Painful Hip Flexors

If you’re into to ice sports, cycling, are sitting or driving more, or have been hauling heavy packs, you may be at risk for hip flexor tightness and pain. The biggest and deepest of the hip flexors is the iliopsoas, which begins as one muscle and splits off into two, the psoas major and the iliacus. About 50% of the population also has a psoas minor muscle.

Iliopsoas trigger points can cause pain in the most unusual places, including the mid and low back, upper buttocks, hips, groin, abdomen, and pelvic floor.

Proper stretching, sleeping positions, and exercise can reduce or even eliminate this type of pain.  Short of prevention, the most important thing is that you attack the pain/injury right away and don't let it continue to worsen.

There is a great article on www.calmmindpainfreebody.com that gives some really great strategies for working with this type of injury including a variety of stretches, sleep positioning and trigger points that can really help with long term treatment.

~Noah