Understanding the anatomy and basic movements of the hip will help you relieve the tension and improve your mobility and flexibility.
Even if you are flexible, working out could give a sensation of tightness in your muscles or even hurt your joints if you are not keeping a good posture.
So let’s take a look at the basic anatomy to figure out how you could test for tight hip flexors.
Hip Flexors Muscles Anatomy
Hip flexors are several muscles that can make the legs and trunk be together in a flexion movement.
They draw together the bones of the leg and spine at the hip joint. But when the hip is already in a flexion movement, such as sitting down, the muscles aren’t working.
Flexion is bending movement that decreases the angle of two body parts, for example, bending the leg or knees up towards the torso, which is flexion movement.
These are the muscles that make up the hip flexors:
- Psoas Major – is a long fusiform muscle that is located in the lateral lumbar region between the vertebral column and brim of the lesser pelvis. These muscle is involved in the daily living activities of people such as sitting, walking, running and dancing, as it connects the spine to the spine of the leg.
- Iliacus Muscle – is a flat, triangular shaped muscle which fills the iliac fossa. One of the key muscles that helps maintain a proper body posture.
- Rectus Femoris – one of the four quadriceps muscles of the body that attaches the pelvis to the patella (knee cup).
- Sartorius Muscle – it is a long and thin muscle that runs down through the length of the thigh in the anterior compartment that helps flexes the knees and legs. It is the longest muscle in human body.
What Causes Tight Hip Flexors?
Having an inactive or sedentary lifestyle such as sitting or lying down all day with little to no exercise can be one of the causes to tighten and weaken the hip flexors as they are always in the shortened position.
Athletes are also prone to the tightness of the hip flexors.
Making a sudden movement when running or kicking can tear or strain the hip flexors.
Not warming up properly before an athlete engages in the field can trigger the tightening or the other way around; too much exercise can also lead to tightness since it is already weak from being overused.
So which category do you fall in?
Are you the sedentary, the athlete, or the person that doesn’t warm up?
Make sure to be aware of your daily habits to understand better where the issue might be coming from.
Tight Hip Flexors Symptoms
What are common symptoms for tight hip flexors?
- Lower back pain.
- Muscle spasms.
- Swelling on the hip or thighs.
- Sudden or sharp pain in the groin area .
- Cramps in the upper leg.
- Tightness or stiffness after being stationary.
A few FAQs about hip flexors tightness are:
Will tight hip flexors cause back pain?
Yes, tight hip flexors can cause back pain since prolonged sitting activities can contribute to lower back pain.
Will tight hip flexors cause sciatica?
Yes, it can cause sciatica if the muscle spasms or becomes tight or inflamed.
Will tight hip flexors cause knee pain?
Yes, it can also cause knee pain, even if there is nothing wrong with the knee. The muscles from the hip are connected to the muscles from the leg, this eventually may cause tightness affecting the knee.
Effects of tight hip flexors
Not addressing your tight hips might create other problems that will decrease your mobility.
For example, your posture might be affected, you could start having difficulty standing up, or the pain might increase in intensity.
You will definitely want to avoid these scenarios at all costs, so make sure to address the issue on time.
How Do You Diagnose Tight Hip Flexors?
Thomas Test
This is the most popular test for tight hip flexors and very easy to do in your bed.
What you need to do is to lie down on a flat surface, hold one knee up to the chest while allowing the other knee to lie flat.
If you are unable to keep your lower leg flat, then you may have tight hip flexors.
Holding the knee to the chest flattens the lumbar lordosis and stabilizes the pelvis area.
Kemps Thest
Gaenslen’s Test
How To Release Tight Hips
The 5 key ingredients are:
- Moving around for at least every hour if you are seated all day.
- Warming up properly before engaging in any physical activities.
- Exercising the hip flexor muscles and other muscles around it.
- Stretching your hip flexors after your workout.
- Implement foam rollers to relieve nods in the muscles.
How do stretch tight hip flexors?
Hip flexor stretches can help loosen tight hip flexors. Here are some stretches you can do:
- Foam roller stretch
- Kneeling hip flexor stretch
- Pigeon Stretch (most commonly seen in yoga classes)
- Sitting Stretch
- Bridge Stretch
- Horizontal Squat Stretch
How do I make hip flexors stronger?
Here are 6 exercises to make the hip flexors stronger:
- Psoas March
- Seated Straight Leg Raises
- Supine Hip Flexor Activation
- Skater Squats
- Straight Leg Raises
- Hip Flexion
How to unlock your hip flexors?
Here are 3 exercises you can do to unlock hip flexors:
- Supine Gravity Stretch
- Double-Leg Curl
- Lunges
Are squats good for hip flexors?
Squats are an excellent way to strengthen the hip flexors. It can work the muscles of the legs and engage in the core at the same time.
Is walking good for tight hip flexors?
Walking is a good exercise itself, but it doesn’t take the legs and hips into ranges of motion that can increase the strengthening of the hips.
Pilates for hip flexors
Pilates is suitable for tight hip flexors as it allows to strengthen and stretch the hip flexors while increasing the abdominal strength.
HOW TO SIT WITH TIGHT HIP FLEXORS
Here are 3 tips on how to sit with tight hip flexors
- Watch hip angle – avoid seating on low chairs and recline your seat slightly.
- Reduce compression – seat in a cushion to increase the softness of the surface you are seating on.
- Move frequently – to relieve the pain or tightness while seating down.
Best office chair for hip flexors
The best office chair for hip flexors is the ergonomic office chair.
You can also add a lumbar seat cushion or an Angel posture correction chair.
How Tight Hip Flexors Affect Running
Having tight hip flexors can result in injury that affects running.
Since the hips play the most crucial role in moving forward by flexing and contacting the thigs and knees.
How Tight Hip Flexors Affect Biking
Tight hip flexors can make it hard for the biker to engage their glutes.
The glutes and hamstrings cannot contribute to the movement; they won’t produce optimal power.
Final Thoughts
Tightness in the hip flexors is a very common problem in society.
Either you are exercising too much or not exercising at all. Both will have an impact on your hip flexors.
Keeping a good balance of exercise, stretching, and warming up will give you better hip flexor mobility.
The key is consistency, make sure you are always keeping an eye on your hip flexors.
