If You’re Feeling Tension in Your Hips, This One Exercise Could Be the Answer
If you’ve 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 is that 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 that I’ve practiced and refined over years of working with professional athletes to address the varying tension patterns caused by different sports movements.
Your hip flexors are a group of muscles primarily responsible for lifting your knees and bending at the waist. These include the iliopsoas, rectus femoris, sartorius, and tensor fasciae latae. 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.
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.
This exercise is effective because it repositions the hip joint, stretches the hip flexors from three different angles, and engages all the muscles involved. It’s a complete release that improves mobility in the hips, core, legs, and lower back.
To perform the exercise, start in a kneeling lunge with your left leg forward and your right knee aligned under your hip. Curl your right toes forward behind you, keeping 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.
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, and externally rotate your right hip to reposition your right foot to the left side of your body behind you. Exhale and bring your ribs down while tucking your pelvis under, then add the side bend to the left. Hold for three breaths.
Finally, from the same wide stance, internally rotate your right hip, spinning counterclockwise on your knee to move your right foot out to the right side of your body. Repeat the same steps, adding the side bend to the left. Hold for three breaths.
Remember, you should feel a stretch in your hip flexor, thigh, side waist, and back muscles, but never pain. If you feel pain, back off and reposition. If you can’t achieve a pain-free position, stop and consult a doctor or physical therapist.
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’re desk-bound or a pro athlete, this quick and effective exercise is a game changer for anyone wanting to move and feel better.
