Tight Hip Flexors | How to know if your Hip Flexors are Tight?
Hip flexors or iliopsoas are a group of muscles which comes into action while lifting the knee towards the body. Hip flexors are involved in almost all kind of mobility which involves lower body. It helps you in acts such as walking, kicking, bending and twisting or swiveling hips. Therefore, tight hip flexors can cause a lot of discomforts if not treated.
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There are ways to know if your hip flexors are tight:
Test one
The first test involves bending of your knee while lying on your back.
Just lie on your back with your legs stretched out straight. You need to feel your lower body lying for around 60 to 90 seconds.
You need to check if there is a sense of tightness in your hips, back or quadriceps femoris also known as quads which comprise of the four dominating muscles on the front portion of the thighs.
- If there is any sort of pulling on your hips and lower back.
- If there is an increase in the curve of your lower back.
Once you check these symptoms for around 90s bend the knees bringing the feet closer to the body, now check again for the same symptoms involving hips, back, and quadriceps.
Check if there is a change in the sense of tightness or pull on the hip, back, and quads. If there is a curve at all and if there is has there been any change in it.
When the legs are straightened, there is a certain level of stretch on the hip flexor muscles. When the knees have bent, the sense of tightness or pulling will decrease if the flexor muscles are tight.
Thomas test
Thomas test: named after Dr. Hugh Owen Thomas, an orthopedic surgeon requires the person to sit comfortably on a bench or a box.
The person is required to slowly lie on the bench holding the knees towards the chest. While in the position stretch out one leg while holding the other.
If the leg could be fully stretched and the thigh is flat on the bench, then there is no symptom of tightness on the hip flexors. On the other hand, if the leg can’t be fully stretched and is not flat on the bench, the hip flexors are tight.
The test could also be done beginning with both the legs stretched out. Then the person is required to bend one knee towards the chest.
There should not be a gap between the lower back and the table the person is lying.
An inactive lifestyle could cause the flexor muscles to tighten. This could lead to immobility to a large extent.
Take walking breaks every one hour if your work needs sitting for long hours.
If you are going to indulge in sports, exercises see to it that you spend a considerable amount of time for warm up, before and after the body activity.
A good massage would also provide relief.
