floor on the opposite side.
- Gently return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
An alternative is to do a good stretching flow routine such as this one on our youtube channel https://youtu.be/m2l2SHasuD0?si=ahWXhAU7TQp4Levd
For a more customised approach to working on your tight hip flexors, book an appointment with one of our skilled physiotherapists.
At Physio Inq Sutherland we offer Sports Physiotherapy for not only sporting injuries at all levels, but also performance assessments for cyclists, runners, and endurance athletes.
