In this video, I'm going to show you how to relieve tight
hip flexors for instant pain relief. Stay tuned.
Hey, everyone. Dr. Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in Saint
Joseph, Michigan. In this video, I'm going to go over
easy, effective hip flexor stretching exercises that are
going to deal with tightness, discomfort, pain around the
legs, around the groin, around the hips. All of these
exercises hit the hip flexors just a little bit differently.
So, go through all of them. Take what is most effective at
getting rid of that tightness and pain. As a bonus, all these
exercises can be done at home, don't require any special
equipment, and may give quick pain or discomfort relief even
in as little as thirty seconds! So let's get started and get
rid of those tight hip flexors right now. One of my absolute
favorite stretches is a yoga pose called the cobra pose
because it hits so much throughout the body including
those hip flexors but let's take the cobra pose, modify it
to hit the hip flexors just a little bit more. What I'm going
to do is lay on my stomach like this. Go next to a door or a
wall. Bend the knees roughly at ninety degrees. Put the feet
flat against the wall just like this and I'm going to press
into it with my toes. You should already start to feel a
very comfortable stretch into the front of the legs over the
quadriceps, into those hip flexors. I'm going to start off
with what is known as a half cobra or a press-up stretch.
So, I'm going to prop my back up on my elbows just like this.
We also want to keep the pelvis, the hips, the legs flat
as possible during this exercise. So, don't lift up on
them. When you do this, you should feel a very comfortable
stretch throughout the whole back and to the pelvis into
those hip flexors in the front of the leg. Once we hit that
comfortable stretch, let's hold this for thirty seconds. Do
nice, slow, controlled breathing also. You want this
to just allow tension to be released throughout the whole
body. When you need a break, just come back down like this,
take a breather, and then repeat for five complete
repetitions. With each repetition, try to go more into
extension, lift the back up just a little bit more because
it's only going to help intensify that stretch into
those hip flexors. To take this one to the next level, we can
then move to the full cobra. So, instead of going up on our
elbows, we're going to take our hands like this and then press
up like this. If you notice, I cannot straighten my arms
completely. I don't have the flexibility but some of you
might. So, really challenge yourself to try to drive the
back into extension as much as you can but only go to a
comfortable stretch. You should really focus on feeling this
into the front of the leg over those hip flexors but you want
to do this one for five complete repetitions holding
for 30 seconds each and with each repetition, challenge
yourself to go up just a little bit more because again,
hopefully that will release those hip flexors even more
giving you more relief. This hip flexor exercise is known as
a straight leg hover and it helps stretch and strengthen
the hip flexors at the same time. We just need to go next
to a wall, put our back flush against it. During this
exercise, I'm going to keep my knee straight. I'm going to
lift up on my leg just like and you should feel it through the
hips and you should really feel the hip flexors firing on the
side that you're focusing on. We need two ordinary objects.
Start off with a pair of shoes. What I'm gonna do is just lift
that leg up like this. Keep it straight and then move it over
to the side. And then slowly lower the heel down towards the
floor and then I'm going to go back to the starting point and
then I'm just going to go on the other side and repeat. When
you do this, you should really feel those muscles into those
hip flexors really starting to fire. When I'm doing this, I'm
already trying to feel my knees start to buckle. So, you really
want to focus on keeping that straight so you're putting a
lot into those hip flexors but you want to do this nice and
slowly for about ten repetitions. From there, you
can just relax and repeat. If you want to make this more
challenging, you can spread the objects out. You can also make
them taller. So, use something like a soup can or a water
bottle and you can also throw more objects in to make it a
little bit more challenging, kind of like an obstacle
course. But when you're done on one side, always switch to the
other to keep them both in balance. One of my personal
favorite hip flexor exercises is known as the 3-D hip
flexor stretch because it targets so much in such little
time. We just need a chair without wheels. I'm going to be
using a metal foldable chair. Let's go up to that chair.
Place one leg up like this. The other leg is going to be
straight. It doesn't matter which one you're doing because
we're going to do it on both sides. So, the knee is roughly
bent in ninety degrees. We want nice up right posture. Let's
tuck the chin just a little bit too. Hands go on the hips. From
here, what I'm going to do is keep the straight leg right
here straight at the knee and I'm going to bend forward as
much as I can. Kind of like a lunge position. When you do
this, you're going to feel a great activation of that hip
flexor on the straight legs. So, really challenge yourself
to drive forward with your body weight as much as you can. Once
you hit a comfortable stretch, hold this for twenty seconds.
From there, you're just going to relax, take a breather, and
then repeat this up to five times. With each repetition,
drive forward just a little bit more to get a better stretch to
target those hip flexors. How we can take this one to the
next level as well we stretch into it. Let's put our arms up
like this and then rotate towards one side. I'm going all
the way towards my right as much as I can. When you do
this, it's going to feel great. It feels like a very deep
stretch into the lower back, into the pelvis, into that hip
flexor. Hold this for twenty seconds, relax, and then you're
going to repeat by going towards the other side
challenge yourself again always to go into that stretch as much
as you can. 20 second holds, you're going to relax and then repeat
this on both sides five times. How we can take this one to
even the next level, let's go back into that position and
what I'm going to do this time is raise my arms up overhead
like this and I'm going to lean towards one side, so what I'm
doing is leaning all the way towards the right. This will
activate the muscles into the hip, into that hip flexor, just a
little bit differently and again, hold this one for twenty
seconds. Relax, take a breather, and then you're going
to repeat it towards the other side, going towards a very
comfortable stretch but you want to do this one for three
to five repetitions on both sides. Go through all of those
motions. If you feel that one hits it just a little bit
differently, maybe this rotation stretch right here.
