Hip pain is a common presentation that Osteopath’s see on a regular basis. Whether we are athletes or sedentary desk workers, at one point or another many of us have experienced this pain. Hip flexor tightness and pain can often contribute to lower back pain, poor posture, and hamstring injuries.
Why do so many people suffer from this?
One of the main contributors to hip flexor pain and tightness is from sitting for too long. Our bodies were not designed to sit for the excessive periods that we generally do nowadays. Whether that is working in front of a computer, on the couch watching TV, or during our commutes in cars and trains, spending prolonged periods sitting puts our hip flexors in a shortened position, causing them to tighten up.
Consequently, when we begin activities that require hip extension (e.g. walking, running, kicking), we often experience tightness and become susceptible to injury.
If you’re someone who sits for long periods and can feel your hip flexors getting tight, try having regular breaks from sitting and perform this stretch throughout your day.
Hip flexor weakness
Hip flexor tightness is not only caused by excessive sitting. In many sports, athletes are required to perform repetitive hip flexion (e.g., running & cycling). Weakness in this area can lead to the hip flexor muscles fatiguing easily, causing perceived tightness.
In order to strengthen our hip flexors, we can perform a variety of exercises including these Isometric holds to build capacity in these muscles.
Whilst these management strategies for hip flexor pain might seem straightforward, it is important to note that the hip flexors are a complicated set of muscles that be can be impacted by other factors such poor glute activation/ hip control and a lack of core stability causing the hip flexors to compensate and become overloaded.
If you are unsure whether you are suffering from hip flexor tightness, weakness, or maybe a combination of both, come see our Osteopath’s at Blackburn Allied Health Group. They are trained to identify the root cause of your pain and can assist in providing a tailored management plan to relieve your hip flexor troubles.
