Lower back pain. Perhaps your hip flexors are the culprit
We know that sitting all day can have detrimental effects to our health and posture.
In this article, we will look at the hip flexors and how prolonged sitting often results in tight hip flexors, poor posture and lower back pain.
What are the hip flexors?
People often talk about having tight hip flexors as if they were one muscle. However, the hip flexors are a group of muscles that are responsible…well for hip flexion.
So what is hip flexion, you ask? Well it is simply the way we describe the process of lifting your knee straight up in front of you.
They are composed of the iliopsoas, the tensor fasciae latae (TFL), the satorius and the rectus femoris but for the purposes of this article, we will treat them as one group of muscles.
https://thebarbellphysio.com/your-hip-flexors-arent-tight-how-to-truly-fix-tight-hips/
What causes tight hip flexors?
Our busy but sedentary lives are a major cause of tight hip flexors.
Many of us spend most of the day sitting.
We wake up and SIT for breakfast
We SIT in the car on the way to work
We SIT at work
We SIT for lunch (often at the same place that we SIT all day for work)
We SIT in the car on the way home
We SIT for dinner
We SIT and watch Netflix (often whilst eating dinner)
As we SIT, our body adapts to that position as the norm. This is the position with our hips in flexion (our knees elevated in front of us).
Our hip flexors learn to relax and deactivate becoming weaker and shorter.
https://www.healthline.com/health/tight-hips#causes
What happens when we have tight hip flexors?
How bodies are inherently very smart and seek to protect us…often from ourselves.
When our hip flexors become weak and short, our body inhibits or turns off the opposing muscle group (our butt muscles, our gluteus maximus).
As we learned earlier, our gluteus maximus is the largely muscle in the human body. If our body did not inhibit these, when these strong muscles contracted, they would tear the weak and short hip flexors on the other side. Our body protects us from tearing our hip flexors by inhibiting our butt muscles!
Thus, tight hip flexors and inhibited glutes results in our pelvises being tilted forward which increase the curve of the lower back and pain.
https://www.handsonhealthcare.com.au/blog/5-exercises-lower-cross-syndrome/
https://www.cooperinstitute.org/2016/07/15/are-tight-hip-flexors-contributing-to-your-low-back-pain
Do you have tight hip flexors?
Here at Design Your Life, we seek to use science to give you new perspectives and information to help you design the life you want, today. However, we would always recommend that you seek professional medical and fitness advice for your own individual body.
Many people see the issues they have above and immediately diagnose themselves as having tight hip flexors. However, there are many causes for these issues and this might not be the case. So, how do you know if you have tight hip flexors?
The best way is to do a functional screening and muscle length test with a physiotherapist or personal trainer who is trained to undertake such an assessment.
However, you can do this test at home to get a good indication. Essentially, you lie on a flat surface (a massage table works well) with one leg toward your chest and the other with the but on the edge and the leg hanging over the edge. Your thigh should be parallel to the ground, your knee should be able to bend to 90 degrees without your tight raising and the knee should be aligned with the hip (not facing in or out). If this is not the case, it indicates tightness in one of the hip flexor muscles.
https://thebarbellphysio.com/your-hip-flexors-arent-tight-how-to-truly-fix-tight-hips/
So, I have tight hip flexors…what can I do about it?
Joint mobility
Leg swing
Standing on one leg (hold onto something for balance if you need), and swing the other leg in a controlled manner back and forward.
https://www.hss.edu/conditions_dynamic-static-stretching.asp#swing
Walking lunge
With the rear leg on the mat, step the front leg forward. Ensure that your front knee does not go further forward than your front foot and that your lower back does not execessive arching.
Start in the push-up position and step one foot forward to the outside of the same-side hand. Stretch the hips forward and hold for a couple of seconds before returning to the push-up position. Repeat on the other leg.
Self-Myofascial Release (SMFR) / Self-massage
Yoga Poses
The follow yoga poses are great for lengthening the hip flexors.
Low Lunge
1. Start in downward facing dog
2. Step one foot forward between your heels with the knee over the heel
3. Lower the rear knee for the floor and slide it back until you feel a stretch
4. Lift your torso and arms toward the ceiling/sky. Draw your tailbone toward the floor
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/low-lunge
Dancer’s Pose
1. Bring one foot up and hold in the same arm
2. Extend the thigh behind you
3. Extend the other arm forward (or hold on to a wall for support)
https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/lord-of-the-dance-pose
Pigeon Pose
1. Start in downward facing dog
2. Move one knee forward to the same wrist
3. Slide the rear leg backward and untuck the toes.
4. Place a blanket or block if your hips are elevated
5. Lower to elbows if comfortable
https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/proper-pigeon-pose
Conclusion
In our daily lives of sitting, our hip flexors can get weak and tight causes a tilt in our pelvis and strain on our lower back. Try the Thomson test to see if your hip flexors are tight and see a health professional if you are experiencing any pain. Additionally, these joint mobility, self-massage and yoga techniques may help to assist you in re-lengthening those tight hip-flexors. restore your posture and relieve tension in the lower back.
You can also come to a Recharge class and we’ll go through these techniques with you.
The EVERDAY can lead to tight hip-flexors.