Hip flexor tendonitis is a common problem that a lot of people don’t know about. Athletes are usually the people who develop this problem, but anyone can get it.
Your hip flexors are responsible for bending your hips and rotating your thigh bone when you walk, turn, and run. These muscles in your hip flexor are bonded together by connective tissues known as tendons. When your tendons become overworked or injured it can cause a lot of tightness, pain, and strain.
Hip Flexor Tendonitis Treatment
If you develop tendonitis in your hip flexors for whatever reason there are some things you can do to fix the problem. The first thing you need to do is rest the area. As soon as you know you’re suffering from hip flexor tendonitis you should immediately rest yourself.
Resting involves staying away from doing certain activities (especially the physical activity that caused the problem to begin with) until the area heals itself. This means not participating in any sports, not moving around more than you have to, and try to stay in the bed if you don’t have to go anywhere. Resting is essential to recovering from the tendonitis in your hips, which usually takes up to 6 weeks.
Another step in your hip tendonitis treatment is to ice the affected area. Icing the affected area means applying an ice pack to the front area of your hips for at least 20 minutes every few hours each day. You can get ice packs to keep your hip flexors on the ice at your local pharmacy at a reasonable price.
Hip Tendonitis Exercises
Along with resting and icing, there are also exercises that can really help treat the tendonitis inside your hip flexors. Below you’ll find a couple great exercises that will help improve your hip mobility and reduce chronic pain due to hip tendonitis.
Pelvic Tilt
The pelvic tilt will help treat hip flexor tendonitis by strengthening your hip flexor muscles. To do this exercise you’ll need to start off on your back on the floor.
Now tighten up your abdominal muscles and buttocks and push your lower back into the ground.
With your knees bent, go ahead and raise your left leg off the ground and then lower it. Next, go ahead and elevate and lower your right leg as if you were marching.
Every time you raise your leg up off the ground go ahead and hold the position for at least 15 seconds and then lower the leg. For the best results make sure you do this exercise at least 10 times each time.
Hip Stretch
This hip stretch exercise will help increase hip mobility by strengthening the tendons in your hips. To do this hip stretch start off by getting into a kneeling position.
Next, you’ll need to bring one of your legs out in front of you and bend it at the knees. Make sure you keep your foot of the leg outstretched in front of you flat on the floor.
While keeping your back straight go-ahead push your hips in a forward position until you begin to feel the stretch. Hold this stretch for at least 20 seconds before switching to your opposite knee in front of you. Do this hip flexor strength training exercise 5 to 10 times daily.
Conclusion
Just because you have hip flexor tendonitis doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about it. Begin resting, icing, and doing the exercises listed above regularly to quickly recover from your hip tendonitis and return to the sport and other activities you love.
