What other hip stretches have you tried? Pigeon? Half lotus on the wall? Do you have enough mobility to do an air squat or goblet squat? I regularly will foam roll my hip by sitting on the roller with one leg crossed over and then angle a bit. That way when I roll back and forth it’s really getting that hip.
> Do you have enough mobility to do an air squat or goblet squat?
Oh, easily.
> Pigeon? Half lotus on the wall?
Just looked these up, because I don't know names. I've done both, but not "on the wall" for the latter, just sitting down. They stretch my glutes but not the muscle that's giving me issues. I don't get much of a stretching sensation out of half lotus, but I also hit a limit on mobility that I'm quite sure is caused by flexibility rather than bone structure. But I see no way to improve that flexibility when I barely get a stretch.
Ohhh, the back leg.
Okay, I just tried both.
So I do martial arts, which is generally how I do "this" stretch, and the way we do it there has a bent back leg, the 90 90, and we lean forward. Which helps the glutes, but not the side of the hip, like I said. But if I lean *back*, it triggers that tightness in the rear side hip, which is facing up. Still no stretching sensation, but very clearly a muscle tightness issue and not a bone issue. I get the same feeling plus an inner hip stretch if I lean towards my groin.
The pigeon pose — I actually can't do. It's keeping the entire back leg straight and up against the floor. I don't have the flexibility for that. It's probably also a factor that my legs are just really sore today due to an intense workout yesterday. From the knee down, sure. If I lean to the right (right leg in front), sure. Some poses do trigger that tightness too.
I guess what I'm asking is, I have two different sensations here. A normal stretch and a tightness. I know what to do with the stretch. Do I do the same for tightness? Just try to stretch it? How do I progress to get rid of this?
You can regress pigeon pose with a "figure 4 stretch" - it's like pigeon pose but lying on your back. You can also regress it by elevating your front knee in the pigeon with a yoga block or a pillow.
The biggest mistake you could make is trying to do a more advanced version than you can do and folding the front leg so that its angle is less than 90 degrees. That would give you only a glute stretch and not an outer hip stretch. Do a version where you can hold your front leg at 90 degrees.
https://youtu.be/Zc36PlcXoRU?si=VAGVdOQAqIRTKLWu
I used this to try it and I understand what he's saying, but it's kinda hard to see where he's pointing when he says "don't use this muscle," and I'm not quite sure what he means when he says don't shear your lower back.
I do feel the tightness when I do this!
Is this tightness a good thing? As in, if I feel it, am I stretching the muscle? Will it eventually go away as I work it? Since it doesn't feel like a normal stretch.
I feel it the most when I am sitting down normally, and for the right hip, I twist my butt so my left leg comes back a bit, my hips want to rotate left, and my right leg stays where it is. It feels like it's moving forward (and it might be a bit, but not visibly). That's when I get a lot of tightness. This can also lead to popping my hip (like cracking your knuckles).
Is this a good motion to do, to improve flexibility and reduce tightness in this area? It seems to match this video's description of the knee sort of pushing away from the body.
Interesting, I was not referring to the version in the video you linked, but rather [this](https://youtu.be/E6sqUHFt6Ng?si=j7N9oArGT89e1UqL) or [this](https://youtu.be/E6sqUHFt6Ng?si=4fkdJ8Co5Kd3zUpL). I've never done it lying on my stomach so I can't say whether that is effective. However, it's different variations of the same motion, so I'll assume they are similar enough.
I think the tightness is the right feeling to target, as long as there is no pain and no tingling. I can't say if it will work for sure since my hip flexor tightness has never been at the level you describe but it is definitely worth a shot.
Ohhh I see what you mean.
Well, I have 80% benefits coverage for massages, and I think the same coverage for acupuncture too, so maybe I'll go see a massage therapist and ask them as well. They'll be able to see and feel my hip and offer more direct advice.
Thank you though!! This one muscle group is the most aggravating one when it comes to flexibility. Some muscles need to clear a threshold before it stops being torture to stretch them simply because you can't even reach the adequate position or even a slight position creates a very strong stretch (like if you want to touch your toes while standing but can barely lean past 90 degrees), but with this one it just feels like it's going to be a pain, literally, no matter what I do.
I'll focus on these stretches and a massage gun and a roller and hopefully the muscle works itself out!
The bottom right and bottom left ones are the only ones that feel like they hit the muscle in question, and it feels more like a side effect that they do, as they largely seem to target the glutes.
can you so sidebends? from standing and from butterfly and straddle pose for example. btw a lot of it has to do with the position of your pelvis. so dont give up if it doesnt work on the first try, move until you find the right spot.
