The hip flexor muscles bring the hips forward, like when you are sitting down. Too much sitting places the hip flexors in a flexed position, which may shorten them. This can affect the alignment of the pelvis and reduce range of motion in the hips. Passive hip stretches increase flexibility as well as active stretches, and both are examples of static stretching where you place your body in a stretched position and keep it there without moving your joints.
Passive Hip Stretches
Passive stretching is also called relaxed stretching because the muscles opposite the ones you are stretching, called antagonists, are relaxed during the stretches. Use your hand or a surface like a floor or table to provide support or force to stretch the hips, instead of contracting your hip extensor muscles and holding them tensed while stretching the hip flexors as you would for active stretching. The hip extensors bring the hips backwards, and so are the opposing muscle group to the hip flexors.
Standing Hip Flexor Stretch With a Chair
Place your weight onto a chair to let your leg and hip relax for a passive stretch; however, don't relax the leg you stand on while the other one stretches. To perform this exercise, place your right knee on the seat of a chair and stand on your left leg next to the chair. Hold onto the chair for balance and slowly shift your weight forward while keeping your torso upright until you feel a stretch in the right hip, or lean back slightly once you feel the stretch to increase it slightly. Repeat on the other side. Hold each for 30 seconds, and do three repetitions.
Lying Hip Flexor Stretch With a Table
This do this stretch, use a table to support your weight, your arms to hold one leg and gravity to pull your other leg down. Lie face up on a table with your right knee bent into your chest. Hold the right leg with both arms and slide the left leg over the edge of the table so that gravity can pull it toward the floor, and extend the left hip. Work both sides. Do the stretch on both legs for 30 seconds each, and repeat three times.
Passive Stretching With a Partner
Modify the standing stretch to be a passive partner stretch. Lie on your right side with your right leg straight and left leg bent. Have your partner sit behind you and gently pull your left leg backwards to extend and stretch the hip while you relax. Then do the other side.
To modify the lying table stretch, rest in the same position, but instead of pulling your knee into your chest, have a partner stand on the side of the table near your waist and push your knees into your chest one at a time while pushing down on the opposite thigh. This ensures complete relaxation for a passive stretch -- as long as you don't fight your partner.
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