How to Stretch

When learning how to stretch it is important to take into consideration the variables that exist when stretching:

• alignment and stabilization of the body
• magnitude of the stretch
• duration of the stretch
• speed of the stretch
• frequency of stretching
• the mode or method of stretching
• how to integrate functional activities or sport specific movements into stretching

Glute Exercises That Fix Tight Hip Flexors

Your glutes are the muscles located in your butt and hips, and your main glute muscle -- the gluteus maximus -- is the strongest muscle in the body. This is the muscle that allows you to straighten your leg at the hip when you walk, run or climb, and also when you get up from a sitting position. Your hip flexors assist your glutes in allowing you to bend your body in half at the hip and trunk, and so by performing glute exercises, you can stretch your hip flexors, removing any tightness you may be feeling after a long day at the office.

Feeling a Little Up and Down

The lunge and the squat are easy to perform exercises that you can do using your own body weight and balance. The lunge requires you to step forward and bend down with one leg while keeping your back straight. The squat also requires you to bend down, but this time, you bend your knees and lower your body straight down instead of forward and down.

Abductor Exercises for Women

Hip abductions generally work the very small muscles on the outside of your hip and at the top of your thigh. However, small doesn't mean unimportant, as strengthening these muscles -- the gluteus medius and minimus and the tensor faciae -- means you’ll be steadier on your feet and in a better position to avoid hip and lower back problems as you get older. Some also strengthen the gluteus maximus, the large muscle of your buttocks involved in everyday activities like walking and running. As with many forms of exercise, visual results can be impressive, but the physical benefits of engaging your hip flexors and strengthening your glutes will be worth their weight in gold.

The Benefits of Abductor Muscle Exercises

Abduction is the lateral movement away from the mid-line of your body. You can abduct your shoulders, wrists and hips, but when people talk about abductor muscles they are usually referring to hip abductors. Your hip abductors open your thighs out to the side and stabilize your pelvis when you walk or stand on one foot. Among other things, your hip abductor muscles help you walk, run, play sports, dance, get into and out of a car and get onto and off of a bicycle. Abductor muscle exercises help coordinate movements, improve functional fitness, enhance core stability and prevent injuries.

Improve Functional Fitness

Movement patterns require cooperation among multiple muscle groups and joints. Some muscles create the movement while others stabilize your body. Depending on the situation, your hip abductors may serve as movers or as stabilizers. The primary hip abductor muscles are the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus and tensor fascia lata. When one or more of these muscles is weak, your core stability will suffer and your pelvis may tilt to one side when standing on one foot. This will affect your ability to walk, run, step up or lunge. Strong abductor muscles improve functional fitness and prepare your body to perform well in any situation.

Hip Abductor Muscles Exercises

Hip abduction is when the upper-leg bone, the femur, is moved out to the side and away from the body. Hip abduction exercises are important because they strengthen the muscles that stabilize the femur into the hip joint. To work the hip abductor muscles, perform the hip abduction exercises one to three times a week. These exercises will challenge and tone the hip abductor muscles.

Anatomy of Hip Abductors

A total of six muscles collaborate to perform hip abduction. The sartorius muscle commences at the top, front of your hip and extends into your inner, lower leg bone. The tensor fascia latae is a small muscle that sits on the outer portion of your hip and inserts into your iliotibial band. The gluteus maximus is the largest and outermost butt muscle. It too inserts into the iliotibial band. The gluteus medius lies underneath the gluteus maximus and the gletus minimus lies underneath the gluteus medius. The piriformis starts at your sacrum and stretches out to your femur.

Stretches for Abductor Muscles

The hip abductor muscles include the gluteus medius, gluteus minimum, sartorius and tensor fascia latae (TFL) muscles of the buttocks and outer thigh. These muscles move the hip away from you in a sideways direction, which is called hip abduction. When these muscles are tight, it limits your hip mobility. Stretching the abductors several days a week or more will increase flexibility.

Standing Abductor Stretch

The standing abductor stretch is an easy way to target your abductors. Stand up tall, cross your right foot behind your left and bend from the waist toward the foot that's behind the other. This targets the hip abductors on the left side of your body. Holding on to a chair or placing your hands against a wall lets you easily maintain your balance. Twenty seconds is the right amount of time to hold this stretch, according to The Stretching Institute. The muscles on the right side of your body stretch the same way with your feet in the opposite positions.