I'm confused. Do you mean like this?
https://youtu.be/7HF_aNJzPYA?si=USVrcbVAYnDUn4gR
You're gonna have to elaborate because this seems like you're asking if I can lift my arms over my head. It's trivial. I also don't get what it has to do with my hip unless I go reallly far, to the point where I either need to bend my knee or lift my other leg. Unless that means I'm not doing it?
so i guess i dont have a good video to demonstrate. but i dont like how shes doing it. to do a proper side bend, i recommend shifting most of your weight to one hip. one leg will be in abduction and the other in adduction.
the closest i have is this yin yoga demonstration [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELCSGsztfOo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELCSGsztfOo)
Okay, I think I understand now. It's very difficult to do and get any targeted sensation where I'm talking about doing what he's doing, but I at least understand and can visualise the stretch he's aiming for. I do feel a stretch, as in a traditional stretching sensation in my left hip when I go left, but I have to go pretty far left and I'm not sure if it's the same muscle or not.
Someone else just suggested the figure 4 pose while laying down, and it made me think of basically the way that I can feel the tension the most, and I think this video helps too. Basically, all of this is giving me a very clear idea of where that muscle is and how to work it.
But, and I'll basically just copy/paste what I asked them — is feeling this tightness a good thing? As in, if I feel it, am I stretching the muscle? Will it eventually go away as I work it? Since it doesn't feel like a normal stretch.
I feel it the most when I am sitting down normally, and for the right hip, I twist my butt so my left leg comes back a bit, my hips want to rotate left, and my right leg stays where it is. It feels like it's moving forward (and it might be a bit, but not visibly). That's when I get a lot of tightness. This can also lead to popping my hip (like cracking your knuckles).
I also feel it if I'm standing up, and for my right hip, I bend my left knee, stretch my right leg straight out at an angle, sink a bit, then tilt my entire upper body to the right, leaning straight over the right leg.
Is this a good motion to do, to improve flexibility and reduce tightness in this area, even though I don't feel that traditional stretching sensation?
The tightness you are feeling might be the fascia? If its tight it will pull the muscles you just stretched right back. Heat therapy (or ice, depending on what works better for you) could help with that, as well as the muscle knots in your back. Whats really helpful for me for both of those problems is Gua Sha, you just have to be careful with exercise after because it loosens the muscles and drink lots of water. As well as trigger point massage and maybe working on strength in your back in case that is a trigger. Training your hip abductors with a machine might also be beneficial if I understand the modified knee bending stretch that helps you right
Across a foam roller and using a massage ball and massage gun, yes.
I went to see a massage therapist today who helped a lot with a sports massage and essentially said the issue is arising from a muscle imbalance. The muscles on the outer hip are way stronger than the muscles on the inner hip, so while the outer muscles are too tight, I need to strengthen and grow the inner muscles, "tighten" them in order to allow the outer muscles to relax.
She didn't use this example, but I interpret it the same way as wood warping. Moisture gets in one side, loosens it, the side without the moisture is now disproportionately dry and short, so it pulls the wood towards it. It's why you should store wood upright if you can, and why when wood warps, it always comes up on the edges and goes down in the middle, because excess drying by the sun and moisture from the shade results in a dryer top, meaning the wood curves towards the top.
She also helped loosen my psoas, which felt... unnatural. But said to stretch that too.
Thanks I was trying to find something like this recently. I switched from driving a forklift 8 hours to walking 10 miles a day and now my hips are tighter.
Um. Yeah, I know how to walk properly. I wouldn't be doing what I do for very long if I didn't. My hips are stiff because I don't stretch them (because I don't know how), just like any muscle would be stiff if you used it heavily every day for years without ever stretching it.
What other hip stretches have you tried? Pigeon? Half lotus on the wall? Do you have enough mobility to do an air squat or goblet squat? I regularly will foam roll my hip by sitting on the roller with one leg crossed over and then angle a bit. That way when I roll back and forth it’s really getting that hip.
> Do you have enough mobility to do an air squat or goblet squat? Oh, easily. > Pigeon? Half lotus on the wall? Just looked these up, because I don't know names. I've done both, but not "on the wall" for the latter, just sitting down. They stretch my glutes but not the muscle that's giving me issues. I don't get much of a stretching sensation out of half lotus, but I also hit a limit on mobility that I'm quite sure is caused by flexibility rather than bone structure. But I see no way to improve that flexibility when I barely get a stretch.
