Hip flexor tightness can happen for many reasons but it always seems to cause problems if it sticks around for long enough. Sometimes it can cause back pain, sometimes hip pain, sometimes knee pain, and sometimes it doesn’t cause any pain at all.
.
In this example we will say I have tightness and discomfort in my hips and low back when I bench press. When laying down I have to maintain a bigger than normal arch in my low back because the muscles that attach to the front of my hip are contracting when I really don’t want them to.
.
In order to have a comfortable setup in my bench press I need to calm down my hip flexors so that my lower back can relax and I can get into the best position to press.
.
In this example we trick the brain into calming down the tone of the flexor group by gently contracting the opposing muscle group (in this case the hamstrings act as a knee flexor and hip extensor).
.
It’s important to follow the steps in the video for an optimal setup. When you grab your opposite leg and bring it to your chest you are creating a posterior pelvic tilt. This is the exact opposite position in which your overactive hip flexors are keeping you in. Then by gently isometrically contracting the hamstrings against resistance you send a signal to the brain that tells the hip flexors to lighten up their force so that the hamstrings can work more efficiently. The end result is a normalization of the hip flexor tone and less tension in the lower back.