Many people are plagued by daily feelings of muscle tightness in their hips. Whether you sit at a desk for the majority of your day, have long commutes to/from work, or even if you make regular exercise a part of your life, you may at one time or another feel as though you have lost flexibility in your hips.
Why is hip tightness so common in both sedentary and active people? The answer lies primarily in the mechanism of perceived tightness. In the sedentary individual (someone who sits for the majority of their day), the sitting position flexes the hip joint and causes the hip flexor muscles to rest in a shortened position. When a muscle stays in a shortened position on a regular basis it can get stuck that way. In medical terms, we call it a muscle contracture. This contracture, or tightness, of the front of the hip, can cause a host of issues besides discomfort.
For the active individual, or someone who exercises regularly, the sensation of hip tightness is oftentimes not really tightness at all. These folks might stretch and foam roll religiously and yet complain that the feeling of tightness never gets better. That’s because the perceived tightness of the hip is really a muscle weakness and instability issue. This type of problem requires the strengthening of specific muscles to relieve the sensation of tightness.
How can physical therapy help?
If your hip tightness is accompanied by symptoms like pain and is preventing you from accomplishing the activities of daily living, then physical therapy can be a highly effective form of treatment. Physical therapists are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. They understand the functioning of the body’s musculoskeletal system and are trained in a variety of treatment methods that are designed to improve strength, range of motion and overall function.
The first step to addressing hip tightness is for yourphysical therapistto perform a thorough assessment of your condition. There can be a wide range of causes for hip tightness, and your therapist needs to assess the specific causes for your symptoms. Factors can include muscle tightness and or weakness, joint arthropathies, lifestyle factors, and many other issues.
Once your therapist has a better understanding of the specific causes of your hip problems, he or she can develop the right course of therapeutic exercises to improve your tight hips. Physical therapy exercises for tight hips are generally designed to accomplish the following goals:
- Increase range of motion through active and passive stretches
- Strengthen supporting muscles through targeted exercises
- Increase stability and flexibility through movement retraining
In addition to therapeutic exercises, manual therapy techniques may be used (if indicated) to help release tight hips by mobilizing soft tissue and increasing blood flow to the area.
What causes tight hips?
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
- atipped 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 can you do to help prevent or reduce your risk for tight hips?
It may be difficult to prevent tight hips, but you can reduce your risk for hip pain:
- Get up and move around every hour or so if you sit at a desk for long periods of time.
- Warm-up properly before any workout.
- Stretch at the end of every workout.
- Stretching and massage can also reduce your risk for muscle tightness and pain.
HealthQuest Physical Therapy can help!
The body is smarter than we give it credit for. It will send signals to your brain asking you to move your tight hips around in every which way in hopes of relieving the symptoms. You have two options, take action or ignore. Don’t ignore these signals because your hips will only get tighter which will cause chain reactions of other potential injuries. We do not want that to happen! Don’t let your tight hips hold you back! See your physical therapist if you have persistent pain in any part of your body. They can determine if your pain is the result of an underlying medical cause. You can schedule a free assessment at any location and we would be glad to help provide solutions for you!
