Tight Hips

Hips// Did you know lots of people suffer from tight hips and they don’t even realise? For the millions of us suffering from Lower Back Pain (LBP), most do not realize that tight hip flexors are also a source of what is hurting us. Causes of tight hips can be caused by people who spend several hours a day sitting to regular gym-goers and professional athletes. Tight hips may put you at increased risk for injury due to the increased demands on tissues that aren’t moving properly.

A sedentary lifestyle can lead to tight hip flexors and hip flexor pain. That’s because excessive sitting causes the muscles to relax and deactivate. They become progressively weaker and shorter, sometimes causing a painful condition called adaptive shortening. Tight hips may also be caused by: *standing after long periods of sitting *a tipped pelvis, which creates a structural imbalance *postural habits like leaning over into one hip or leaning forward into both hips when standing *sleeping all night on the same side of the body *having one leg longer than the other *Tight hips may also flare up when you perform lower body exercises, like squats and deadlifts.

What’s the answer? So if you suffering from lower back pain it could be related to the L5 & S1 (see image).

Stretching can help to loosen these muscles which will then increase the mobility. Added are images of some simple exercises for stretching the hip flexors, also using a foam rollers and massaging the area will also help. Stretching the hips and the lower lumber spine can help improve symptoms. Both Pilates & Yoga offer exercises to stretch and strengthen these areas. www.balancefitt.com