If you’re an athlete, you probably have tight hips. And if you’re a lazy bones who sits too much, you probably have tight hips. In fact, it seems almost impossible to escape tight hips, unless of course, you’re a yogi. Not only do we have a whole category of poses called Hip Openers, but these poses have you covered from every angle—inside (the groin and adductors), outside (the glutes and external rotators) and across the front of your hip (hip flexors and quads).
In this article, I’ll cover the causes and effects of tight hips and recommend three different types of poses that you can practice to loosen them up.
HOW DO HIPS MOVE?
Below are the movements available at the hips and the muscles responsible:
- Flexion (bringing your knee into your chest)—primarily the hip flexors, including the psoas and rectus femoris.
- Extension (swinging your leg back behind you)—primarily the gluteus maximus and hamstrings.
- Abduction (swinging the leg out to the side)—gluteus medius and minimus, piriformis and tensor fascia latae.
- Adduction (bringing the leg back into the midline)—adductors, including the groin.
- External rotation—gluteus maximus, piriformis, quadriceps and the external rotators, including the obturators and gemilli.
- Internal rotation—gluteus medius and minimus, TFL and adductors.
WHAT CAUSES TIGHT HIPS?
Your body is an efficiency machine that adapts to make it as easy possible to do your most common activities. This means that you lose the ability to get into positions and perform movements that you have systematically neglected over time. And that the activity you do with the greatest intensity, overdevelops certain muscles while others become relatively weak. Both overworked and underused muscles can feel ‘tight’, as can painful areas.
HOW DO SPORTS EXACERBATE TIGHT HIPS?
- CHRONIC CONTRACTION. Most of us are sedentary for the majority of the day. We sit at work, on our bicycles, while we’re travelling, eating and relaxing in front of the TV. Sitting chronically shortens the hip flexors and adductors (inner thigh muscles), and over time, you body adapts and you lose access to your full range of motion.
- LIMITED MOVEMENT PATTERNS. Your hips are designed to flex (bend), extend (straighten), abduct (open), adduct (close) and rotate (turn in and out). Your sport prioritises a particular range of movements at the hip and neglects others. Again, the principle of “use it or lose it” comes into play.
- OVERUSE. Repetition of the same movement patterns over-develops certain muscles while others become relatively weak. These muscular imbalances can pull your pelvis and spine out of alignment and cause pain at your lower back.
- RECIPROCAL INHIBITION. As the hip flexors tighten from contraction and overuse, the opposing muscles—the glutes—respond by relaxing and deactivating. This process, known as reciprocal inhibition, is designed to protect the hip flexors from tearing. The result can be a further weakening of the glutes.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF INCREASING HIP MOBILITY?
Here are some of the primary benefits of loosening up tight hips. It allows you to:
- Generate more power and speed.
- Transfer your weight smoothly and efficiently to enhance control and reduce fatigue.
- Reduce your risk of injury.
- Relieve associated lower back and knee pain.
3 TYPES OF HIP OPENERS THAT LOOSEN UP TIGHT HIPS
Unlike conventional stretching, one of the main reasons that yoga is so effective at loosening up tight hips is that we stretch them from multiple different angles. As you start to tune in, you will probably discover that you are flexible in some ranges of motion and tighter in others. Try to focus on the areas that need the most attention.
If you struggle to get into any of these poses, I recommend you try one of the alternatives. When you have sufficient flexibility and range of motion, you can move up to the next level. This is going to look different for all athletes. For example, some of you may drop easily into Pigeon but struggle with Dead Pigeon, even though for many athletes, this is the easier pose. See what works for you and feel free to drop me an email if you have any questions.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF STRETCHING
At the risk of turning this article into a listicle, here are 4 types of stretching that you can play around with:
- Static stretching involves holding muscles at the end range of motion for 3-5 breaths. A great time for this type of stretching is after a workout.
- Passive stretching typically refers to longer holds of 10 breaths or more. The best time to adopt this type of stretching is in the evening when your muscles are warm and relaxed.
- Active stretching involves simultaneously activating and lengthening muscles. This type of stretching can be used before a workout.
