Hip Flexors are notorious for feeling tight. This tightness can cause problems and restrict movement patterns. We will show you the best foam roller hip flexor techniques to improve your flexibility and reduce pain.
Hip Flexors can be a nightmare for players. Without proper maintenance, they can become tight and sore and affect all areas of your workout. But what are the Hip Flexors?
Anatomy of the Hip Flexors
The Hip Flexors are located at the top of your thigh and connect your thigh bone to your hip joint. They are involved in lower body movements and comprise the following muscles:- Adductor Brevis
- Adductor Longus
- Gracilis
- Iliopsoas
- Pectineus
- Rectus femoris
- Sartorius
- Tensor Fasciae Latae
What Do Your Hip Flexors Do?
As the name suggests, these muscles combine to perform the action of flexion at the hip. This is the term used to describe the decreasing of the angle between the bones and the joint. Here the hip flexors, lift the thigh bone (femur) up and towards your upper body. Hip flexion is used in almost all dynamic sports, therefore athletes regularly feel tightness and a lack of flexibility in this area. So releasing tight hip flexors is essential for optimal performance on the field.Why Do Hip Flexors Get Tight?
There are many reasons your Hip Flexors muscles may tighten, however, the main ones are:
Why Do Hip Flexros Get Tight?
Roll Over For Reason 1
Reason 1
Over Training
(see Below)
(see Below)
Why Do Hip Flexros Get Tight?
Roll Over For Reason "
Reason 2
Habitual Posture
(see Below)
(see Below)
Over-training – Long distance training is great for your cardiovascular health, however it can have a negative effect on your hip flexors if you do not properly stretch and foam roll. Whether you’re running or lifting heavy weights on the leg extension machine, any access loads on the hip flexors will create trigger points in the muscle and create the feeling of tightness.
Habitual Posture – Consistency standing and sitting in a bad position can cause the hip to spend long periods in an irregular position. This causes the hip flexors to become tight and cause an anterior (forward) tilt at the hip. This puts stress on the hamstrings, lower back and has a domino effect on the rest of your muscular skeleton.
Can Hip Flexors Cause Lower Back Pain?
Below it or not, a common cause of low back pains stems from the hip flexors. The main reasons are due to our everyday lifestyle. We spend a large amount of our day sitting at desks, driving or on the couch watching tv. This means our hip flexors are kept in a shortened position for long periods of time. Whilst these muscles are shortened they become contracted and when you then extend the hip, the shortened muscles pull on the attaching skeleton. The Psoas muscle causes the greatest issues for the back as it attaches to the lumbar spine. Over time this tightness in the Psoas can lead to problems with the spine.How to Foam Roll Your Hip Flexors
Here is a great video by Criticalbench on how to use your foam roller to massage and stretch your hip flexor.
How to Foam Roll your Hip Flexros
- Lie in the plank position with the foam roller placed just below the front of your hip.
- Plant your opposite leg to the side, with a 90 degree bend at the knee. This leg will support some of the weight.
- With your leg extended straight behind, slowly roll the area between the top of your quad and your hip.
- When you find a tight spot, stop and hold for 30 seconds.
- Roll at a rate of 1 inch per second for 2 minutes.
- Repeat for the opposite leg
Remember to breathe throughout this exercise
Upper Body Foam Rolling Exercises
- How to foam roll your neck muscles
- How to foam roll your shoulder muscles
- How to foam roll your chest muscles
- How to foam roll your lats
- How to foam roll your rhomboids
- How to foam roll your arm muscles
Lower Body Foam Rolling Exercises
