Hip Flexors and Foam Rolling

Many of you have asked for my top hip flexor stretches and foam rolling tips. If you’re experiencing hip flexor tightness or tension, the key is usually foam rolling and proper stretching…but not always! Why? Because it depends on exactly why you’re experiencing hip flexor discomfort.

Let me introduce you to the Anterior Pelvic Tilt and Posterior Pelvic Tilt.

There aren’t many of us out there who have PERFECT posture. If you do, please give me a call and let me know how you do it. I’m willing to bet most of us have something about our posture we can improve, whether it’s not rounding our shoulders, not shifting our head forward, not sticking our booty out excessively (best way to explain an Anterior Pelvic Tilt), or not tucking our booty in (which is a Posterior Pelvic Tilt and what I personally struggle with). It’s not that sticking your booty out or tucking it in is inherently a problem, it’s the fact that doing so affects your hips and posture in a way that can cause problems.

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If you have an Anterior Pelvic Tilt, you likely have tight hip flexors and foam rolling is going to help release that tension and stretch those hip flexors back out. But if you have a Posterior Pelvic Tilt, your hip flexors are already lengthened due to the positioning of your hips, so stretching already elongated hip flexors won’t help. With a Posterior Pelvic Tilt, you want to focus on strengthening those weak muscle groups in order to see hip flexor relief.

If you have an Anterior Pelvic Tilt, you likely have tight hip flexors and foam rolling is going to help release that tension and stretch those hip flexors back out. But if you have a Posterior Pelvic Tilt, your hip flexors are already lengthened due to the positioning of your hips, so stretching already elongated hip flexors won’t help. With a Posterior Pelvic Tilt, you want to focus on strengthening those weak muscle groups in order to see hip flexor relief.

Anterior Pelvic Tilt is more common, especially among females, so while foam rolling is not always the answer for every single hip flexor imbalance, you will see it commonly suggested simply due to the fact that it is the solution for the majority.

I go into more detail in the YouTube video below. As I mention in the video, this is really just touching the surface of the hip flexor topic so if you would like me to go into more detail, just comment on the YouTube video and let me know. I hope the video is useful!