Why hip flexors hurt

You are here Sports Injuries Hip Injuries. Understanding Hip Flexor Pain share pin it Newsletters. By Charles Claps, DO. Peer Reviewed. Editor's Top Picks. Flexors are flexible muscle tissues that help a person stretch and move. The muscles that help you lift your knee toward your body and bend at the waist are known as the hip flexors. These muscles are located around the upper and inner thighs and pelvic region. Keeping the hip flexors strong is particularly important for active people and athletes.

While hip flexor strains are typically not serious, they can be quite painful and severely limit your activity and mobility. Airrosti rapidly resolves most hip flexor injuries in as few as 3 visits — without the need for injections, medications, or long periods of rest.

Overuse or overstretching of these muscles and tendons can result in injury and accompanying pain, as well as reduced mobility. After slowly lowering the leg, the same is repeated on the opposite side. For minor hip flexor injuries, people do not usually visit their doctor but prefer to treat themselves from home. When taking these medicines, it is important to follow the instructions and not to use them for more than 10 days.

If the pain persists after 10 days, a person may wish to make an appointment with their doctor to discuss alternative treatments. In more severe cases, a doctor will usually recommend an X-ray, MRI , or CT scan to ascertain whether the bone has been fractured. When the damage is unusually extensive, a doctor may recommend that an individual sees a physical therapist or undergoes surgery to repair the muscle. However, instances of damage this severe are rare.

If hip flexor strain causes a limp or the symptoms do not get better after resting and treating at home for a week, it may be advisable to see a doctor. People who are particularly vulnerable to hip flexor strain, such as athletes or those who regularly participate in vigorous activities that could damage or overstretch the hip flexors, can take precautions to avoid injury.

Ensuring muscles are properly warmed up before taking part in physical activity, and doing exercises to strengthen the muscles, can help to keep the area flexible and strong, and reduce the chances of damage occurring.

Hip flexor strain can be painful and uncomfortable but is rarely a cause for concern. How long the strain takes to heal will depend on the severity of the injury but is usually a few weeks for mild strains and up to 6 weeks for more serious damage. Rest and stopping activities that might have caused the strain will give a person the best chance to heal and recover quickly. Irritable hip is a common cause of hip pain and limping in children before they reach puberty.

It may develop after an injury or a viral infection, or…. Sciatica is nerve pain that runs through the buttocks, down the back of the leg and into the ankle or foot. It is a symptom of several different back…. Learn about a number of exercises to stretch and strengthen the hip flexors, muscles that grow tight through prolonged periods of sitting. Anterior pelvic tilt occurs when the pelvis is misaligned. Siegrist, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in Rochester, N. You put a lot of stress on your hip flexors when you sprint or kick.

Hip flexor pain is usually felt in the upper groin region, where the thigh meets the pelvis. To avoid hip flexor pain, you should pay more attention to these muscles, Dr. Siegrist explains. When you are seated, your knees are bent and your hip muscles are flexed and often tighten up or become shortened.