Tight Hips from Sitting All Day? Here’s What to Do About It!
If sitting all day at work leaves you with hip pain or tight hip flexors, you may notice it affecting your ability to move comfortably and with good mobility. Stretching can certainly help, but it’s not the only solution. Combining stretches with movement and strength training through a full range of motion is key to keeping your hips flexible, strong, and pain-free over the long term!
Understanding Your Hip Flexors
When we talk about hip flexors, we’re referring to a group of muscles that includes the psoas, iliacus, and iliopsoas. These muscles connect your pelvis and lumbar spine to the front of your hip and upper leg. Their main job is to lift your leg and stabilize your torso while sitting. Because some of these muscles attach directly to your spine, tight hip flexors can often contribute to lower back pain. Wondering how to relieve your discomfort? Hip flexor stretches combined with hip strengthening exercises is the way to go. Check out our mini guide below to get started.
Stretches for Tight Hip Flexors
Stretching helps elongate and relax tight, stiff muscles. While it may not solve tight hip flexors entirely, it offers relief and helps you achieve better range of motion for strength exercises. Here are a few effective stretches to add to your warm-up or cool-down routine:
Couch Stretch: This stretch targets the front of your hips and quads. Place one foot on the ground in a lunge position and rest your back foot on a bench, wall, or couch seat while keeping your knee on the floor. Lift your chest, breathing deeply, and hold for one minute each side.
Hip Flexor Nerve Floss: Begin in a lunge with your back knee down. Raise your hand (same side as the back leg) overhead and shift your weight forward, leaning toward the front leg. Repeat 8–12 reps per side for two sets.
Hip Airplanes: Improve hip flexibility, balance, and coordination! Start with a box for support, hinge forward on one leg, and open your shoulders and hips toward the ceiling. Repeat on each side for 10 reps, 1–2 sets.
Strengthening Exercises for Hip Flexors
Interestingly, tight muscles can often be weak. Strengthening muscles through their full range of motion (ROM) enhances stability and prevents injury. Here are some moves to keep your hip flexors both strong and flexible:
Hip Raise with Hip Flexion: This exercise isolates your hip flexors and strengthens them through a full ROM. Lying on your back, anchor a long, light band to a rack and loop the free end around one foot. With the unbanded leg flat on the floor, push into a bridge. While raised, pull your knee (banded side) toward you and extend back. Repeat 8–10 reps per side for two sets.
Band Hip Flexor March: This move strengthens hip flexors and preps them for heavier lifting. Loop a medium band around both feet, stand tall, and march in place, lifting each knee high. Do 10–12 marches per side for two sets.
Don’t Forget Your Glutes!
One of the most effective ways to relieve tight hip flexors is to strengthen the muscles that perform the opposite motion—your hip extensors, a.k.a. your glutes! By strengthening your glutes, you trigger something called reciprocal inhibition, which helps your hip flexors relax. Reciprocal inhibition occurs when one muscle group relaxes as the opposing group contracts, promoting a more balanced and functional range of motion in your hips.
Here are our top glute exercises to keep your hips healthy and flexible:
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift: Holding a heavy dumbbell in each hand, position your feet hip-width apart, with toes forward. With a flat back, hinge at your hips and lower until you feel tension, then engage your glutes to return upright. Repeat for 8–12 reps, three sets.
Barbell or Dumbbell Hip Thrust: Sit on the floor with your upper back against a bench, knees bent, and feet grounded. Place a barbell or dumbbell on your hips, and push through your heels to lift your hips. Squeeze your glutes at the top, then lower with control. Complete three sets of 8–12 reps.
Reverse Lunge to Balance: Stand tall, step back with your right leg, and lower into a lunge until your right knee touches the floor. Push through your left heel to stand, raising your right knee to balance. Do all reps on one side, then switch for three sets of 8–10 reps per leg.
Incorporate these exercises to keep your hips flexible, strong, and pain-free.
If you need a more tailored program to address tight hip flexors or other issues keeping you from living an active and pain-free life, we’re here to help! Whether you’d like to train with one of our personal trainers in Frederick, Maryland, or Mount Holly, North Carolina, or work remotely with an online trainer, we’d love to hear from you. Schedule your free consultation by clicking here and let’s get started on your path to pain-free movement!
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