{"id":7473,"date":"2019-07-06T09:12:35","date_gmt":"2019-07-06T09:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.io\/?p=7473"},"modified":"2021-06-15T18:46:10","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T18:46:10","slug":"14-possible-causes-of-hip-flexor-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.io\/14-possible-causes-of-hip-flexor-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Possible Causes of Hip Flexor Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Understanding the possible causes of hip flexor pain has a number of benefits. When you understand what the causes might be, you are able to look out better to prevent yourself from getting this kind of injury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are certain types of activities that lend themselves to hip flexor pain or injury, and you have to be particularly careful when it comes to doing activities so that you do not create a serious injury. Hip flexor pain happens when knees are brought up towards the torso. That means that basically whenever the legs go up above the general area of the hips, there is potential for a hip flexor injury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hip flexor or connects the top of the femur to the lower back as well as the hips and the groin. The femur is the largest bone in the human body and the hip flexor is just as important by association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Dancing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dancing is one of those activities that can definitely lend itself to hip flexor or pain or hip flexor injury<\/a>. There are many different styles of dancing, and while some of them rarely involve kicking leg up high into the air or placing the hip flexor under any tension, some of them involve this quite a bit.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a reason the dancers spend so much time warming up and stretching out before they begin dancing. Professional dancers have very little danger of getting a hip flexor injury from normal dancing technique, particularly if they have been trained professionally, but those that are immature or who are just beginning without a qualified instructor may find themselves in serious pain or with a serious injury due to poor technique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the wrong injury can sideline career in dancing for many months or even years. That\u2019s why it is essential to get professional instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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2. Martial Arts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another way that someone can injure themselves seriously is through the practice of martial arts<\/a>. When it comes to hip flexor pain or injury, martial arts is one of those sports that pretty much live with the leg above the hip.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the sport is spent kicking at high speeds with the leg far above the hip flexor. This can lead to serious injuries. The best way that you can prevent these injuries is by making sure that you are in excellent shape when you are practicing martial arts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your instructor may be teaching you the techniques in order to kick high or kick powerfully, but it is you that knows how far you can push your body and whether you have warmed up enough or stretched out enough to prevent injuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martial arts are serious business and any potential injury should be taken seriously as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3. Athletics<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Participating in certain types of athletics can definitely contribute towards hip flexor injuries. Within the athletics where you are required to raise your leg above your hip, you are at risk for this type of injury<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, the types of athletics that required this sort of activity are few and far between. However, for those that do require it, participants need to make sure that they\u2019ve warmed up thoroughly before each practice or match, and treat themselves with warm or cold patches each night when they go home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These simple steps will prevent the majority of hip flexor injuries from happening in the first place. You can either put some ice cubes in a towel and hold them to the hip flexors in order to relieve tension and inflammation or you can do the same thing with heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4. The Wrong Stretch<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Doing the wrong stretch, or doing the right stretch <\/a>the wrong way in can definitely have an impact on whether or not you sustain this injury. Your instructor should be flexible enough to be able to perform all the stretches that he or she is teaching you, as well as fast enough mentally to determine when there is a problem and stop the class immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you sustain this kind of injury, then you\u2019re going to want to get help right away with it. The recovery period may seem long, but it will only get longer if you exacerbate the condition by not getting treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you feel the symptoms from hip flexor strain, then you need to go and see your doctor right away and make sure you get any emergency treatment that is necessary to allow yourself to heal up quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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5. Hamstring Strains<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, a possible cause of hip flexor pain can be something else entirely. For a long time now, people have associated hip flexor strain with hamstring<\/a> strains. It is thought that hip flexor pain and strain is simply a more localized and serious form of a hamstring strain.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This actually makes a great deal of sense, but that\u2019s not to say that you cannot have one without the other. However, if you do have a hamstring strain, then you want to be extra careful not to take it a step further and turn it into a hip flexor injury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will take even more time to heal and can often be prevented in the first place by taking it easier for the first injury. Use the recommended treatment protocol in these cases which is often rest, compression, ice and elevation. Heat may also be used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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6. Goofing Around<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Just simple horseplay and goofing around can cause hip flexor injury as well. When people are goofing around, they often raise their legs about their hips in an exaggerated fashion. This is especially true when under the influence of alcohol<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem with this is that people are not even close to ready for this sort of action and the body is not equipped to deal with this sort of strain. That\u2019s when an injury happens, and engaging in this sort of horseplay and goofiness can lead to a trip to the hospital extremely quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is recommended that you limit your goofing around and horseplay to activities that do not lift the leg above the hip and that you stop your activity as soon as you start experiencing a strain on this area. Otherwise, you may find yourself with a more serious injury than you had planned for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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7. Gymnastics<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gymnastics is probably the sport out there with the most potential to cause this type of injury<\/a>. Luckily, gymnastics is also the sport where people prepare themselves the most to complete these types of activities and that reduces the risk to almost nil.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because gymnasts lift their legs high above their hips so very often, stretching and warming up becomes a part of their daily routine and ensures that they do not risk serious injuries such as a hip flexor injury. However, there are times when gymnasts do not warm up properly or simply extend themselves too far and they end up with this type of injury anyway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you practice gymnastics, you want to be aware of this type of injury and avoid it if at all possible. That means not extending yourself past the point of comfort and paying attention to your body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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8.Unusual Sexual Positions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Finally, if you regularly try out different sexual positions, then you might be at risk for hip flexor injury. There are two reasons why people are particularly at risk when having sex. For one thing, people are rarely prepared for the overextension of muscles <\/a>when having sex. It is not like gymnastics or other sports where you spend time warming up beforehand.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When people begin to have sex, it is usually a spur of the moment thing. The second problem comes from being in the throes of passion. This can lead people to overextend themselves because they have so much adrenaline and other good hormones rushing through them that it can be easy to ignore the warning signs that an injury is about to happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people who practice unusual sexual positions have found themselves with hip flexor pain and a serious hip flexor injury that they have to spend weeks or months recovering from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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9. Sitting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our bodies are not designed to spend lengthy periods in a seated position. Our ancestors spent their days walking the plains of the savanna, hunting food. As a result, our bodies are designed to remain in an upward bipedal position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the modern world requires that we spend most of our day seated behind a desk in a chair. Unfortunately, this behavior takes its toll on a pelvic region<\/a>, creating tension in the hip flexors. As a result of spending the majority of their time in a seated position, and then going home and spending more time in front of the TV in a seated position, many people develop problems with their hip flexors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People that sit for the majority of the day may find that they develop a condition known as anterior pelvic tilt. This posture disorder creates issues of pain in the lower limbs and lumbar spine. If you spend the majority of your day sitting, then it’s a prudent strategy to stretch every day to relieve the tension in the hip flexors.
