WHAT ARE HIP FLEXORS?

The hip flexors are a group of muscles located around the top of your leg in the pelvic area. They connect the lower back to the hips, groin, and thighs.

6 SYMPTOMS OF TIGHT HIPS

Is your iliopsoas your problem? Here are six common symptoms:

1. Tightness in the lower back
2. Poor posture
3. Neck tightness and pain
4. Walking with stiff knees
5. Glute pain
6. Achiness in hip

WHAT CAUSES TIGHT HIP FLEXORS?

The most common cause of tight hip flexors is too much sitting. If you sit at a desk all day, your iliopsoas shortens, which tightens your hip flexors. The muscles maybe also be weak, putting more strain on the joints.

A weak core will also contribute to tightness in your hips, as your flexors take over to stabilize the spine, compensating for the lack of core strength.

3 HIP OPENING STRETCHES

Ready to loosen up your tight hip flexors? Try these warm up stretches with running legend, Haile Gebrselassie. Each stretch should be held for 20 seconds; do two rounds of the three stretches.

1. HIP FLEXOR STRETCH

2. KNEE HUG STRETCH

3. HAMSTRING STRETCH

HIP STABILITY EXERCISES FOR THE ILIOPSOAS

Don’t stop at stretching. Increased flexibility is just one step in the journey to flexible, strong hips. Research shows that hip flexor strength training can improve sprint and agility performance among amateur athletes. The benefits of strong hip flexors include greater hip stability, which can lengthen your running stride and reduce joint strain, more power in your explosive movements like jumping and sprinting, plus reduced back pain.

1. Lunges
   Lunges are a great way to strengthen several muscle groups in and around your hips. Start with the basic forward lunge and then move on to curtsy lunges and jump lunges when you’re ready.
2. Leg raises
   Straight leg raises are an easy way to work your lower back and hip flexors. Make sure to keep your back on the floor. If the double leg raise is too tough, start with one leg at a time.