The following five stretching exercises for hip pain are excellent for loosening stiff and aching hip joints so you can get back to walking, running, and being active.
Stretching Exercises for Hip Pain #1: “Will you marry me?” Pose
First, kneel on your right knee, with toes down, and place your left foot flat on the floor in front of you.
Place both hands on your left thigh and press your hips forward until you feel a good stretch in the hip flexors.
Contract your abdominals and slightly tilt your pelvis back while keeping your chin parallel to the floor.
Hold this pose for 20 to 30 seconds, and then switch sides.
So why do your hips get so tight?
Short answer: From all that sitting you’ve been doing.
If you spend hours on end in a seated position, you’re constantly contracting your hip flexors, which causes them to get shorter.
The average person spends at least a third of their day sitting down. Now think about all that time their hip flexor muscles stay shortened. That’s way too much.
Their hip flexors inevitably become tighter and tighter until the concept of standing up straight is impossible.
So unless you want to look like that, please practice this one move that will fix yours over tight hip flexors.
Stretching Exercises for Hip Pain #2: 5-minute Supine Groin Stretch
This is an excellent exercise if you have struggled to stretch your hip flexors and suffer from chronic low back pain.
The supine groin stretch is a perfect choice if your pain seems to come on suddenly and increases when you lift your thigh toward your chest.
I know 5-minutes might be a lot, but it will help you decompress after a long day.
If you’re short on time, then do a 30-second kneeling hip flexor stretch.
How to do the Supine Groin Stretch:
Start by laying flat on the floor with your arms at 45 degrees from your body, palms up.
If your right hip flexor is tight, place your left knee on a chair or ottoman.
Make sure your hip and knee are at a 90-degree angle.
Now relax your foot against an object, like a thick cushion or small weight.
The point is to keep the toe pointing up, so it doesn’t twist out, making the stretch less effective. (see image below)
Next, do a quick quad test, where you contract the thigh of the leg that is on the floor for a second, then relax. You will likely feel this close to your knee.
Now, lay there and relax for the next 5 minutes. When the 5 minutes are up, do the quad test again.
Repeat these steps until you feel the contraction closer to the middle or even the top of the thigh.
Eventually, you should feel your quad contract higher up your thigh, in the hip pocket region.
Stretching Exercises for Hip Pain #3: Pigeon Pose
© Morgan Massage. All rights reserved.
Performing the pigeon pose not only stretches the piriformis muscle (the tiny muscles in the middle of your glutes associated with sciatica pain), but it also opens up the hip flexor muscles on the opposite side.
In the picture above, you can see she’s stretching the muscles in her right hip while elongating the hip flexors (iliopsoas) muscles on the left side. The hip flexor muscles are the psoas and illacus.
Hold for 30 seconds and then repeat on the opposite side.
Stretching Exercises for Hip Pain #4: Happy Baby Pose
© Morgan Massage. All rights reserved.
This is a great stretch to do if you get hip pain at night or you need to let out a little gas.
Grab the outsides of your feet and pull towards you. Hold for 30 seconds to one minute.
This pose gently brings a greater awareness to the hip joints.
2 Helpful Tips:
Imagine you’re walking on the ceiling, so your feet should be flat, and make sure the back of your neck is flat on the floor.
Stretching Exercises for Hip Pain #5: Triangle Pose
© Morgan Massage. All rights reserved.
The Triangle Pose stretches several muscles, but I’d like to highlight that it works the hip, groin, and hamstrings for this article.
Stand straight up straight with your feet together.
Lunge your right foot back 3 to 4 feet, and then pivot and point your right foot out at a 45-degree angle.
Turn your chest to the right side and open the pose by stretching your left arm toward the floor and your right arm toward the sky or ceiling. Make sure to keep both your right and left legs straight.
You can always use a yoga block on the lower hand if you’re finding the stretch is too demanding.
Make sure not to overstretch. Only bend as far as you can while maintaining a straight back.
Hold for 20 to 30 seconds and switch sides.
Final Thoughts
The following five stretching exercises for hip pain should dramatically improve any tight hip flexors symptoms you might be feeling.
Recommended Yoga for Lower Back Pain Book
Instead of popping pain pills and opting for invasive surgery, practicing yoga is a cost-effective alternative.
Not only is yoga a more comprehensive way to stretch and strengthen the muscles and fascia of the entire body, but it engages all the fascial systems that help to hold everything together, providing stability to the lumbar spine, sacrum, and pelvis.
Stretch your lower back pain away with 21 Yoga Exercises for Lower Back Pain. Practicing these specific 21 yoga poses can help lengthen your spine, stretch and strengthen your muscles, and return your back to its proper alignment.