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10. Sleeping Position<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We spend 8-hours of every day asleep. That is a third of our lives that we spend flat out on a mattress. Therefore, it would make sense that we invest a decent sum of money into a quality mattress. However, it’s surprising how many people still do not take this into account and choose to sleep <\/a>on an inferior bed. The same people wonder why they wake up experiencing pain in their back and hips, instead of benefiting from the therapeutic action of sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mattress manufacturers now design their mattresses to suit a variety of sleeping positions, and there’s something to suit every sleeping style, whether it is sleeping face down on your stomach, on your back, or your side. If you’re a side sleeper, then the chances are that you’ve experienced some hip discomfort after a night’s rest. Side sleepers will benefit from the mattress with a soft pillow top made from memory foam, that contours to the shape of their body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This type of mattress reduces pressure points in the hip preventing hip pain and tightness of the hip flexors.
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11. Rapid Changes in Direction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Athletes and sportspeople that compete in sports like basketball, football, gymnastics, or tennis need to make quick changes in direction on a moment’s notice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, making quick changes in direction may take its toll on the pelvic area, particularly the hips and the hip flexor ligaments<\/a>. While it’s more common for these types of movements to create injuries in the knees, athletes are also at risk of developing problems with the hip flexors, especially if they do not warm-up sufficiently before they start training.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To avoid tears in the hip flexors, athletes should spend at least five to 15-minutes warming up the groin area before they start training. A few simple exercises are all it takes to stretch the groin and avoid injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those athletes that do experience hip flexor injuries require rest to recover the ligaments and restore range of motion to the joint. Those athletes that choose to ignore this advice may end up experiencing long-term injuries that affect their performance.
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12. Trauma<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

People who experience physical trauma<\/a> in the form of a car accident or a related incident may end up sustaining damage to the hip flexor ligaments. Road safety rules recommend we wear seatbelts when riding in a car. The seat belt crosses the hips, securing us to the seat to prevent us from flying through the windshield in case of an impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, people involved in high-speed impact where the seatbelt constricts against the hips may experience trauma to the joint resulting in a break, as well as damage to the hip flexor ligaments. This type of trauma may induce a severe injury that requires the use of physiotherapy to recover the mobility of the hips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other forms of trauma that may result in damage to the hip flexors include jumping from heights, as well as changes in inertia such as falling off of a skateboard, resulting in a twisting movement to the hips that damages the hip flexors.
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13. Hip Impingement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hip impingement<\/a>, also known by the medical term, femoroacetabular impingement, describes a condition where the affected individual may experience a decrease in the range of motion of the joint.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most cases, hip impingement occurs when there is contact between the bones in the joint. As a result, the affected individual may find that they start to experience symptoms of tightness in the hip flexors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hip impingement typically occurs in active people that are in their 20s, and this injury may set the stage for arthritis in the hip joint later in life. Athletes and sportspeople that sustain a hip impingement injury may have to undergo physiotherapy to restore range of motion to the joint. However, it is not always possible to recover full range of motion, and the athlete may end up having to hang up their cleats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professional athletes that sustain this injury may require surgery to fix the joint. Doctors managed the symptoms of pain and discomfort associated with the condition by administering anti-inflammatories and painkillers.
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14. Tendonitis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tendonitis <\/a>is a condition that can affect any ligament in the human body. Symptoms of tendonitis include tenderness in the joint, along with symptoms of pain and discomfort.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who develop tendonitis in the hip flexors sustain this injury through sitting for prolonged periods. When we are in a seated position, the hip flexors start to contract and shorten. As a result, when the affected individual stands up, they experience tightening of the hip flexors that results in symptoms of pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, people that remain undiagnosed and untreated may end up experiencing severe posture disorders in the hips, that results in further increases in pain symptoms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The patients that do experience some form of tendonitis in the hips should visit a physiotherapist to undo the damage, and restore range of motion to the hip flexors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Completing a few simple exercises each day is all it takes to maintain hip health and avoid this form of tendonitis. In most cases, patients with tendonitis will make a full recovery, provided they receive enough rest and stretching to recover the range motion in the joint.<\/p>\n\n\n

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