Whenever you bring your knee up to step onto a stair you are flexing your hip. The same goes for if you were to swing your leg forward from a standing position. Hip flexion is simply moving the hip forward. Any exercise that has a movement where the hip is moved forward is a hip flexion exercise. Hip flexion exercises can be done with body weight alone or with added resistance such as ankle weights or resistance bands. If you are instructed by a physical therapist or physician to do exercises as part of a rehabilitation program, you should follow their instructions for how often exercises should be performed.
Standing Hip Flexion Exercise
The hip flexion exercise done from a standing position will increase strength in the hip flexors and may also be used as a balance exercise if done without the support of a chair or wall to hold onto. You can do this exercise by standing behind a chair and holding the back of it or just standing close enough to it to grab on if you lose your balance. You will lift your leg and bend your knee toward your chest to flex your hip. You will put your foot back on the floor to finish one rep. You may do between eight and 15 reps per leg as advised by the National Institute of Aging. You can wear ankle weights during this exercise to make it more challenging.
Seated Hip Flexion with Resistance Band
The seated hip flexion exercise is similar to the standing hip flexion exercise. The leg movement is the same. You will sit in a chair with your feet on the floor. You will raise one knee into the air at a time. You can make this more efficient by adding a resistance band. The band will be wrapped around the top the leg on the quad. The other ends will come together on the floor and be held down under the opposite foot. For example, you could wrap the band on top of the left thigh and then use the right foot to pin the ends of the cable to the floor. Both knees are bent for this exercise. You would lift the left leg up as far as you can while maintaining a bent knee. After the left leg is tired, switch legs.
Standing Straight Leg Hip Flexion
Raising your leg with your knee bent is one way to do a hip flexion exercise. The leg can also be kept straight and moved forward. The standing hip flexion exercise involves standing up straight, lifting one foot an inch from the floor and then moving the leg forward. A resistance band should be used for strengthening. You can wrap a band around your ankle and secure the band to a sturdy object behind you. This way, when you move your leg forward there will be resistance from the band that you can work against. Do an equal number of reps per leg, unless instructed otherwise by your physician.
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