Pulled hip flexor - aftercare; Hip flexor injury - aftercare; Hip flexor tear - aftercare; Iliopsoas strain - aftercare; Strained iliopsoas muscle - aftercare; Torn iliopsoas muscle - aftercare; Psoas strain - aftercare
More About Your Injury
Hip flexors allow you to flex your hip and bend your knee. Sudden movements, such as sprinting, kicking, and changing direction while running or moving, can stretch and tear the hip flexors.
Runners, people who do martial arts, and football, soccer, and hockey players are more likely to have this type of injury.
Other factors that can lead to hip flexor strain include:
Weak muscles
Not warming up
Stiff muscles
Trauma or falls
What to Expect
You will feel a hip flexor strain in the front area where your thigh meets your hip. Depending on how bad the strain is, you may notice:
Mild pain and pulling in the front of the hip.
Cramping and sharp pain. It may be hard to walk without limping.
Difficulty getting out of a chair or coming up from a squat.
Difficulty with climbing stairs or walking up or down sloped surfaces.
Severe pain, spasms, bruising and swelling. The top of the thigh muscle may budge. It will be hard to walk. These are signs of a complete tear, which is less common. You may have some bruising down the front of your thigh a few days after injury.
Follow these steps for the first few days or weeks after your injury:
Rest. Stop any activity that causes pain.
Gentle stretching to extend your hip can help with recovery.
Ice the area for 20 minutes every 3 to 4 hours for 2 to 3 days. Do not apply ice directly to your skin. Wrap the ice in a clean cloth first.
You can use ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) to reduce pain and swelling. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) helps with pain, but not with swelling. You can buy these pain medicines at the store.
Talk with your health care provider before using pain medicines if you have heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, or have had stomach ulcers or internal bleeding in the past.
Do not take more than the amount recommended on the bottle or by your provider.
Activity
Your provider may recommend that as you rest the area, you do exercises that don't strain the hip flexors, such as swimming.
For a severe strain, you may want to see a physical therapist (PT). The PT will work with you to:
Stretch and strengthen your hip flexor muscles and other muscles that surround and support that area.
Guide you in increasing your activity level so you can return to your activities.
Follow your provider's recommendations for rest, ice, and pain relief medicines. If you are seeing a PT, be sure to do the exercises as directed. Following a care plan will help your muscles heal and likely prevent future injury.
When to Call the Doctor
Contact your provider if you do not feel better in a few weeks with treatment.
References
Huntoon E, Louise K, Caldwell M. Lower limb pain and dysfunction. In: Cifu DX, ed. Braddom's Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 36.
Obrock BR, Bankhead CP, Richter D. Hip and thigh contusions and strains. In: Miller MD, Thompson SR, eds. DeLee, Drez, & Miller's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 87.
Version Info
Last reviewed on: 4/24/2023
Reviewed by: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
It typically requires one to three weeks of rest and treatment to recover from mild conditions fully. On the other hand, more severe cases can take around four to six weeks or longer. In addition, injuries that did not receive immediate treatment may take months to recover fully and may also cause chronic pain.
Failing to rest and recover a hip flexor strain usually only results in a worse injury and greater pain at a later time. If your hip flexor strain is causing you to limp or your symptoms do not improve after at-home treatments for seven days, call your doctor.
A person may want to consider limiting going up or down stairs or walking long distances; however, activities should not be completely avoided. Applying ice or heat to the affected area of the hip or groin.
Light exercise is encouraged to relieve hip flexor pain. There are several exercises recommended to stretch, strengthen, and reduce hip pain. These exercises do not require any equipment and can easily be done at home.
Causes of hip flexor strains include: Overuse: Repeating the same motion — whether at work or during an activity like playing sports — can lead to overuse syndrome. Not stretching or warming up before exercise: Stretching before exercise gradually increases how much stress you put on your muscles.
Football, hockey, running, and martial arts are more likely to create this type of injury. However, there are also aggravating factors that can lead to hip flexor strain include, such as: Weak muscles surrounding the hip flexors. Not warming up/ poorly conditioned muscles.
Hip flexor pain is typically made worse during certain activities or during specific movements, such as: Prolonged sitting, such as sitting during the day at an office job or a long car trip. Going up or down stairs. Bending the knee to the chest (for example, to tie a shoe)
Try adding a pillow or bolster under your knees. Not only does this further ease strain on your hip flexors, but it can also help you stay on your back through the night. That added bit of extra support might be what you need to wake up without pain that's worse than the night before.
In a word - yes. Generally speaking, massage therapy can be highly beneficial for relieving pain and tightness in any of the body's muscles, and the hip flexors are no different.
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