How to Treat a Hip Flexor Strain

The hip flexor is the group of muscles located in the front portion of your hip that allows for forward motion when your run or walk. When kicking or sprinting, large amounts of stress are applied to the hip flexor. This stress can result in a hip flexor strain. A hip flexor strain is the tearing or stretching of a muscle or a tendon, according to Kapi'Olani Orthopaedic Associates. The hip flexor may become inflamed and painful. A hip flexor strain requires treatment.

Hip Flexor Strain Treatment

Step 1

Visit your family doctor. If you suspect you have a hip flexor strain, a trip to your family doctor can help to determine exactly what is wrong. An examination of your hip and thigh will allow your doctor to come to a diagnosis. Further testing may be required if your doctor suspects a severe strain or further injury.

Step 2

Ice your hip flexor muscles. Place ice packs on your injury for 30 minutes at a time. You should ice your hip flexor every three to four hours. Continue this treatment for the next two to three days or until you are pain-free.

Exercises for Hip Flexor Strain

Overview

A common sports injury, hip flexor strain causes pain in the group of muscles at the front of the hip or groin. Your hip flexors help you to lift your knees and bend at the waist. A strain results from micro-tears due to overuse or a sudden contraction during stretching, sprinting or kicking exercises. To ease the pain, perform hip flexor exercises three times daily, provided the exercises don't cause more strain.

Quadriceps Stretch

Stretch your quadriceps, the muscle on the front of your thigh, and your hip flexor at the same time with a quadriceps stretch. There are two ways to perform this stretch, standing or sitting. 

Swimming for Hip Flexor Injuries

The hip flexor muscles lie under your abdominal muscles. A group of muscles that includes the psoas major and minor, iliacus, sartorius and rectus femoris, the hip flexors connect your thighs to your pelvis. When they contract, these muscles bring your thigh and torso closer together. Because the hip flexors play a part in swim kicks, you might not be able to swim if you have an injury to one of these muscles.

Notes from Research

A 2010 article in “The Open Sports Medicine Journal” discovered gaps in the literature about rehabilitation and return to play criteria for hip flexor injuries. The type of injury, cause and symptoms play a significant role in determining the most beneficial exercises for your rehabilitation. Swimming may be one alternative exercise to include during your recovery, but it comes with some precautions. Consult with your doctor or an exercise professional before swimming with a hip flexor problem.

Hip Flexor Strengthening Exercises

Overview

At the hip joint, your pelvis and femur -- the largest bone in your body -- join together. Many different muscles cross this important joint, allowing you to sit and stand, walk, cycle, run, and perform other movements. Your hip flexor muscles consist primarily of the rectus femoris -- one of the quadriceps on the front of your thighs -- and the iliopsoas, which is actually a group of muscles that includes the psoas major, psoas minor and the iliacus. Together, the hip flexors flex your hip, bringing your thighs and torso closer together.

Decline Sit-ups

Hip flexor exercises also work your abdominals. The decline sit-up, for example, targets your lower abs and hip flexors simultaneously. To do these, hook your lower legs under the supports on a decline bench and lie face-up with your hands on the sides of your head. Keeping your back as straight as possible, lift your torso off the bench and come to an upright position. Slowly lower yourself back down and repeat. To increase the resistance with this exercise, hold a weight plate or medicine ball against your chest.

Stretches for the Iliacus Muscle

The iliacus muscle is often grouped in with the psoas major muscle and called the iliopsoas. The Sports Injury Clinic notes that the muscle is located on the outside of the hip and it is responsible for hip flexion, hip rotation and flexing the torso. A few different stretches are available to work the iliacus muscle.

Kneeling Hip Flexor

The Sports Injury Clinic notes that the kneeling hip flexor stretch is a common and effective move used to stretch the muscles at the front of the hip. Kneel on the floor, step one foot forward, knee bent at a 90-degree angle. Curl the toes of the back leg under and square your hips to feel the stretch in the back-leg hip. Hold the stretch for at least 15 seconds and then switch legs and repeat.

Hip Tendinitis Stretches

Overview

Hip tendinitis stretches ease the discomfort of the inflamed tendons of muscles surrounding the hip joint. The muscles crossing from the pelvis to the femur, or leg bone, begin and end as tendons. The hamstrings, adductors, psoas and iliacus muscles are a few of the muscles responsible for hip flexion, extension and rotation.

