Tight hip flexors are a common complaint. Physiotherapists see many people who are constantly busysitting at workor athletes who complain of tight hip flexors.
What are hip flexors?
Your hip flexors are the muscles at the front of your hip. They consist of three muscles, two of which come together to formiliopsoas. The other isstraight thigh, which is also one of your quadriceps muscles. Together they work to flex or bend your hip; bringing your knees to your chest is the primary goal. Your hip flexors are in a shortened position when you sit down and lengthened when you extend your hip.
Why doesn't stretching work?
Sometimes muscles feel tight because they are overloaded. The muscle is not strong enough to handle the demands of what you are doing. To suggestWalked 5 kmif you haven't walked for a while, your legs might feel 'tight' and sore the next day. Stretching can be a good feeling, but the best way to stop that tight feeling is to exercise to strengthen your legs. After you've trained for a while, you can be strong enough to run a 5K the next day without feeling tight.
The same goes for your hip flexors. Strengthening the muscles in your hip may help them not feel as tight after exercise. If constantly stretching your hip flexors doesn't seem to be working, try strengthening them!
How does strengthening help?
Strengthening muscles through their full range of motion is one of the best ways to improve your mobility. Strengthening will help with the feeling of perceived tightness, as discussed above, and it will build strength throughout the full range of the muscle. It is believed that eccentric strength training, where you slowly lengthen a muscle, increases the length of the muscle fibers(1).
Because your hip flexors are made up of different muscles, they need to be strengthened and stretched in different ways. The main goal of strengthening the hip flexors is to be able to bend at your hip while your knee is bent or straight.
How do I strengthen my hip flexors?
Raise your straight leg while sitting- Don't be surprised if you feel a quad cramp at first!
Decrease hip flexion with bands- This is a little harder than #2
Hanging leg lift- A harder version of #2 and #3.
Standing kickouts- Use a wall or chair for balance at the start!
