Tight Hip Flexors? Why your current stretching might not be helping and what to instead.

Do you have tightness, tension or pinching in the front of your hip? How about low back tension or pain? A limited ability to get the hip flexor muscles to relax and lengthen can be a contributor to these issues. Additionally, limited hip motion due to tension in the hip flexors will make it difficult to hit good positions  with lifts such as snatches and overhead squats. Limited hip motion will also shorten stride length with running. 

Image credit: Dmoose.com  ​

image credit: arrowptseattle.com

What are hip flexors?
​Hip flexors a group of muscles on the front side of the body that connect the spine and pelvis to the leg. Typically, the most common action they are thought to perform is lifting the leg in front of the body similar to marching.  Another, less appreciated aspect of these muscles is that they attach to the spine and pelvis, influencing their position. Commonly, this results in the pelvis and spine getting pulled forward and down.  This orientation limits hip mobility and contributes to excess tension up the line into the back and even affects the shoulder and neck. 
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photo credit: Beth ohara

Traditional hip flexor stretch  (What’s the deal?)
If you Google hip flexor stretches, the most common image you will see is some variation of the position below:

 image credit: Tnation.com

The idea is to lengthen and stretch the tight hip flexor muscles of the back leg. While you can definitely feel a stretch sensation in this position, it might not be the most effective way to get the change you desire. 
Why not?
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To truly lengthen the hip flexors and improve your ability to extend the hip, you must be able to change the position of the femur (leg) relative to the pelvis. In the picture above, as she moves into the stretch, you can see her low back extends and where her belt line would be tipping forward. If she has tight hip flexors and limited hip extension, her hip joint stopped moving well before she got to this position and the majority of the movement happened at the spine and pelvis.

Image credit: Conor Harris

You can most definitely still feel a “stretch” in the front of the hip and leg, and get a temporary reduction in tension but most likely will not get lasting changes in hip mobility and will potentially reinforce the forward tilting position of the pelvis and back. 
What to do?
A big consideration to making this half kneeling position more effective is to appreciate not only what position the leg is in but also the spine and pelvis. Then, you can get a more accurate picture of where your hip motion actually stops and work from there.

2 VARIATIONS:
A modification of the half kneeling positioning.  
(credit Zac Cupples for exercise)

1. Get into “superhero landing” pose.
2. Slightly posterior tilt (tuck) your pelvis
3. Reach into the block/roller to push yourself away, (Don’t’ overly round your back)
4. Find the first barrier of resistance or stretch, then stay here for several breaths.
5. As the muscles relax, you can move up into a higher stance, maintaining the slight pelvic tilt.​

For the video on how to do this stretch: https://youtu.be/KbmTd_yU4WI

Supine “half kneeling position”​

1. Lie down on floor/table, with one foot on the wall and the other foot on the ground.
2. Perform a slight pelvic tilt/tuck, and maintain it throughout the movement.
3. Have the intention to “pull” your foot down the wall and “push” through the foot on the ground to lift your hips off the table.
4. Hold the top position for 3 seconds, then slowly reverse and lower back down.
5. Perform in  3-4 sets of 10 reps each side

https://youtu.be/MBTOwrzDbl4

You can use at Thomas Test to do a test/retest and check your hip extension capabilities 

1. Lie on table/bed hugging on leg to your chest
2. Allow the other leg to extend down towards the floor.
3. If the down leg does not reach the table, and “floats” in the air, this is an indication of hip flexor tightness.

This is not a foolproof test, but can give an idea of any hip flexor tightness.

Check your hips, give these exercises a try, and get those hip flexors to melt and those hips moving like a BOSS.

Kevin Steen, PTA