Modern lifestyles can be a pain in the back. Long hours of sitting at a computer or leaning over a work surface can cause tight hip flexors, and those tight muscles can in turn cause low back pain and a host of other troubles with posture and athletic performance. Learning some basic principles and helpful stretches can ward off hip flexor troubles or manage them if they're already causing you pain.
Hip Flexor Anatomy
There are two muscles of interest here: the iliacus and the psoas (pronounced "so as"). They attach to the vertebrae of the lower back and the inner surface of the pelvis known as the ilium. From there, they attach to the top of the femur near the groin. They are powerful stabilizers of the pelvis and their main job is flexing the hip. When you raise your leg in front of you for an action such as kicking a ball or climbing stairs, your hip flexors are working hard. Many of us are flexed at the hip for hours each day when we sit at a desk. After spending so much time in a shortened position, hip flexors can become so habitually shortened that they don't readily lengthen when we need them to.
Signs of Hip Flexor Trouble
If you've ever seen anyone bend over to pick up something and then painfully wince and say his "back went out" when he tried to stand, you might be looking at a hip flexor problem. The muscles go into spasm and create strong resistance when the person tries to straighten. He feels the pain in the lower back, where these powerful muscles attach to the lumbar spine. Symptoms aren't always so dramatic, however. Sufferers might have mild to moderate low-back pain that feels better when they sit and gets worse when they straighten up. People with tight hip flexors also might have a swayback, or hyperlordosis, because the shortened muscles pull forward on the pelvis.
Hip Flexor Stretches
When choosing hip flexor stretches, think about counteracting the constant hip flexing most of us do all day. Extend the hips by doing a backbend over a balance ball, or for an easy stretch you can do anywhere, try a simple runner's lunge. To perform that stretch, step one foot in front of you and the other foot behind. Bend the knee of your forward leg until you're in a lunge position with your back leg mostly straight. If you first feel a stretch in the quadriceps muscles at the front of your thigh, try rolling your hip slightly forward to stretch the hip flexor. You'll want to feel a stretch at the front of the hip, just to the inside of your hip bone. Hold the stretch while you take a few deep breaths, then see if you can stretch a bit more. This is a good stretch to perform after you've been sitting for a while, especially after a long commute or a long day at the computer.
Helpful Yoga Poses
Writing about hip flexors for Yoga Journal, physical therapist and yoga instructor Julie Gudmestad recommends warrior poses number one and two, as well as gentle backbends like cobra pose and deep backbends such as bridge pose. The warrior poses somewhat resemble the runner's lunge because one leg is bent in front of you and the other is extended behind. Holding these poses also strengthen the gluteal and hamstring muscles, which can help counteract overly short hip flexors. Similarly, the cobra pose helps strengthen the back muscles while stretching the hip flexors. To perform cobra, lie face-down on a mat, plant your palms on the floor near your shoulders and straighten your arms until your chest rises off the floor, keeping your legs firmly on the mat as you push into a gentle backbend.
References
- "Clinical Massage Therapy"; Fiona Rattray & Linda Ludwig; 2000
- Yoga Journal: Get Hip About Flexors
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