If you’ve ever stood up after a long period at your desk and felt a deep pull or ache at the front of your hip, you’re not alone. Hip flexor pain is a very common type of hip pain. It can affect office workers, runners, pregnant women, and weekend gym-goers.
The good news: hip flexor pain is usually very manageable once you understand what’s going on. Below, we’ll cover what the hip flexors are, why they get sore, how to tell if they’re really the problem, and what you can do to recover.
What are the hip flexors?
Your hip flexors are a group of muscles at the front of your hip. Their main job is to lift your knee towards your chest. You use them every time you walk, climb stairs, get out of a car, or kick a ball.
The key hip flexor muscle is the iliopsoas, which is made up of two parts: the psoas (running from your lower spine) and the iliacus (lining the inside of your pelvis). They share a common tendon that attaches to your thigh bone.
The iliopsoas is also the only muscle that connects your spine directly to your leg, which is one reason hip flexor pain and lower back pain often show up together.
Other important muscles include:
- Rectus femoris: the front-of-thigh muscle that helps with kicking and sprinting
- Sartorius: the long muscle that helps you bring your leg up and across (for example, when you cross your legs)
Smaller muscles also help, including the pectineus and tensor fasciae latae.
Where do you feel hip flexor pain?
Hip flexor pain is most often felt at the front of the hip, near the crease where your thigh meets your pelvis. It often feels worse when you:
- Lift your knee
- Take a long step and extend your hip behind you
- Move from sitting to standing
Because this area is busy, hip flexor pain can be confused with other problems:
- Groin (adductor) pain: usually sits more on the inner thigh and often flares with side-to-side movements.
- Hip joint pain: conditions like a labral tear or femoroacetabular impingement can feel deeper inside the joint and may come with clicking, catching, or a feeling your hip is giving way. These injuries are often mistaken for a simple muscle strain and can be missed for some time.
- Pain referred from the lower back: often feels sharper, shooting, or electric, and may include pins and needles.
If your pain doesn’t match a typical hip flexor pattern, or it hasn’t improved after a couple of weeks of sensible self-care, it’s worth getting it checked.
If you have pain on both sides, it’s usually due to a broader pattern, like sitting for long periods, anterior pelvic tilt, or weak glutes, rather than a single muscle strain. It often improves with the same approach on both sides, but an assessment can help work out what’s causing it.
Why does hip flexor pain happen?
It depends on your daily routine, but there are a few common causes.
Prolonged sitting
When you sit, your hip flexors stay shortened for hours. Over time, this can lead to tightness. Then, when you stand up or try to straighten your hip, those tight muscles can pull on your pelvis and lower back.
At the same time, your glutes (buttock muscles) can switch off because you’re not using them much.
If you work at a desk, try these steps:
- Change position every 30 to 45 minutes: stand up, take a short walk, or shift your posture.
- Adjust your chair so your knees are close to 90 degrees.
- If you have a sit-stand desk, switch between sitting and standing throughout the day.
Discover more tips in our comprehensive guide on posture.
Running and sport
Your hip flexors work with every stride. During sprinting, they can handle forces over 3 times your body weight. 1Source: Serner et al. (2018), Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
Hill runs, quick bursts of speed, and kicking load them even more, especially if you increase your training too quickly, raising the risk of injury.
Gym and cycling
Deep squats and lunges can load the front of the hip, especially if your core and glutes aren’t controlling your pelvis well.
Cycling can also contribute because your hip does not fully open during the pedal stroke. This keeps your hip flexors partly shortened.
Walking
For most people, walking is low-load enough that the hip flexors tolerate it well. But if they're already tight or weak, a longer walk – especially at pace or on uneven ground – can be enough to flare symptoms.
Post-walk soreness is common in people returning from a period of inactivity, or those who have been sitting for most of the day before heading out.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy hormones loosen the ligaments around your pelvis, and a growing belly shifts your centre of gravity forward. Your hip flexors may tighten to help stabilise your pelvis.
The glute connection
This is a common pattern: when your glutes are weak or not firing well, your hip flexors take over. They tighten to create stability, then they fatigue, feel tight, and become painful.
Tight hip flexors can also pull your pelvis forward and increase the arch in your lower back, which helps explain why hip pain and back pain often happen together.
How to fix it
Research suggests the best approach combines strengthening, mobility work, and improving how the whole chain works, not just treating the sore spot.
