What Are Some Good Stretches for the Back & Hip Flexors?

Tight hip flexors and lower back muscles can cause discomfort if not outright pain. Safe and effective stretching of these muscle groups improves range of motion and reduces the risk of injury.

  1. What are the hip flexors?

    • The hip flexors are a group of muscles that connect the legs to the pelvis and torso. This muscle group includes the rectus femoris, sartorius and pectinius in the upper legs, and the psoas major and iliacus in the pelvis and upper legs. They act to bring the legs toward the abdomen.

    Stretch for the leg muscles of the hip flexors

    • Lie on your right side and bend your top leg at the knee. Grasp your ankle or shin and gently pull the heel toward the buttocks, feeling the stretch in the front of your thigh. You can also hold on to your pant leg, sock, or a small towel wrapped around the ankle if you cannot reach the lower part of your leg with your hand. Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds, roll over and repeat on the other side. Perform this stretch twice for each leg.

    Stretch for the psoas and iliacus

    • Stand with your right leg forward and your left leg stretched out behind you, left heel off of the ground. Keeping your torso upright, bend your right knee while keeping the left leg straight until you feel the stretch in your upper left thigh and the front of your left hip. Hold this stretch for 15 to 30 seconds, then step your feet together and repeat the stretch on the other side. Perform this stretch twice for each leg.

    What are the lower back muscles?

    • The lower back muscles connect the torso to the pelvis and include the lower segments of the erector spinae and the quadratus lumborum. Bending forward, backward and sideways are all made possible by these muscles.

    Lower back stretch

    • Position yourself on your hands and knees on the floor. Ease your hips back toward your feet and try to sit your buttocks down onto your heels. Stretch your straight arms out in front of you, palms down, and let your forehead rest on the floor. Hold this stretch for 15 to 30 seconds and repeat up to four times.

    Frequency

    • The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you should stretch at least twice weekly, but flexibility training is ideally done each day.