The hip flexors are a group of muscles that are important for movement and mobility, as well as for powerful leg movements like kicking. Tight hip flexors can lead to pain in the low back, hip, and other regions. If you tend to deal with stiffness in the front of your hips, keep reading to learn about common causes of hip stiffness and what you can do to fix it.
**This is not medical advice. Please consult your medical provider for more information.
What Are the Hip Flexors?
The hip flexors are a group of muscles that are located at the front of the hip and perform the primary function of hip flexion. Think bringing your knee towards your chest. These muscles are commonly used when running or kicking a soccer ball. The hip flexors include iliacus, psoas, rectus femoris, and sartorius.
Causes of Tight Hip Flexors
There can be multiple causes of tight hip flexors. For one, seated positions are a huge culprit. Desk workers are particularly prone to this due to the nature of their work. This is why it is important to get up and move frequently so the hip flexors don’t become adaptively shortened. This can lead to other postural issues and cause even more pain above and below the hips.
Hip flexors can become tight if they are overused. This is something commonly seen in runners. The hip flexors work pretty hard to lift the weight of the leg up. When repeated over lengths of time, this can lead to overuse injuries. Another reason for the hip flexors to be overused is if the abdominals are weak leading to compensatory movement patterns.
Poor posture can also lead to tight hip flexors. In what is known as lower cross syndrome, muscle imbalances in the lower body lead to certain muscle groups to be weak and others to be tight. Typically we see the hip flexors and thoracolumbar extensors become tight. The abdominals and the gluteals become weak. These muscle imbalances are seen in a posture that results in excessive lumbar lordosis and an anterior pelvic tilt.
Exercises for Tight Hip Flexors
If you know you have tight hip flexors that are giving you trouble, give these exercises a try. You can use the stretches after a long time sitting to loosen the hips up and use the foam roll or runner’s stick whenever you feel you need a little extra assistance to loosen up your muscles.
If you tend to have stiffness in the back of your legs, check out this post on other exercises to try.
Hip Flexor Stretch Off Table
Lie on your back on an elevated surface. You can do this on a massage table or a high bed. Bend your left knee and scoot to the edge so you can drop your right leg off of the side. Make sure to keep your low back on the table or bed. If your low back arches off, you will not feel the stretch like you should.
Hold the position with your leg off of the side for 30-60 seconds and repeat if desired. Perform the same thing on the other side.
1/2 Kneel Hip Flexor Stretch
Place a pad or pillow down for your knee. Place your left knee on the pad and your right foot down on the ground in front of you. you will be stretching your left hip flexors.
Move into a posterior pelvic tilt (tuck your butt like a scared dog tucks its tail).
Without losing your pelvic tilt, shift your weight forward by bending into your right knee. You should feel a stretch in the front of your left hip.
Hold this position up to 30 seconds and repeat. Switch legs and stretch the other side.
Standing Hip Flexor Stretch
Place your right leg up on an elevated surface. You will be stretching the left hip flexors.
Move into a posterior pelvic tilt (tuck your butt like a scared dog tucks its tail). Make sure your left toes are facing forward.
Keeping your left heel down, shift your weight forward. You can do this by bending your right knee and inching it forward. You shoulder feel a stretch in the front of your left hip.
Hold this position for up to 30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times. Switch legs and repeat on the other side.
Foam Rolling
With a foam roll, lay face down with the top of your thighs on the foam roll. You can do this with one leg at a time or both together.
Roll back and forth on the foam roll for 1-3 minutes or as long as you feel comfortable. Use the support of your upper body to take off some of the pressure from your legs if it feels too uncomfortable.
Self Massage with Runner’s stick
Using a runner’s stick or rolling pin, massage the top of the thigh. Do this for 1-3 minutes. Repeat more often if you tend to be more stiff in this region.
Still dealing with anterior hip stiffness? Head to this post to address groin stiffness and pain.
TL;DR
The muscles in the front of the hip, better known as your hip flexors, can get stiff from sitting too long, having poor posture, or from overuse. Try some of these stretches to help reduce the stiffness you may be feeling.
Tera Sandona is a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and the founder of PT Complete. She helps high-achieving women break out of cycles of chronic pain, stress, and burnout through her Regulate and Rebuild Method, a sequenced approach that addresses the nervous system first and builds strength second. Her work focuses on helping women finally understand their bodies, rebuild strength, and create lasting resilience that fits real life.
