What Are Hip Flexors?

Basically, the hip flexors are a set of muscles that pass through the pelvis.

One of them, the Iliopsoas is made up of two muscles, the Iliacus and the Psoas Major, located at the front of the hip. Together these muscles functions in bringing the thigh up toward the abdomen.

Although the two muscles begin in different places...

the Iliacus originates from the hip bone,

the Psoas Major, the longer of the two originates at the spine,

...both muscles end at the same place, at the upper thigh bone. It is at this point where a hip flexor injury is most likely to occur.

The Rectus Femoris is one of the Quadriceps muscles, but the only one that crosses the hip joint. This muscle acts not only as a hip flexor but straightens the knee, as well.

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Hip Exercises, Hip Pain

How Important is Hip Flexor Exercise?

If the hip flexor muscles become tightened they will likely cause discomfort or pain in your pelvic area as well as your lower back and legs. This happens as a result of the tightened muscles exerting forward pull on the lower back and pelvis, and pulling the abdominal muscles forward, which in turn causes weakened stomach muscles.

As the saying goes, the best offense is a good defense. In this case your defense is hip exercise. Doing something as simple as incorporating more walking into you day will help. However, for greater benefit you should routinely include some hip flexor stretch exercise. This will increase the blood flow to your hip joint, thus making it less prone to injury and degenerative disease such as arthritis.

If you are unsure of the source of your hip pain, be sure to consult with your doctor before devising your own treatment plan.