Strengthen, not just stretch
This catches a lot of people out: feeling “tight” can sometimes be a sign of weakness, not just a lack of flexibility. When a muscle isn’t strong enough to do its job, it can tighten up to protect itself.
Building strength in both your hip flexors and your glutes is one of the most important steps.
A good place to start:
Glute bridges
- Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat
- Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees
- Hold for 2-3 seconds, then lower
- Aim for 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps
Clamshells
- Lie on your side with knees bent
- Keep your feet together and lift your top knee without rolling your pelvis
- Lower slowly
- Do 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps per side
Dead bugs
- Lie on your back with arms up and knees bent at 90 degrees
- Slowly lower one arm overhead while straightening the opposite leg, keeping your lower back gently pressed into the floor
- Return and repeat
- Do 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps per side
As your pain settles, you can progress to banded hip flexion, single-leg bridges, and more dynamic exercises.
Stretch with the right technique
Stretching can help, but only if you do it well. A common mistake in a kneeling lunge stretch is arching your lower back. That often takes the stretch off the hip flexor and puts more load on your spine.
To stretch the iliopsoas properly:
- Tuck your pelvis (think: gently lift your belt buckle)
- Keep your torso tall
- Squeeze the glute on your back leg
Hold for up to 2 minutes per side.
Heat or ice?
In the first 24-48 hours after an acute strain, ice and gentle compression can help reduce swelling and discomfort. Apply ice for 15-20 minutes at a time. After that, heat is usually better for loosening tight, sore hip flexors.
Using a heat pack before stretching or exercise can also help your muscles relax and move more easily.
Find out more in our guide on icing vs heating.
Support with professional care
If pain is limiting your movement, professional care can help you settle symptoms and keep you moving while you build strength. Depending on your situation, this might include manual therapy, dry needling, and chiropractic adjustments.
The main goal is to pair any hands-on treatment with a clear exercise plan and progressions, so you’re not just “getting it loosened”, you’re actually fixing the driver of the problem.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Stretching only: this can ease symptoms, but it often doesn’t fix the root cause.
- Complete rest: a short break can help, but too much rest leads to stiffness and loss of strength.
- Going back to full activity too soon: if you cut rehab short, symptoms often return. In high-demand sports, recurrence rates can be as high as 30%.
- Ignoring glutes and core: if you only work on the front of the hip, the same overload pattern often comes back.
- Arching your back when stretching: tuck your pelvis, squeeze your glutes, and keep your torso upright.
How long does recovery take?
It depends on how bad the strain is:
- Grade I (mild): a small number of muscle fibres are damaged, but you can still move comfortably. Most people recover in 1-3 weeks.
- Grade II (moderate): a partial tear of the muscle or tendon, with more pain and weakness. Expect 4-8 weeks with structured rehab.
- Grade III (severe): a complete or near-complete tear. Recovery is often 3-4 months or longer, and surgery is sometimes needed.
In every case, the biggest factor is waiting until your strength and range of motion are back before returning to full activity.
When to see a professional
Many mild hip flexor strains improve within a few weeks if you follow the right plan.
If your hip pain has lasted more than 8-12 weeks, it's considered chronic. The same approach still applies: build strength, gradually increase loading, and improve hip and glute control.
Working with a physical therapist or chiropractor can help you work out what's keeping the problem going and follow a clearer, more structured progression.
In any case, it's worth getting your hip checked if:
- You can’t put weight on the affected leg
- The pain wakes you at night, or it doesn’t change with position
- You notice clicking, catching, or your hip feels like it might give way
- You have numbness, tingling, or weakness in your leg
- Your pain hasn’t improved after 2-3 weeks of sensible self-care
In Australia, you can see a chiropractor or physiotherapist without a GP referral. They can check for more serious issues and refer you if needed.
Moving forward
Hip flexor pain can be frustrating, but you usually don’t have to live with it long term. The key takeaway is simple: strengthening often matters more than stretching. Lasting improvement usually means treating the bigger picture, not just the painful spot.
If you’re not improving, a tailored assessment can help pinpoint what’s causing your pain and help you move forward with more confidence.
If hip flexor pain is stopping you from doing what you enjoy, our team at Rasura Chiropractic Centres is here to help. Book an appointment at our Alexandra Headland or Coolum Beach clinic and let us help you move freely again.