- Dynamic stretching incorporates movement. I’ll give you some video recommendations at the end of the article to cover this aspect of your flexibility.
1. HIP FLEXOR STRETCHES
Low Lunge is the classic hip flexor stretch and in yoga there are an incredible diversity of lunge variations that you can incorporate.
WHAT ARE THE HIP FLEXORS?
The primary hip flexors are the iliopsoas, which is made up of the iliacus—originates on the pelvis and attaches on the femur, and the psoas—originates on the lumbar vertebrae and attaches to the femur. And the rectus femoris—the only one of the quadriceps muscles that crosses the hip joint. The hip flexors connect your torso to the tops of your legs.
ACTIONS OF THE HIP FLEXORS
- Hip flexion involves bringing your thigh towards your abdomen.
DO YOU HAVE TIGHT HIP FLEXORS?
If you spend a considerable amount of time sitting and don’t have a regular yoga practice, you probably have tight hip flexors. And as the psoas attaches to all 5 lumbar vertebrae, when it’s tight, it can pull on the spine and cause lower back pain.
KEY POSES
- Static: Low Lunge, Half-Twisted Lizard
- Passive: Lizard, Half-Reclining Hero
- Active: Runners Lunge, High Lunge
2. GROIN STRETCHES
Many athletes don’t realise that they have a tight groin until they start practicing yoga. At this stage, they discover that they can’t comfortably sit cross-legged and in this way, yoga can act as a diagnostic tool.
WHAT IS THE GROIN?
The groin is the upper inner thigh. It’s closely related to the hip adductors, which are the 5 inner thigh muscles that lie in between your quads and hamstrings. These 5 adductors originate from the pubic and sitting bones. Two are short—the pectineus and the adductor brevis—and attach to the back of the upper femur (thighbone). Two are longer—the adductor longus and adductor magnus—and attach lower down the femur. The longest—gracilis—attaches below the knee, to the upper tibia (shinbone).
When the adductors are both strong and supple, they can be a great source of power and stability.
ACTIONS OF THE ADDUCTORS
- When the adductors contract, they squeeze your thighs together. This is known as hip adduction.
- They assist the hip flexors (psoas and iliacus) and abductors (glutes and TFL) in flexing, extending and rotating your hip.
- The gracilis assists the hamstrings in knee flexion and stabilisation.
- They co-contract with the hip abductors to stabilise the hips and pelvis.
IS YOUR GROIN TIGHT?
Here is a simple test you can do. Lie on your back with butt against the wall and your legs straight up. Allow your legs to fall open (abduct), as you maintain contact with the wall. You should see at least a 90-degree angle between your legs.
KEY POSES
- Static: Head-To-Knee, Side Lunge, Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend
- Passive: Wide Knee Child’s Pose, Folded Butterfly, Reclining Butterfly, Happy Baby
- Active: Extended Side Angle, Yoga Squat
3. HIP ROTATOR STRETCHES
Pigeon pose is commonly a godsend for athletes who have lost access to full internal and external hip rotation. In many sports, you draw your thighs together and rarely have to open them wide and take them through full range of motion.
WHAT ARE THE HIP ROTATORS?
- The lateral rotators are the piriformis, gemellus superior, obturator internus, gemellus inferior, quadratus femoris and the obturator externus.
- The glutes can also laterally rotate the femur, when the hip is extended. The gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus and tensor fasciae latae.
KEY POSES
- Static: Dead Pigeon, Half–Seated Spinal Twist
- Passive: Pigeon, Reclining Spinal Twist
- Active: Eagle
YOUR 5 VIDEOS TO LOOSEN UP TIGHT HIPS
If you are a subscriber to Yoga 15, you’ll find sequences designed to loosen up tight hips across all 5 disciplines—Balance, Flexibility, Mobility, Strength and Recovery. Here are 5 to get you started:
- Recovery: Loose Hips
- Flexibility: Hip Openers I
- Strength: Lower Body Strength
- Balance: Moon Landing
- Mobility: Lunge Flow
And if you’re not a subscriber yet, what are you waiting for?! Sign up for your Free 14-Day Trial today!
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