Hip Flexors – Good or Bad?

Today Longevity Exercise Physiology Drummoyne, Edgecliff, Marrickville, Bella Vista, Randwick, Lindfield and Balmain look at the role hip flexors play and decide if they really deserve the bad rap they often get!

Often hip flexors get a bit of a bad rap when it comes to muscles being ‘tight’. Most people have been given a hip flexor stretch to do as we assume, they are tight, when sometimes they actually aren’t. If you type into Google hip flexors often the first thing that comes up is how to stretch or relieve tight hip flexors!

A common hip flexor stretch 

If we take a closer look at the hip flexors, they play a crucial role in walking, stair climbing and pelvic stability. The hip flexors are a group of several muscles that allow you to bring your trunk to your legs in a flexing motion or vice versa. For example doing sit ups, or standing and lifting one leg up will utilise your hip flexors.

Tightness through your hip flexors can lead to lower back pain, pelvic pain, hip pain and poor posture. In a lot of cases, it is important to understand the reason why they are tight which can sometimes be due to weakness in core/abdominal muscles, gluteal (buttocks) muscles or lower back muscles

It can definitely be true that your hip flexors are tight or overactive, which is often due to muscle imbalances in the body. If you have weakness through some muscles, other muscles will often compensate and get tighter over time to compensate. Tightness through your hip flexors can lead to lower back pain, pelvic pain, hip pain and poor posture. In a lot of cases, it is important to understand the reason why they are tight which can sometimes be due to weakness in core/abdominal muscles, gluteal (buttocks) muscles or lower back muscles. Sometimes this can be due to an injury or sometimes it gradually happens over time causing changes to one’s posture.

As the hip flexors are a big group of muscles, they are important and we use them for many activities. However, it is important to be assessed correctly to see if your hip flexors are actually tight, when sometimes they aren’t. If you have been told that your hip flexors are always tight or if you feel like you are constantly stretching them and it’s not getting any better, have a thorough assessment by one of our exercise physiologists who will determine if they are or not. Often there are a few muscular imbalances going on and it’s beneficial to understand the root cause of it. Most importantly you will be assessed to see how your body moves and functions as a whole to determine the best and safest way to get your body moving again.

Contact Longevity Personal Training and Exercise Physiology Edgecliff, Lindfield, Marrickville, Randwick, Drummoyne, Balmain, Bella Vista on 1300 964 002 to enquire today.

Written by Susannah Mah-Chut