Do You Have a Hip Flexor Strain?
By Sara Butler
Do you routinely have hip soreness or pain, but no earthly idea why or where it came from? Your hip flexors may just be the culprit. Here’s what you need to know about your hip flexors, how you can strain them, and how your chiropractor can help.
Hip Flexor Strain Symptoms
Your hip flexors are a group of small muscles that connect your pelvis and lower spine together, as well as to your groin and upper thighs. When you strain your hip flexors, you’ve either overextended or torn your hips flexor muscles, which leads to these common symptoms:
- Swelling
- Tenderness
- Weakness around the affected area
- Inflammation
- Pain
What Causes a Hip Flexor Strain?
There are many things that cause a hip flexor strain, and a few of them may surprise you. That’s because being sedentary can increase your chances of damaging your hip flexors -- it’s not just an injury of the very active. The most common causes of hip flexor strain include:
- Extended periods of sitting
- Pushing too hard during athletic training
- Joint stiffness
- Muscle imbalances
- Decreased pelvic stability
- Poor posture
- Fatigue
- Poor biomechanics
How Your Chiropractor Can Help
The good news is that if you find yourself with a hip flexor strain, your chiropractor is the perfect person to help you. They can provide very effective treatment of this kind of injury to get you back on the road to health and wellness, including:
- Rest – Your chiropractor may recommend you take time to rest the area so you don’t damage it further. You may not be able to jump, run, or do any other activity that would damage the area until you are healed. They will be able to let you know how long you may have to rest after a complete examination of the injury.
- Ice therapy – One of the best ways to treat inflammation and pain is with ice therapy. You should apply ice packs to the area in regular intervals in order to help control the pain and swelling. Later on your chiropractor may also urge you to try heat therapy, but that won’t be until you’re on your way to healing.
- Stretching – One of the reasons your hip flexors may have been damaged is because you were sitting too much, causing them to shorten. Stretching out your hip flexors is a great way to help keep the injury from recurring.
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.