Are you suffering from pain in your hips? Your hip flexors could be unusually tight, and if the pain persists no matter how much you stretch, it might be time for physiotherapy intervention. If you’re an athlete, hip flexor weakness in Brampton can seriously affect your performance by interfering with your stability. For others, sitting all day at a desk job can lead to tight, weak hip flexors.
What are hip flexors?
The hip flexors are made up of three different muscles at the front of your hip. Two make up the iliopsoas, and the third is the rectus femoris, part of your quadriceps. They flex to bring your knees to your chest, for example. When you’re sitting, the muscles are shortened; standing lengthens them. This is why sitting at a desk job all day can ensure that your hip flexors get used to their shortened position, and why no amount of stretching seems to lengthen them.
Your hip flexors are likely overworked when they feel tight after exercise and stretching. When they’re shortened, they’re also weaker. To eliminate your hip flexor pain, you’ll need to strengthen the muscles.
If you’re an athlete experiencing knee pain, the hip flexors may be the root cause of your issues. Hips have a great impact on knee stability, so your physiotherapist may determine that your hip flexor weakness in Brampton needs to be addressed to help solve your knee pain.
Weak hip flexors can also cause gait issues, spine curvature, weakened abdominal muscles and tight hamstrings.
How can physiotherapy help?
Physiotherapy addresses hip flexor weakness on a holistic level, including strengthening the muscles. You can extend and even lengthen the muscle fiber through eccentric strength exercises, taking your muscles through their full range of motion and ensuring that they get a workout.
When you’re strengthening your hip flexors, your goal is to be able to bend at the hips whether your knees are bent or straight. This will require the three muscles in your hip flexors to be stretched in different ways.
Your physiotherapist will work with you to design an individual exercise program, along with providing further education, nutrition information and possibly other methods in order to eliminate the tightness. Some of the exercises may include straight leg lifts, hanging leg raises, laying-down hip flexion, standing kickouts and more.
You may find that all of your physical ailments are solved when your hip flexors are strengthened, but in some cases, it will be part of an overall treatment program. No matter what, we can all benefit from having strong hip flexors.
Remedy hip flexor weakness in Brampton
Paramount Physiotherapy & Sports Injuries Clinic provides physical therapy interventions, with a focus on manual therapy. If you’ve noticed hip flexor weakness in Brampton, let us help you solve it with exercise, manual therapy, education, modalities and more. Our holistic approach is designed to help you improve your strength and get back to your daily activities pain-free. Call us today to set up your first physiotherapy appointment.