The hip flexors are vital muscles that often play a larger role and often goes unnoticed until they become weak or tight, leading to an array of issues like lower back pain, knee pain, posture problems, and reduced flexibility. Strengthening exercises and stretching exercises can help, but how do you know what to do specifically for you. Understanding the difference between tight and weak hip flexors can lead us down the correct path to improving our posture and helping us participate in activities like running, hiking, and everyday walking. This post will address what the hip flexors are, the difference between tight and weak hip flexors, and why these muscles are important, and how this can affect multiple areas of the body.
**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. Hip flexion is the act of bringing your knee up 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. However, the primary hip flexors are iliacus and psoas, commonly referred together as iliopsoas.
These two muscles lie deep within the pelvis and also attach onto the lumbar spine, hence why low back pain can commonly stem from weak hip flexors (more one this later).
The Consequences of Hip Flexor Neglect
When we let our hip flexors weaken or stiffen due to prolonged periods of sitting, we’re essentially setting ourselves up for a cascade of potential issues. Weak hip flexors can severely affect our ability to perform basic activities such as walking, running, or climbing stairs with ease.
Have you ever gone out for a run only to realize at 10-15 minutes in, you get an ache in the front of your hip or your low back starts to hurt? Or maybe you notice that when you’re hiking, you can’t quite make it through the entirety of the hike without feeling like your hips get really tight? These are all signs that you could have weak hip flexors.
This insufficiency doesn’t stop there. Tight and weak hip flexors often evolve into more complex problems affecting posture, which in turn can lead to lower back pain and even knee pain. Moreover, the insidious cycle of muscle weakness can increase our susceptibility to injuries, especially during sporting participation or any sudden physical exertion, such as the case with the weekend warrior. The situation is exacerbated by our sedentary lifestyle, heavily characterized by sitting at a desk for long hours. This keeps the iliopsoas in a perpetually shortened state, promoting stiffness and further weakening.
In order to address the issues you have with your hip flexors, you have to determine which issue you have. If you constantly stretch your hip flexors ad notice nothing is getting better, well that’s probably because you don’t have tight hip flexors! You have to address the issue you have. In order to determine this, you have to test (see below)!
Identifying Tight/Weak Hip Flexors
So how do you know if your hip flexors are tight? Or weak? Heck… it could be both!
There are two simple tests you can perform to determine which is an issue for you. To test tight hip flexors, you will perform the Thomas test. To test weak hip flexors, you will perform the standing hip flexor test.
Thomas Test
A massage table works well for this test, but if you don’t have access to one, don’t worry… the bed works fine.
With your butt at the edge of the side of the table/bed, lie all the way down. The leg closest to the edge will be straight and the other leg will remain bent.
Let the leg closest to the edge drop towards the ground. Make sure to not let your low back arch off of the table or bed. If you thigh is parallel with the ground or your knee is higher than your hip, you have tight hip flexors.
Looking at the video to the right, you will see that my hip flexor is not tight because my knee drops below my hip. If my knee was higher than my hip, I would have tight hip flexors
Standing Hip Flexion Test
Stand and pull one knee towards your chest as far as you can go. Then, let go of your leg and try to keep your knee exactly where it is. If you are unable to keep your knee from moving and it drops, even just slightly, towards the ground, you have weak hip flexors.
You can see in the video to the right how my knee slightly drops from where I was able to pull it to my chest. Your knee may move more or less than mine shown here, but if it moves at all, this is a sign your hip flexors are weak and can use some strengthening!
The Science Behind Weakness and Stiffness
Hip flexion is involved in many of our daily functional activities. Walking, hiking, running, swimming, jumping, and kicking a soccer ball all involve the motion of hip flexion.
Some people naturally have stiffer hips. If this case is true for you, you’ll notice that you have to put forth the effort to always stretch your hips. If your hips feel looser, become mor mobile, and you can go about your activities without further issue, then great!
But do the front of your hips constantly feel tight? Do you stretch them all the time but that tightness never really goes away? Have you ever considered that your hip flexors might be weak instead of stiff?
If you hip flexors are weak, consider the amount you actually use them throughout your day. Whenever you walk, climb the stairs, if you go for a run, or participate in playing soccer, you are using your hip flexors. If they are weak, how are they going to keep up with all of that activity throughout the day? Because they are weak and you keep using them to do your daily tasks and move around, they are trying to do everything in their power to keep up. But they can’t; they have nothing left to give. Then you get that constant feeling of stiffness in your hip because you are overusing them. And because it feels stiff, you stretch and stretch but nothing seems to relieve the stiffness in the front of your hip. This is a hallmark sign that you need to strengthen those weak hip flexors!
Want to know more about tight hip flexors? Check out this article here: Tight Hip Flexors and How to Treat Them
Strengthening Exercises for Weak Hip Flexors
Straight Leg Raise
Lie on your back with one leg straight and your other knee bent. With the leg that is straight, lift it up towards the ceiling, bringing your thigh to the same height as your leg that is bent. Try to keep your knee on this leg as straight as you can. Then lower your leg back to the ground and repeat.
Perform 3 sets of 10 reps on each side. You should feel this in the front of your hip and thigh.
Long Sitting Straight Leg Raise
You will use a small object during this exercise. I like to use a yoga block, but you can use a kettlebell, small pillow, or anything that will allow you to lift your leg over.
Sit on the ground with your legs straight and place the yoga block on the ground on the outside of your left leg. Keeping your left leg straight, lift your leg up and over the yoga block and set your leg down on the other side. Then repeat and lift the leg again, bringing it back to the starting position. Repeat this up to 10 times and repeat on the other leg. Perform 2-3 sets on each side.
Resisted Marches
Stand with a resistance loop around your feet. While marching in place, pull your knee up towards the ceiling. Drive your knee up quickly, then lower it back to the ground slowly with more control. Count anywhere between 3-5 seconds to lower your leg back to the ground. The longer it takes to lower your leg, the harder it will be. Lowering your leg slowly works to strengthen your hip flexors eccentrically.
Perform 2-3 sets of 10 on each side.
Lifestyle Adjustments for the Health of Your Hip Flexors
When you sit for extended periods, your hip flexors are at risk of becoming stiff and weakening, leading to lower back pain, knee pain, and other postural issues. You can make simple adjustments to keep them from becoming stiff in the first place.
Firstly, for those of us glued to our desks, adopting desk exercises, such as periodic standing, stretching, or even using a desk that allows for transitions between sitting and standing, can greatly benefit our hip flexors. Set a timer to stand every 30-60 seconds, even if you are just standing in place. This gets you out of hip flexion, which over long periods of time, can lead to the muscle shortening.
Incorporating activities like walking during breaks not only aids in preventing tight muscles but also encourages muscle strengthening throughout the day. You can also incorporate the exercises provided above to further strengthening your hip flexors.
Related Articles for Hip Health
- Tight Hip Flexors and How to Treat Them
- Hip Internal Rotation and Why It Is Important
- The Science Behind Why Glute Activation is Important
- What is the Correct Sitting Posture?
If you are still concerned about hip pain or tightness, leave a comment, reach out, or schedule a FREE consult call with me. Let’s get you back to feeling like your best self!
TL;DR
Maintaining strong hip flexors is crucial for effective walking, running, and other sporting activities. Making sure your hip flexors are not stiff and performing hip flexor strengthening exercises on a regular basis can help prevent injuries and other instances of hip, back, and knee pain. Ensuring hip flexor health supports overall body mechanics, includes climbing stairs, and prevents sports-related injuries.
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.
[…] Unlocking the Secrets to Strong Hip Flexors […]