How To Stretch Tight Hip Flexors
Today’s Topic Highlights:
The hip flexors are one of the most commonly tight muscle groups in the body.
Maintaining flexibility in the hip flexor muscles is necessary for optimal movement mechanics, pain management, and injury avoidance.
Tight hip flexors alter gait, increase injury risk, and create secondary postural dysfunctions in other areas of the body.
If you feel uncomfortably tight in the front of your hips after a long plane flight or car ride, you are experiencing tightness in this area (the psoas/hip flexor muscles).
The most effective stretch for loosening tight hip flexors is the 1/2 kneeling psoas stretch.
Hip flexors are one of the most commonly tight muscle groups in the body. Maintaining flexibility in the hip flexor muscles is necessary for optimal movement mechanics, pain management, and injury avoidance. The simplest and most effective way to keep them flexible is by stretching them regularly in a very specific way.
Exercise science pioneer Vladimir Janda discovered many decades ago that the psoas (our primary hip flexor muscle) is responsible for a large chunk of postural distortions. This is because the psoas is the only muscle connecting our spine to our pelvis - or viewed more practically, our upper body to our legs.
Tight hip flexors create what is known as “lower crossed syndrome”. When the psoas muscle is excessively tight, the pelvis tips forward and alters length-tension relationships throughout the entire body.
Tight hip flexors alter walking mechanics, increase injury risk, and create secondary postural dysfunctions in other areas of the body. If you feel uncomfortably tight in the front of your hips after a long plane flight or car ride, you are experiencing tightness in the hip flexor complex.
As is the case with so many other issues plaguing modern humans, the culprit of tight hip flexors is usually excessive sitting. Sitting places our hips in a 90° “L” shape. Done for a few minutes sporadically throughout the day this would pose no major issue. The reality is we often sit for long stretches of time, sometimes hours, without moving an inch.
The effect of this is similar to placing a hand in wet cement. If it is not smoothed over quickly enough, the cement dries and becomes permanently stuck in the shape of a handprint.
The most effective stretch for loosening tight hip flexors is the 1/2 kneeling psoas stretch. This stretch addresses not only the psoas but also the adductor muscles of the inner thighs. I have used this stretch with consistent success for years with clients of all ages. For those who sit at a desk for long stretches of time, this stretch is exactly what you need to avoid inevitable postural issues.
Follow the stretching tutorial below to perform the 1/2 kneeling psoas stretch. All you will need for this is a yoga mat. The stretch takes a total time of about 2-3 minutes to perform.