ACHING FEELING IN THE FRONT OF YOUR HIPS WHEN SITTING AT YOUR DESK?

SPENDING HOURS STRETCHING YOUR HIP FLEXORS BUT SEEING NO LASTING CHANGE IN YOUR SYMPTOMS?

NIGGLING FEELING AT THE FRONT OF HIPS AFTER OR DURING YOGA, RUNNING OR OTHER SPORTS?

Now that I have your attention I am going to be so bold as to state that it is very unlikely that your hip flexors are actually ‘tight’. I see numerous patients that frequently complain about this as a problem only to highlight during assessment that their ‘tightness’ has been mis- understood for ‘weakness’. So, if you are one of those people that spends money on treatments to ‘release’ your hip flexors as well as prolonged periods rolling or stretching without seeing the resolution of symptoms then maybe this post is for you.

SO, WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE REFER TO YOUR HIP FLEXORS?

There are a combination of muscles that will impose the action of flexing your hip i.e. bringing your knee up towards your trunk:

  1. ILIOPSOAS: considered to be the main hip flexor. The psoas portion originates from the vertebral bodies of the lower lumbar spine and also plays an important role in stabilising the spine.
  2. RECTUS FEMORIS: is 1of your thigh muscles. It acts over 2 joints: your knee and hip.
  3. TENSOR FASCIA LATA: forms part of the gluteal complex and threads into the iliotibial band down the outside of the leg.
  4. SARTORIUS: is the longest muscle in the body and passes diagonally from the bony portion at the front of the hip to wrap around the inside of your knee.

ARE YOU HIP FLEXORS TIGHT?

2. HEADER

SO IN SUMMARY……….

Davina Sherwood

Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist