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Stop Stretching Your Hip Flexors! (HERE'S WHY)

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Rating: 4.0; Vote: 1

The hip flexors are one of the first areas we rush to stretch since they tend to feel tight more often than any other muscle group. The problem is, tightness can often be confused for weakness and when you stretch a weak muscle you are only making the problem worse. In this video, I-m going to show you how to determine if your hip flexors are tight or weak and the appropriate approach depending on those findings. First we need to talk a little bit about anatomy however. If you have ever had low back pain while doing ab exercises, then you know why the hip flexors are so important. They originate on the lumbar vertebrae and can pull on your lower back when they get tight. They can also wreak havoc elsewhere when weak. Determining whether or not you are dealing with a tight or a weak hip flexor is crucial. To start however, you have to understand that the hip flexors are not a single muscle group. Instead, there are 5 muscles that contribute to the act of lifting the hip into flexion. Three of these (TFL, rectus femoris, and sartorius) originate at the level of the hip and the iliac crest which means that they are at a mechanical advantage to lift the knee to the level of the hip but are at a disadvantage to lift them any higher. Two other muscles however (the psoas and iliac) are found at a higher origin and are capable of lifting the hip past ninety degrees. Knowing the difference between these muscles is a crucial step in determining the right course of action once you do your tests. Speaking of the tests, the first thing you want to do is see if you have a true tightness caused by muscle shortening. To do this, you are going to perform what is called a Thomas Test. Start by sitting at the edge of a bench or box with your legs halfway over the edge. Lean back and pull both legs into your chest and be sure to flatten the lower back against the surface. From here, slowly drop one leg while tightly hugging the other to your chest. You want to observe two things about the down leg. First, is the thigh capable of making contact with the bench and second is the knee able to bend and hang freely at 80 or 90 degrees of flexion. If you find that either of these is not happening then you will want to straighten your knee and see what happens. If upon straightening you find that the thigh goes down to the surface, then your tight rectus femoris was what was keeping the leg up and you-d want to stretch that. If the leg didn-t drop down even after straightening the leg then you are dealing with a tight psoas or iliacus that could benefit from stretching. The key is however, many times the Thomas Test is normal but the hip still feels as if it should be stretched. This is usually due to fatigue caused by having a weak hip flexor. In this case, you want to proceed to testing your strength. You can do this by either hugging one knee to your chest while standing tall and then releasing it. If you can hold it above 90 degrees but feel a cramp in the outer hip, then you likely have a high hip flexor weakness in the iliacus or psoas. If you can-t hold it there and the first place you can gain control of the thigh is at 90 degrees or lower, then once again you likely have a weakness. Alternatively you can place your foot on a flat surface high enough to place your knee at a starting level above the hip. From here, lift the foot while standing upright and see if you can hold it off the box for at least 15 seconds without the cramping discussed earlier. If weak, you can use this as the exercise to strengthen it and can add resistance by placing a band around your foot or ankle. Bottom line is, it is not smart to randomly stretch a muscle if you are not sure if it is actually tight in the first place. Instead, take a couple minutes and do a few tests to see what you are really dealing with. If you want a complete step by step program for getting in the best shape of your life without overlooking anything important that other programs often do, head to and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System
Date: 2022-04-22

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Comments and reviews: 10

thecommenter
Isnt it hard to incorporate explosive training to your hip when you are trying to be good at endurance running? I like to be able to do many pullups and be solid on bodyweight exercises, but I also love running and cross country skiing, and I feel that having a decent benchpress is a good sign of physical fitness as well. My goal is to stay on sub 40 min 10k, max 1 rep at maybe 120kg benchpress and be able to do 3x13 pullups (max 1 set maybe around 16. If I can jump high/long and do a decent deadlift, maybe 4x4 on 160 kg or something, then I feel like I am in good shape. Should I switch my training philosophy when I pass 40 years of age to be more specialized? I like the idea of maybe doing an ultra race one time, but I wonder how much the muscle is holding me back. I could also get into uphill running races, something I've tried when I was younger and had a really high vo2max, and that I was good at. My guess is that a bit of a heavy runner would do good in those races. Its a question of trying to do what you are good at, or pushing for something new to challenge yourself. What do you guys think?
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Jason
I am wondering if this is my problem. I switched to 2-handed bowling and there is a lot of momentum and spine tilt on my slide leg. especially at the hip. It isn't a twisting as much as it is a pivot point. After a few throws it becomes so sore and tight that I can barely walk. In order to bowl league (3 games) or get any practice in, I have to mix about 2, 000mg of tylenol (4 caps) and an ibuprofen about an hour before to even function. It takes days to stop being sore. It has been like this since I switched 4 months ago. Yet, I can do my squats and run. leg presses etc. with absolutely no issues with it. Been so confused on what the problem is. it only seems to happen bowling lol. Some days (only after bowling) it hurts so bad that I have to sleep sitting up because it hurts and my lower back sometimes.
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Bockdollar
Jeff, I've been having a sore right hip flexor for a while. I've been doing different standing exercise routines - standing abs, arms, legs, buns every other day and then cardio every other day, taking Sundays off. However, I was doing standing abs workout every day. I did both your tests on our tall coffee/book table, and it turned out that it seems like my hip flexor on both sides is neither tight nor weak. But it is still sore. I have no problem bending my knee while lying flat (your test for tightness, and I can lift up and hold it. Any suggestions? Is something else going on with my right hip flexor other than tightness or weakness? Sometimes, especially in the morning, I walk with a waddle.
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AmandaLpz
This is an excellent video - Curious what to do when you add a possible strain to the mix (ie if you think you pulled something during a workout. In the past, physio's have told me to rest for a bit, then stretch if no pain, then strengthen.
But If you generally have no tightness, should you just cut to strengthening after resting?
Basically I get how you test for weak vs. tight, is there a way to clearly test for a muscle strain? It all feels the same in the hip area. :/
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James
This video just saved me a lot of grief. Ive been having some spazzy back issues which were really scaring me because I was worried I had a herniated disc.
The problem was that I had accidentally strengthed one hip flexor to a degree where it was significantly stronger than the other side, which meant I had uneven pressure on my lumbar spine. I have a feeling that all of these back problems are going to go away as soon as I even my hip flexors back out.
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christopher
People The whole point of the video is to determine the source of the back pain. If you don't know and start stretching and the actual problem is just weakness, youll make it worse if you stretch. The question is, the back pain is it because of tightness or weakness? Here is how to identify it Boom and he explains. Now you now before jumping into excercises without knowing the real problem. Tightness? stretch, weakness? strength the muscle. Ez
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Tim
One other potential issue to consider: Per this video, I tested myself for hip flexor strength and flexibility and passed both tests, though intermittent pain continued, so I met with my primary care physician, had my hip x-rayed and found that I had moderate arthritis in my hip - the apparent source of my significant muscular pain [in the hip flexor bundle, I-T band, quad and groin].
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Mathew
Just found this.
I'm an adult toe walker due to shortened Achilles tendons my whole life, which has resulted to tremendous issues with my hip flexors. No one at any gym or physiotherapist said to test if it's a tightness or weaknesses. Definitely weakness apparently. And yes - lower back pain while doing anything on my back (leg lifts, crunches, sit ups)
Thank you so much!
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Omkar
Pls help me I didn't understand much from this video
Due to my bad English
1) I can bent my knee 80-90 degree without touching the table (so what's the problem)
2) I can keep my leg up above 90 degree for 10-15 seconds but with -cramps-
3) I can Hold my leg above 90degree with immediate letting it away
So what should I do?
And I have the anterior pelvic tilt
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kim
you are AMAZING! I am an avid yogi and have had this issue for over a year. recently discovered it was indeed my psoas but found it odd because I am very flexible and stretch often. It is A WEAKNESS! who knew! haha this explains so much of what has been going on in my body. Thank you so much for making this video, packed full of info, efficient, and so helpful.
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