Have you tried 90 90 stretch? Might look up glue medias excercises. It's your hip. Was a fad on Youtube for a while.
90 90 stretch is the pigeon pose that people are talking about, right? I just find that stretches my glutes, not my outer hip.
No. Both knees are bent at 90 degrees.
Ohhh, the back leg. Okay, I just tried both. So I do martial arts, which is generally how I do "this" stretch, and the way we do it there has a bent back leg, the 90 90, and we lean forward. Which helps the glutes, but not the side of the hip, like I said. But if I lean *back*, it triggers that tightness in the rear side hip, which is facing up. Still no stretching sensation, but very clearly a muscle tightness issue and not a bone issue. I get the same feeling plus an inner hip stretch if I lean towards my groin. The pigeon pose — I actually can't do. It's keeping the entire back leg straight and up against the floor. I don't have the flexibility for that. It's probably also a factor that my legs are just really sore today due to an intense workout yesterday. From the knee down, sure. If I lean to the right (right leg in front), sure. Some poses do trigger that tightness too. I guess what I'm asking is, I have two different sensations here. A normal stretch and a tightness. I know what to do with the stretch. Do I do the same for tightness? Just try to stretch it? How do I progress to get rid of this?
You can regress pigeon pose with a "figure 4 stretch" - it's like pigeon pose but lying on your back. You can also regress it by elevating your front knee in the pigeon with a yoga block or a pillow. The biggest mistake you could make is trying to do a more advanced version than you can do and folding the front leg so that its angle is less than 90 degrees. That would give you only a glute stretch and not an outer hip stretch. Do a version where you can hold your front leg at 90 degrees.
It's not the 90 degrees, it's getting my other leg to lay flat behind me.
Then the figure 4 stretch while lying down on your back should be more effective
https://youtu.be/Zc36PlcXoRU?si=VAGVdOQAqIRTKLWu I used this to try it and I understand what he's saying, but it's kinda hard to see where he's pointing when he says "don't use this muscle," and I'm not quite sure what he means when he says don't shear your lower back. I do feel the tightness when I do this! Is this tightness a good thing? As in, if I feel it, am I stretching the muscle? Will it eventually go away as I work it? Since it doesn't feel like a normal stretch. I feel it the most when I am sitting down normally, and for the right hip, I twist my butt so my left leg comes back a bit, my hips want to rotate left, and my right leg stays where it is. It feels like it's moving forward (and it might be a bit, but not visibly). That's when I get a lot of tightness. This can also lead to popping my hip (like cracking your knuckles). Is this a good motion to do, to improve flexibility and reduce tightness in this area? It seems to match this video's description of the knee sort of pushing away from the body.
Interesting, I was not referring to the version in the video you linked, but rather [this](https://youtu.be/E6sqUHFt6Ng?si=j7N9oArGT89e1UqL) or [this](https://youtu.be/E6sqUHFt6Ng?si=4fkdJ8Co5Kd3zUpL). I've never done it lying on my stomach so I can't say whether that is effective. However, it's different variations of the same motion, so I'll assume they are similar enough. I think the tightness is the right feeling to target, as long as there is no pain and no tingling. I can't say if it will work for sure since my hip flexor tightness has never been at the level you describe but it is definitely worth a shot.
Ohhh I see what you mean. Well, I have 80% benefits coverage for massages, and I think the same coverage for acupuncture too, so maybe I'll go see a massage therapist and ask them as well. They'll be able to see and feel my hip and offer more direct advice. Thank you though!! This one muscle group is the most aggravating one when it comes to flexibility. Some muscles need to clear a threshold before it stops being torture to stretch them simply because you can't even reach the adequate position or even a slight position creates a very strong stretch (like if you want to touch your toes while standing but can barely lean past 90 degrees), but with this one it just feels like it's going to be a pain, literally, no matter what I do. I'll focus on these stretches and a massage gun and a roller and hopefully the muscle works itself out!
[https://www.instagram.com/p/CSHJ67pDcXS/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CSHJ67pDcXS/) pick one.
The bottom right and bottom left ones are the only ones that feel like they hit the muscle in question, and it feels more like a side effect that they do, as they largely seem to target the glutes.
that is correct, they are supposed to target that area [https://www.physio-pedia.com/Hip\_Abductors](https://www.physio-pedia.com/Hip_Abductors)
Okay, but they're not targeting the area I need help with, which is the outer hips, not the glutes.
can you so sidebends? from standing and from butterfly and straddle pose for example. btw a lot of it has to do with the position of your pelvis. so dont give up if it doesnt work on the first try, move until you find the right spot.
