I hope your weekend has been a good one!

Today, we are talking about those demon muscles, the hip flexors. Time and time again, I come across clients, or people I meet in the gym, who experience anterior hip pain at the bottom of their squat. Because of the anterior location of said pain, it’s right where the hip flexor muscle(s) are located. The next logical step is then to assume that is the source of pain. From there, a reason is required as to why it would be painful. Since hip flexor tightness gets blamed for everything from back pain to 9/11, this is often the next step in what is a pretty shallow thought process. So now we have come to the conclusion that the hip flexor is tight, and that’s why it’s causing pain.

But, this is where that rationale runs into a wall; The hip flexors are under NO stretch, and are shortening, as we descend to the bottom of the squat. Attaching from the spine and pelvis to the anterior femur, in order to actually stretch them, the hip would have to be extending (i.e. kicking your legs behind you, or thrusting your hips forward). A muscle needs to be in its lengthened position for the response to muscular tightness to be highlighted. So it simply makes no sense to say that “hip flexor flexibility” is insufficient at the bottom of the squat, since they are literally nowhere near being lengthened, and we are moving in the opposing direction to that which stretches them.

To clear that up concisely:

Your hip flexors are not being stretched at the bottom of a squat, so tightness cannot be the source of pain.

However, your pain is indeed very real. But what is actually causing it? Could it in any way be related to your hip flexor?

You can read more about this in the Triage Militia, but for now, I just want you to grasp the idea that your hip flexor length is probably far less of a problem than a lot of people make it out to be.

Any questions? Just respond to this email.

Kind Regards,

Gary & Paddy

Triage Method