Hip Flexors: What You Need to Know

The hip flexors are a group of muscles that move the hip forward when running and walking. A great deal of stress is applied to this muscle group when sprinting and kicking. A strain can vary anywhere from stretching to a complete tear of the muscle tissue. This injury occurs in runners, bicyclists, athletes who jump or run with high knee kicks, athletes like soccer players who do forceful kicking activities, and people who practice the martial arts.

The hip flexors are a group of muscles that move the hip forward when running and walking. A great deal of stress is applied to this muscle group when sprinting and kicking. A strain can vary anywhere from stretching to a complete tear of the muscle tissue. This injury occurs in runners, bicyclists, athletes who jump or run with high knee kicks, athletes like soccer players who do forceful kicking activities, and people who practice the martial arts.

The most common cause of hip flexor injury is acute trauma. You may experience one specific instance when you felt your hip flexor pull. This may have been when you broke into a sprint, made a cut, or kicked a ball. Tight muscles and poor flexibility will contribute to hip flexor injury. When muscles are tight, there is an increased amount of tension on the tissues. When this increased tension is added to by an explosive movement, injury can occur. This is very common when doing speed drills or hill workouts.

Preventing hip flexor injury focuses on good flexibility, as well as making sure you warm up before you go full speed. Warm muscles are much less likely to be injured. So take the time to warm up and start slowly before you go all out. A good flexibility program will also help to reduce the tension on the muscles, and reduce your likelihood for injury.

Other ways you can reduce your likelihood for injury:

* Deep tissue procedures (Active Release Technique) to free up soft tissue motion of the hamstrings and surrounding musculature

* Gentle manipulation to free up joint motion of the lumbar spine and hips.

* Ultrasound and electric muscle stimulation combo-therapy applied to the proximal hamstring tendons to break up scar tissue, restore normal muscle tone, and decrease pain.

* Implementation of a proper strength program

* Advice on how to progress training runs more appropriately

Prevention is always the best cure.
Come see Advanced Rehabilitation and we will help keep you in motion!