Tight hip flexors rarely cause back pain on their own. How to test what is actually limiting you, and a 10-minute routine that reduces the ache.
By Coach Voris, NASM-CPT · Recovery · lower back pain, hip flexors, mobility, recovery, pain relief
"Tight hip flexors" is the most common self-diagnosis I hear for lower back pain. Sometimes it is part of the story. Often the hip flexors are not tight at all; they are working overtime because the muscles around them are not doing their jobs. This is educational information, not medical advice. Pain with numbness, tingling, leg weakness, or bladder changes needs a physician, not a stretch. A muscle can feel tight for three different reasons, and the fix differs for each: 1. Genuinely short. Range of motion is limited even when you are fully relaxed. 2. Protectively stiff. Range is fine passively, but the muscle guards under load. 3. Overworked. The muscle is holding a position no one else is holding, so it never gets to let go. Stretching helps the first case, temporarily calms the second, and does almost nothing for the third, which is the most common in desk-bound people with back ache. Sit at the edge of a firm table, lie back, and pull both knees to your chest. Lower one leg while keeping the other hugged in.…