Tight hip flexors? This simple move restores mobility in minutes

By Dana Santas, CNN

(CNN) — If you have ever felt tension in the front of your hips after sitting too long, struggled with lower back pain or had difficulty touching your toes, your hip flexors may be to blame. These often overlooked muscles play a vital role in posture, climbing stairs, running and more, yet modern sedentary lifestyles and repetitive motion can leave them short and tight.

The good news? You can lengthen and relieve tight hip flexors in minutes with a simple stretch that targets the tension from all angles.

The three-way hip flexor release is a mobility exercise I practiced and refined over years of working with professional athletes to address the varying tension patterns caused by different sports movements. Recognizing the need for a multidirectional approach, I designed this method to target and release all the key muscles involved in hip flexion, unlike traditional stretches that focus on a single angle at the front of the hip.

What are hip flexors?

Your hip flexors are a group of muscles primarily responsible for lifting your knees and bending at the waist.

These include:

• Iliopsoas: The powerhouse of hip flexion, a combination of two muscles — the iliacus and psoas — which, together, connect your pelvis, lumbar spine (low back) and femur (upper leg bone).

• Rectus femoris: A quadriceps (thigh) muscle that crosses both the hip and knee and serves as a primary hip flexor.

• Sartorius: As the longest muscle in the body, it runs from the hip to the shin and assists with hip flexion and external rotation.

• Tensor fasciae latae: Located on the outside of your upper thigh, it works with the rectus femoris to flex the hip and contributes to hip abduction and internal rotation.

When any of these muscles are tight, the tension pulls your pelvis forward into an anterior tilt, putting compressive stress on your lumbar spine and knees that can lead to hip immobility, low back strain, knee problems and more. Because these muscles connect your upper body to your lower body, tight hip flexors not only cause discomfort, immobility and increased injury risk, but they can also lead to changes in posture, gait and balance.

Hip flexor tension is caused by both overuse and underuse. Repetitive movements from sports and activities such as running, biking and stair climbing can shorten and tighten your hip flexors, while excessive sitting leads to the same result — but with added weakness.

The connection to chronic hamstring tension

Tight hip flexors are a surprising but common cause of chronic tension in your hamstrings — the muscles on the backs of your legs that stretch when you bend to touch your toes. Since hamstrings attach from your knees to your pelvis, tight hip flexors pulling the pelvis forward into an anterior tilt also pull the hamstrings into a lengthened, tightened state.

Although it might feel as if you should try to stretch your hamstrings for relief, attempting to stretch already lengthened hamstrings won’t relieve the tension and can even cause harm in the form of strains and tears. When tight hip flexors accompany tight hamstrings, releasing your hip flexors to restore a neutral pelvis is the only way to release your hamstrings as well.

Why the 3-way hip flexor release works

This exercise is effective because repositioning the hip joint stretches the hip flexors from three different angles, ensuring all the muscles involved are engaged and released. Adding a side bend to each position enhances the stretch by involving related core and back muscles, including the obliques, quadratus lumborum and latissimus dorsi.

The result? A complete release that improves mobility in the hips, core, legs and lower back. Practicing this exercise for a few minutes a day, several times a week, helps counteract the effects of overuse or underuse, allowing you to move and feel better — whether you’re recovering from a workout or trying to combat the stiffness caused by too much sitting.

How to perform the 3-way hip flexor release

Follow the directions for each of the three positions consecutively and then repeat the sequence on the other side.

Position 1: Straight-on lunge with side bend

Begin in a kneeling lunge with your left leg forward and your right knee aligned under your hip, resting on a pad or folded towel to cushion it. If balance is a challenge, position yourself next to a chair or other support on your left side.

Curl your right toes forward behind you.

Keep your torso upright and your hands on your hips.

Exhale as you bring your ribs down and tuck your pelvis under in a posterior tilt, flattening your low back and curling your tailbone down until you feel a stretch at the front of your right hip.

Continue to hold this position as you raise your right arm overhead, exhaling as you side bend to the left to deepen the stretch.

Take three slow, deep breaths, focusing on bringing your left ribs in and down on each exhale to increase the side bend.

Position 2: Wide-stance lunge with external hip rotation and side bend

Shift your left leg out to the left about 4 to 6 inches to widen your stance.

Keep your left toes pointed forward and knee in line with your ankle.

Externally rotate your right hip (turn your thigh outward), spinning clockwise on your knee to reposition your right foot to the left side of your body behind you as far as it will go naturally — without force or stress on your knee.

Exhale and bring your ribs down while tucking your pelvis under, like you did in the first position, and then add the side bend to the left.

Hold for three breaths.

Position 3: Wide-stance lunge with internal hip rotation and side bend

From the same wide stance, internally rotate your right hip (turn your thigh inward), spinning counterclockwise on your knee to move your right foot out to the right side of your body.

Repeat the same steps as the previous positions and add the side bend to the left.

Hold for three breaths.

Note: You should feel a stretch in your hip flexor, thigh, side waist and back muscles — but never pain. When adjusting your foot and leg for positions 2 and 3, the movement should come from your hip, not your knee. If you feel pain, back off and reposition. If you cannot achieve a pain-free position, stop and consult a doctor or physical therapist.

Keeping your hips healthy

With your hip flexors affecting so many aspects of your ability to move free of pain, it’s important to give them the attention they deserve.

By taking a few minutes to address the tension at its source, you can improve your mobility, ease discomfort and keep your hips strong.

Whether you are desk-bound or a pro athlete, this quick and effective exercise is a game changer for anyone wanting to move and feel better.

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