Your hip flexors are a group of muscles positioned at the front of your hips. Hip flexors are responsible for moving your knee toward your chest, and are quite active in movements such as kicking or sprinting. Hip flexor injuries are common in many sports and usually respond well to exercise as a treatment.
Definition
An injury to your hip flexor occurs when one or more of your hip flexor muscles are strained or torn. You will feel pain toward the front of your hip or groin. A hip flexor injury can range from a smaller, partial tear in the muscle to a full-blown rupture.
Exercises
Some exercises to help treat a hip flexor injury include the hip flexor stretch, quadriceps stretch and straight leg raise. For a hip flexor stretch, kneel on the floor and slide one leg forward, resting your foot flat on the floor. Lean your hips forward until you feel a nice stretch. With a quad stretch, you should hold a chair or wall for support, then grab onto the ankle of your bad side and pull your heel to your buttocks to feel a stretch in the front. Lie on your back for the straight leg raise. Bend one leg, placing your foot on the floor, with your injured leg straight out. Lift your leg up about 8 inches, then hold for a few seconds and lower.
Precautions
Don't rush right into an exercise program for your hip flexor injury without consulting your doctor or physiotherapist. You will want to ensure the hip flexor won't be subject to any more damage by performing exercises. If you do exercise, stop if you feel any pain.
Benefits
When you perform exercises to help treat your hip flexor injury, you are working to stabilize the muscles and create flexibility in the hip joint. This will create balance within your hips and prevent injuries from occurring in the future.
Considerations
Icing your hip flexor regularly during the first 72 hours after the injury will help keep swelling to a minimum and get you ready for exercises. Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications will help, too.
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