If you have problems with your hips like painful symptoms then this article will definitely help you. Below you’ll learn what’s causing the pain and how severe the problem is.
The main reason a lot of people out there suffer from hip flexor pain is due to constant sitting. When you sit down in a chair and remain seated for too long it can cause your hip flexor muscles to shorten/tighten up.
Tight or shortened hip flexor muscles is what causes the sharp pain you feel when you try to stand up or make sudden movements.
Below you’ll see 5 different causes of tight hip flexors that leads to chronic pain:
Pulled Hip Flexor
This pain is felt when you try to raise your leg upward. When you experience this type of pain it’s usually because one or more of your hip flexor muscles have been pulled out of place.
When someone pulls their hip flexor it’s usually because they were engaged in some type of explosive movement. One of the best ways to check if the pain you’re dealing with is due to a pulled hip flexor muscle you can do the Thomas Test. The thomas test will help you determine exactly what muscle in your hip flexor is giving you problems.
To do this simple self diagnostic test on your own follow the steps below:
- First you’ll need to rest your back on a flat table where both your knees can hang off at the edge
- Now using both hands grab a hold of one of your knees and flex it without bending your back. In order for this self-check to work you’ll need to make sure your upper body remains as straight as possible.
- Next go ahead and slowly lower the tested knee back onto the table.
You’ll be able to get a good idea of what muscle in this area is causing you issues by the flexion of your hips. If your knee makes 90 degree flexion then everything is okay and the problem may somewhere else.
However, if your hip flexion is more than 15 degrees or if your knee can’t meet over 80 degree hip flexion then your chronic pain is being caused by that specific group of muscles.
Tendonitis Issues
Hip flexor pain due to tendonitis issues are often experienced by people do a lot of running like athletes. People who play a lot of sports are at risk of hip flexor pain due to tendonitis problems because they are placing a lot of pressure on their hip area because of all the running and excessive movements they’re doing.
Bruised Hip Flexors
Sometimes it’s difficult to determine whether or not your pain is due to bruising or pulled hip flexors. However, the main way you can tell the difference is whether or not the area is sensitive to touch when you are in a standing position. If hip flexors are tender to touch while standing still then it’s because of bruising.
The good news about bruised hip flexor muscles is that it only takes 3 to 5 days for them to heal. With that being said, if you have bruised hip flexors the pain you’re experience won’t last that long.
Hip Flexor Injury
Every now and then a person will go through an injury that causes their hip flexors to become damaged and cause pain. The only way to recover from this is to treat the injury itself.
Hip Flexor Strain
There are various things that can cause a hip flexor strain. Usually the cause of strained hip flexors is due to excessive movements after sitting down for extended periods of time. You’ll know how bad your hip flexor strain is by simply moving your leg upwards to your chest and seeing if you have a lot of discomfort doing this or not.
Conclusion
By going through each part of this article you should be able to identify what’s causing your hip flexor pain and how severe your problem is.
By knowing the things outlined above you’ll be able to take the right steps towards getting relief from the pain and discomfort you’re dealing with on a daily basis.