Standing Hip Extensor Stretch I

The three hamstring muscles and the adductor muscles share an attachment on the ischial tuberosity, a protrusion of the pelvic bones easily identified in a seated position. This is the protrusion making contact with the sitting surface and the bones felt beneath the buttocks. Hamstring tendons may be aggravated with excessive use of the hamstring muscles as in too much running, a quick change in the speed/incline of a run and through excessive loads during weight training. Perform a hip extensor stretch near a bar or table a little above hip height. Bring the right heel onto the table with the left foot on the floor. Hold on to the table for balance and bend the right knee about 60 degrees. Press the pelvis into the right hip, forcing body weight onto the ischial tuberosity, the origin of the hamstrings and adductors. Change the angle of the stretch by drawing the right knee inward and outward. Hold each stretch for 10 seconds, three times. Alternate hips as a preventative measure for the uninjured side.

How to Gain Leg and Hip Flexibility

You develop flexibility of your leg muscles just as you would train to improve your muscular tone. A regular program of stretching exercises will improve the flexibility of your leg muscles and the range of motion about your hip, knee and ankle joints. Furthermore, just as you will lose muscle tone when you stop resistance training, so too will you lose your flexibility if you stop stretching. The best time to stretch is after an aerobic exercise session when your muscles, tendons and ligaments are most plastic or can better lengthen.

Calves

Step 1

Begin your stretching routine with an exercise for your calves, which are muscles that are more prone to becoming very tight especially if you wear high heels or run on your toes.

Exercises to Improve Hip Flexibility

Overview

Your hip joint is the site where your leg meets your pelvis. Because of the great number of muscles acting on or crossing over your hip joint, and because of these muscles' propensity to become tight and inflexible with disuse or overuse, it's important for you to participate in a regular stretching routine that targets your psoas, hamstrings and piriformis muscles. Regular stretching for hip flexibility is particularly important for athletes, to lower the risk for injury in demanding sports.

8 Stretches Your Tight Hips Are Begging For

Tight hips seem to be a common problem for almost everybody — from runners to cyclists, from deskbound bloggers to dancers. Give this area a little extra love with this sequence of eight hip-opening stretches to increase your flexibility, reduce discomfort, and prevent injury. Try the series in the order listed here, or pick your favorites to incorporate into your workout routine.

Happy Baby

This calming hip opener also stretches your lower back.

• Begin lying flat on your back. Bend both knees, and hold the outside edges of your flexed feet with your hands. Keep your arms on the outsides of your legs.
• Gently use your upper-body strength to equally press both knees to the floor below your armpits. Try not to tense your shoulders or chest, but keep everything relaxed.
• Stay here for five deep breaths.

Volleyball Warm Up Stretches

Reading Laurens Fitness and many other conditioning blogs you have probably come across a couple of articles that pretty much tell you not to do static stretching pre event or training. I like to incorporate some static stretching into my dynamic movement warm up, but I tend to get it done early, to make sure my last stimulus is a more explosive one.

Volleyball is a sport of power. If you are not an explosive machine, you are limiting yourself in your ability to succeed at a high level in this sport. There are a lot of studies, and a lot of trainers will suggest that static stretching will just about ruin your career. When you hit the court in volleyball, you want to be able to jump… as high as possible. The vertical jump is without a doubt the most important component of physical conditioning, and your warm up should be tailored to get off the ground.

5 Yoga Poses That Increase Hip Flexibility

Yoga is a wonderful tool to increase joint flexibility. Factors like sedentary lifestyles, our jobs and even our age can have strong effects on our flexibility and without it, poor postural habits and incorrect movements start to appear in our daily tasks (like going from sitting to standing and lifting). These habits, because of perceived, real or anticipated aches and stiffness can lead to joint immobility.

A regular Yoga practice can have wonderful restorative effects on your joints, muscles, organs and mind. Below are five poses that particularly increase hip flexibility.

So why am I focusing on the hips? Well your hips are situated in the center of your body, and when you can maintain and improve your flexibility in the hips, you improve the relationship with your entire body.

Hip Stretches

It is common to develop muscle imbalances around the hip. Hip stretches are part of a treatment plan to address these. In people that sit at work for long periods of time hip flexors and rotators can become tight, and gluteal muscles become weak. This can affect gait, posture, spinal stability, and movement patterns. 

Approximately 15 degrees of hip extension is required to walk normally. If hip flexors are tight then in order to walk, compensatory movement needs to take place through the lower back causing back pain and premature disc degeneration. Like other joints, if we fail to take them through their full range on a regular basis we eventually lose mobility.

Muscles of the Hip

Because the line of muscle action varies relative to the axis of rotation of the joint some muscles will have more than one action depending on the position of the hip.