Hip Flexor: Hidden Pain
Many of us have tight hip flexors and we don’t even know it. The worst thing is that they can cause a whole heap of problems that you won’t even know exist! Your hip flexors are two muscles, the illiacus and the psoas, that combine to make the illiopsoas. The psoas attaches at the top of your tight bone, and inserts into your lower back. The illiacus attaches at the top of your thigh bone, and inserts into your hip bone. The primary movement they cause is hip flexion.
How Do They Get Tight?
Your hip flexors can get tight very easily. It is very common for workers who must sit down all day to get tight hip flexors. They are not a very pliable muscle, so if you stay in one position for a long time, then it is likely that the muscle will mold to this shape and stay like that. The fibers are shortened all day, then they will continue to be in this position. hence, you get tight hip flexors.
What Problems Can Tight Hip Flexors Cause?
The most common problem that tight hip flexors can cause is low back pain. This is because the psoas attaches to your lower back. When the psoas gets tight, then it is inclined to pull the lower back forward and put you into lordosis. This means that there is a lot more pressure on the back, and on the discs in between, which means that you are much more susceptible to injury. tight hip flexors can cause many other problems but lower back pain is the main issue.
Loosening Your Hip Flexors?
The fact is that the hip flexors are pretty hard muscles to stretch. if you are working all day sitting down, then you need to try to get up and walk around every hour. If you know that you have tight hips then you should do a hip flexor stretch in your break. Add a hip flexor stretch after your workout, and add exercises such and lunges and the overhead squat, to do some more dynamic stretches during your workout. You can also lay on a tennis ball, which is known as trigger point therapy. Although this will hurt a lot it is the most effective and fastest way to loosen these problematic muscles.
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