Hip Flexor Pain And Causation, Plus Treatment Approaches
The hip flexor pain or iliopsoas related pain is pain that takes place in your hip flexor muscles located at the front of the hip. One of the main hip flexors is the iliopsoas muscle which is made up of two parts: the psoas muscle and the iliacus muscle.
The psoas muscle begins at the lumbar spine while the iliacus muscle begins at the inside of the pelvis. These muscles run together and ultimately merge at the iliopsoas. Iliopsoas pain, or hip flexor pain, can be tied to these muscles themselves, the tendons fusing the muscles, or the tendon and the bursa.
What Is Hip Flexor Strain?
There are many hip flexor conditions that can cause a pain to an individual including:
Hip Flexor Strain
Hip Flexor Tear
Anterior Snapping Hip
Symptoms Of Hip Flexor / Related Pain
If you are experiencing pain as a result of groin or hip flexor stress, you are most likely experiencing discomfort around the front of your hip or upper thigh. Occasionally, depending on the condition, pain can extend into the lower back or lower abdomen. This pain is often described as a tightness in the area.
There are a few symptoms one may be experiencing related to hip flexor or iliopsoas pain. If you experience pain when doing hip flexion or hip extension moves, chances are these may be related to your hip flexor. Levels of pain differ from individual to individual, and make everyday tasks like walking and even lifting the leg uncomfortable.
Some Causes of Hip Pain
Outside of a clear hip related injury, hip flexor pain can present itself gradually over time. If there is not a clear injury behind your hip discomfort, there may be some other common causes of hip flexor pain such as:
Repeat Hip Flexion/Extension: This could be the result of an athletic activity or sport that requires hip flexion and hip extension like sprints.
Weakness of the core: When your abdominal muscles and gluteal muscles are weak and improperly firing, the hip flexors end up overfiring.
Postures: Sitting, standing, or remaining in fixed postures for long periods of time can cause an increased load of stress on your hip flexors
Treatment Options for Less Hip Pain
There are a number of treatment options depending on the level of discomfort and stress in the area. As physical therapists, our job is to determine if the muscle is truly tight, or just in spasm and weak. We can perform manual release techniques or dry needling as well as stretching and strengthening as needed to relieve pain.
Other options include injections, most commonly in the form of cortisone shots. However, this is a more invasive option that should only be tried if conservative measures don’t work.
Klein Physical Therapy is here to help. We meet our clients where they are at, providing a thorough assessment and treatment plan to help you heal and get back to doing the things you love.
Our goal at Klein Physical Therapy is to become the best version of yourself with personalized, high quality, and one on one physical therapy sessions. Schedule a free discovery session with us online today!
We now have two locations for physical therapy in the Denver area. Klein Physical Therapy is located in the Pilates Collective near the University Hills Shopping Center and inside Harmony’s Family Cooperative in Cherry Creek.
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