Sports Medicine For A Hip Flexor Strain

The hip flexors, a group of skeletal muscles, allow you to bend at the waist and elevate your knee and help to stabilize the lower extremities. The most common causes of hip flexor strain are sport and trauma injuries.

Muscles

The hip flexor includes three muscle groups: the rectus femoris, psoas and iliacus muscles. The iliopsoas muscle -- the name for the iliacus and psoas muscles -- originates at the spine and pelvis and attaches to the thighbone or femur. The rectus femoris muscle begins at the pelvis and inserts in the patellar tendon along with the other quadricep muscles.

Causes

Hip flexor strain is often the result of an athletic injury. For instance, soccer players are at particular risk for hip flexor injury because of the forceful contraction of the flexor muscles required to kick the ball across a field. Flexor strain can occur suddenly or can be the result of the accumulation of microtraumas to the muscle tissue from overuse. Hip flexor strain can also be the body's way of compensating for other injuries to the plantar fascia or the Achilles tendon, which force the flexor muscles to work much harder than normal.

Hip Flexor Stretch

One common treatment for hip flexor strain is a stretching exercise. To perform the stretch, bend your uninjured knee and place your foot flat on the floor. Pull the injured leg out behind you, lean forward at the hips, and push your pelvis towards the floor. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and repeat three times.

Quadriceps Stretch

An exercise to stretch the quadriceps muscles including the rectus femoris may help with hip flexor strain. Support yourself by placing one hand on the wall or a sturdy chair. With the other hand, pull the ankle of your injured leg up towards your buttocks until you feel a stretch on the front of the thigh. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat 3 times.

Ice and Rest

As with any muscle injury, ice helps to reduce inflammation and alleviate pain. Additionally, the hip flexor muscles should be given a chance to recover after a strain, which may mean taking several weeks off from vigorous exercise. If you are experiencing serious flexor pain, contact your physician. Hip flexor pain can indicated a complete tear of a muscle or tendon.