Throw more repetitions in there, target that tightness,
and always do both sides to keep them both in balance. So,
here is a great hip flexor exercise that you can do in bed
or on the floor. If you choose to do it on the floor, make
sure to put a pillow or towel underneath your knees for extra
comfort. What I'm gonna do is start off on all fours. Pretty
much my arms are going to be in a nice straight line from my
shoulders to my wrist. My hips and my knees also will be in a
straight line. Let's do a simple chin tuck like this just
for a little bit better posture. The first motion is
very easy. I'm going to take my feet and then I'm going to just
bring them inwards til my feet start to touch. From there, I'm
going to drive my knees outwards. The more that you go
out with the knees, the more intense the stretch is going to
be felt in the inner part of the leg over the groin. So,
really try to focus on feeling that good stretch into the
groin. Once we hit a very strong, comfortable stretch,
let's hold this position. From here, I'm going to do a nice
rock back. So, I'm going to lower my butt down towards my
heels and you want to focus on moving through your hips
through the pelvis. Go down as far as you're able to go. Once
you hit a great stretch and you should really this one into the
legs right here. Hold this for twenty seconds. Do nice, slow,
controlled breathing also. Let as much tension out as
possible. From there, what I'm going to do is then rock
forward as much as I can. What this will do is activate the
muscles just a little bit differently. Again, really
focus on feeling it into the front part of the leg over the
groin. Hold this for 20 seconds and then just simply rock back.
Do this for three to five complete repetitions. The goal
is with each repetition, to stretch more into it. Get more
range of motion out because it's only going to help reduce
a lot of tightness into those hip flexors. So, here is a
great way to be able to take a very popular hip flexor
exercise, the hip flexor lunge, and take it to the next level.
I'm going to go next to a door or a wall. My knees are also
going to be bent at ninety degrees. One knee is going to
touch the floor so make sure to put a pillow or towel
underneath that knee for extra comfort. Let's strain the arms
at the elbow like and then place the hands against the
door for a stable anchor point. We're going to tuck the chin
and have very good posture through the lower back through
the pelvis. Let's start off by doing that basic hip flexor
lunge. Just use your body weight lunge through it. You
want to use your hips. You want to move through your pelvis.
You should really start to feel the muscle, those hip flexors
start to activate on the leg that is touching the floor.
Once we hit a very comfortable stretch, this is how we're
going to take it to the next level. I'm going to slowly lift
the other leg up the other foot towards the ceiling. This will
activate a lot through the legs through those hip flexors so
only go to your comfort level. Try to hold this for at least
10 seconds but you can hold it longer if you feel comfortable.
Challenge yourself. Work your way up to a half minute. But
when you need a breather, just drop the foot, take one and
then on the next repetition, try to lunge forward even more
to activate those hip flexors and then lift the leg up even
more again to help challenge yourself. Be want to do this
for five complete repetitions and when you're done on one
side, always switch to the other to keep them both in
balance. So, if you stuck around to the end of the video,
you're going to be rewarded with a great stretch that you
can do pretty much while watching television. All you
need is a couch. What I'm going to do is start off with one
knee bent like this. So, make sure to put a pillow or towel
underneath it for extra comfort. The top of the foot is
going to go up on the couch just like this. If the couch is
pretty high, just make sure that leg right here is elevated
and you're feeling an initial stretch into the hip flexors
into the front of the leg right here. The other leg is going to
be bent at ninety degrees. What I'm going to do from there is
put my hands on my hips and then I'm just going to lean
forward with my body weight. Similar to a lunge exercise.
When you do this, the more that you go forward, the more that
you're going to feel it activate into those hip
flexors. So, only go to a comfortable stretch. Once we
hit that point, let's hold this for twenty seconds. Do nice,
slow controlled breathing to let the tension out. When you
need a breather, come back, relax, and then repeat this up
to five times with each repetition, always go a little
bit more to challenge those muscles and get them to release
even more. To take this one to the next level, let's get back
into that lunge position. Put our arms up like this and while
I'm lunging forward, what I'm going to do is rotate towards
one side. This will activate the muscles just a little bit
differently. So, rotate as much as you're able to. Hold this
for relax, repeat up to five times. From there, you always
want to switch to the other side also to keep them in
balance. What you can do from there to take this one to the
next next level. Let's lunge forward, put our hands up like
this, and then bend towards one side. Again, what you're going
to feel is the muscles in the leg around those hip flexors
get activated just a little bit differently but experiment with
all of these motions right here and take what is most effective
at releasing those tight hip flexors, throw more repetitions
in, and I hope that it gives very quick pain relief. If you
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