What is a hip flexor strain?
A hip flexor strain is an injury to one of your hip flexors, the muscles where your thigh meets your hip. They’re a type of muscle strain — a tear in your muscle tissue. They’re one of the most common injuries, especially among athletes.
Strains are classified with three grades to indicate how severe they are. Most people can recover by resting their muscle and using at-home treatments like ice and over-the-counter medicine. If you’re feeling pain for a few weeks after your injury or have severe symptoms, see a healthcare provider.
Muscle strains vs. pulled muscles
There’s no difference between a strained muscled and a pulled muscle. People use the terms interchangeably. The same is true for a strained muscle and a torn muscle. They’re the same injury with the same symptoms and treatments.
Hip flexor strains and other injuries
There are lots of common injuries that cause muscle pain similar to hip flexor strains, including:
Talk to a provider if you experience any sudden, sharp pain in your body, especially if it happens during physical activity like a workout or playing sports.
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Who do hip flexor strains affect?
Hip flexor strains can affect anyone. They’re common in athletes and people who are especially active.
Even if you don’t play sports or workout often, you can still strain your hip flexor, especially if you suddenly exert yourself much harder than usual.
How common are hip flexor strains?
Hip flexor strains are a common sports injury. Any athlete can injure their hip flexor, but the most common sports that cause hip flexor strains include:
- Running.
- Hockey.
- Football.
- Soccer.
- Martial arts.
How do hip flexor strains affect my body?
Your hip flexors run across the bottom of your abdomen and down the top of your hips. Like all of your muscles, your hip flexors are made of thousands of small fibers woven together. These fibers stretching and pressing together is what allows your body to move when you squeeze a muscle.
When you overuse a muscle, the strands of muscle fiber are stretched beyond their limit and tear apart. If you’ve ever tried to use an old bungee cord to hold something in place you’ve seen this happen. New bungee cords — and healthy muscle fibers — have plenty of give and stretch. But if you use them for too long or suddenly jerk on them too hard, the elastic fibers in the bungee cord will start to pull apart. It’s the same way in your muscles. Strains are what happen when some of the thousands of fibers in your muscles are pulled beyond their limit and tear.
In addition to being painful, a hip flexor strain might make it hard to walk or move without pain. Your hip and leg might feel weak or unstable. They might also cause other symptoms like bruising.
FAQs
It typically requires one to three weeks of rest and treatment to recover from mild conditions fully. On the other hand, more severe cases can take around four to six weeks or longer. In addition, injuries that did not receive immediate treatment may take months to recover fully and may also cause chronic pain.
Is it okay to walk with a strained hip flexor? ›
Self-Care for Hip Flexor Pain
Avoiding activities that put stress on the hip, including any sports that involve running, kicking, or turning. A person may want to consider limiting going up or down stairs or walking long distances; however, activities should not be completely avoided.
Can a hip flexor heal on its own? ›
Most hip flexor strains heal in a few weeks with at-home treatments.
Should I stretch my hip flexor if it hurts? ›
Gentle stretching exercises can help reduce hip flexor muscle tension as well as reduce the likelihood for future injury. Try these hip flexor stretches, but make sure you don't push too hard — these stretches should be gentle.
What can be mistaken for hip flexor pain? ›
Lower abdominal strains are sometimes mistaken for hip flexor strains because the pain can be in the same location.
Is walking good for weak hip flexor? ›
Daily movement. Prolonged periods of not moving, such as sitting, may cause the hip flexors to tighten, so finding even small ways to move your hips throughout the day — whether that's a dedicated 20 minutes of walking or doing one minute of walking as a “movement snack” — will help keep your hip flexors supple.
What aggravates a hip flexor strain? ›
Football, hockey, running, and martial arts are more likely to create this type of injury. However, there are also aggravating factors that can lead to hip flexor strain include, such as: Weak muscles surrounding the hip flexors. Not warming up/ poorly conditioned muscles.
How do I know if my hip flexor is strained or torn? ›
Symptoms of a hip flexor tear or strain
The pain and other symptoms can range from mild to so intense that it impacts your mobility. Other symptoms of a hip flexor tear or strain include: Pain when lifting the leg to the chest or stretching the hip muscles. Swelling, bruising or tenderness in the hip or thigh area.
Why is my hip flexor hurting so bad I can barely walk? ›
Pain in the hip flexors occurs when the muscles and tendons are overused or pulled beyond their limits from sudden movements like kicking or sprinting. Tight hip flexors are usually caused by not properly warming up before physical activities or not exercising at all. A strain is a type of tear in the muscle tissue.
Should you massage a strained hip flexor? ›
In a word - yes. Generally speaking, massage therapy can be highly beneficial for relieving pain and tightness in any of the body's muscles, and the hip flexors are no different.
Try sleeping on your back
Try adding a pillow or bolster under your knees. Not only does this further ease strain on your hip flexors, but it can also help you stay on your back through the night. That added bit of extra support might be what you need to wake up without pain that's worse than the night before.
How to sit to relieve hip flexor pain? ›
Maintain Proper Posture: Sit with your feet flat on the ground and your knees at a 90-degree angle. Keep your back straight, shoulders relaxed, and head in a neutral position. Sitting Positions: Avoid crossing your legs or leaning over to one side, as it can exacerbate hip tightness.
How long does an inflamed hip flexor take to heal? ›
While a mild hip flexor strain can take just a few weeks to heal, it may take more than 6 weeks to recover from a more severe strain.
What does a pulled hip flexor feel like? ›
Symptoms of a hip flexor tear or strain
Pain when lifting the leg to the chest or stretching the hip muscles. Swelling, bruising or tenderness in the hip or thigh area. Muscles spasms in the thigh or hip that occur when walking or running.
How do I know if I pulled my groin or hip flexor? ›
Signs and symptoms of a hip flexor strain:
Pain in the front of the hip or in the groin. Pain, tenderness, and weakness when walking or climbing stairs. Pain when lifting the knee toward the chest. Pulling sensation in the front of the hip or in the groin.
What is a Grade 1 hip flexor strain? ›
Grade 1 – is a mild strain. There is a slight pull with tiny tearing. There is no loss of strength, and the muscle and tendon are the correct length.