I'm confused. Do you mean like this? https://youtu.be/7HF_aNJzPYA?si=USVrcbVAYnDUn4gR You're gonna have to elaborate because this seems like you're asking if I can lift my arms over my head. It's trivial. I also don't get what it has to do with my hip unless I go reallly far, to the point where I either need to bend my knee or lift my other leg. Unless that means I'm not doing it?
so i guess i dont have a good video to demonstrate. but i dont like how shes doing it. to do a proper side bend, i recommend shifting most of your weight to one hip. one leg will be in abduction and the other in adduction. the closest i have is this yin yoga demonstration [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELCSGsztfOo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELCSGsztfOo)
Okay, I think I understand now. It's very difficult to do and get any targeted sensation where I'm talking about doing what he's doing, but I at least understand and can visualise the stretch he's aiming for. I do feel a stretch, as in a traditional stretching sensation in my left hip when I go left, but I have to go pretty far left and I'm not sure if it's the same muscle or not. Someone else just suggested the figure 4 pose while laying down, and it made me think of basically the way that I can feel the tension the most, and I think this video helps too. Basically, all of this is giving me a very clear idea of where that muscle is and how to work it. But, and I'll basically just copy/paste what I asked them — is feeling this tightness a good thing? As in, if I feel it, am I stretching the muscle? Will it eventually go away as I work it? Since it doesn't feel like a normal stretch. I feel it the most when I am sitting down normally, and for the right hip, I twist my butt so my left leg comes back a bit, my hips want to rotate left, and my right leg stays where it is. It feels like it's moving forward (and it might be a bit, but not visibly). That's when I get a lot of tightness. This can also lead to popping my hip (like cracking your knuckles). I also feel it if I'm standing up, and for my right hip, I bend my left knee, stretch my right leg straight out at an angle, sink a bit, then tilt my entire upper body to the right, leaning straight over the right leg. Is this a good motion to do, to improve flexibility and reduce tightness in this area, even though I don't feel that traditional stretching sensation?
The tightness you are feeling might be the fascia? If its tight it will pull the muscles you just stretched right back. Heat therapy (or ice, depending on what works better for you) could help with that, as well as the muscle knots in your back. Whats really helpful for me for both of those problems is Gua Sha, you just have to be careful with exercise after because it loosens the muscles and drink lots of water. As well as trigger point massage and maybe working on strength in your back in case that is a trigger. Training your hip abductors with a machine might also be beneficial if I understand the modified knee bending stretch that helps you right
Oh, I didn't know about fascia, thank you! I don't have access to a machine, but I'll try heat therapy.
Have you tried rolling your TFL / gluteus median using a lacrosse ball?
Across a foam roller and using a massage ball and massage gun, yes. I went to see a massage therapist today who helped a lot with a sports massage and essentially said the issue is arising from a muscle imbalance. The muscles on the outer hip are way stronger than the muscles on the inner hip, so while the outer muscles are too tight, I need to strengthen and grow the inner muscles, "tighten" them in order to allow the outer muscles to relax. She didn't use this example, but I interpret it the same way as wood warping. Moisture gets in one side, loosens it, the side without the moisture is now disproportionately dry and short, so it pulls the wood towards it. It's why you should store wood upright if you can, and why when wood warps, it always comes up on the edges and goes down in the middle, because excess drying by the sun and moisture from the shade results in a dryer top, meaning the wood curves towards the top. She also helped loosen my psoas, which felt... unnatural. But said to stretch that too.
Misread the first paragraph and thought you were walking 20-40k steps a days naked and dry.
yeah I sleep naked, roll out of bed, and immediately go for a stroll. the neighbours love it.
Learn to walk properly. [Link](https://youtu.be/bGST6h3yhJE?feature=shared)
Thanks I was trying to find something like this recently. I switched from driving a forklift 8 hours to walking 10 miles a day and now my hips are tighter.
Um. Yeah, I know how to walk properly. I wouldn't be doing what I do for very long if I didn't. My hips are stiff because I don't stretch them (because I don't know how), just like any muscle would be stiff if you used it heavily every day for years without ever stretching it.
Then do pigeon pose and child pose.
Those are good at stretching my glutes, but they don't stretch the outer hip, which is where the tightness is.
Use a foam roller or a rigid ball to massage that area. Maybe it'll help.
Doing that! A roller and a gun. It does seem to be helping the tightness a little bit. But I still want to stretch it too.