How To Cure Hip Flexor Pain?

The pain associated with hip flexor can be treated without going through any surgical methods. You can just opt for the treatments that include lower risk. According to the studies, it has been found that 80% of athletes suffer from hip flexor pain. It is definitely quite unbearable but it won’t take a lot of time for you to recover from such pain if you know how to take care of yourself and have plenty of rest.

Hip flexor pain is very frequent among athletes. Runners or athletes ignore the pain on the hip flexor because they think that they have a strong muscle. Strong muscles and tight muscles are two different things. Among all the muscles, the hip flexor muscles are very tight because these muscles are not very strong.

These muscles are responsible for performing activities related to running. If any runner is putting a lot of strain on their hip flexor muscles for running then it can cause pain due to strain. The main reason for hip flexor pain in most of the cases among the runners is the strain.

Defining Hip Flexor

Hip Flexor is the group of muscles that will originate near the portion of your hip and then it will run down towards the thigh bone or femur. These muscles will help in providing flexibility to the hip when a person is bringing it towards the upward direction and close to the abdomen then it will help in reducing the angle of the hip joint and it is called as the flexion.

This hip flexion faces a lot of injuries and one of the main causes is a strain. Due to rapid acceleration or constant running a person can face hip flexor pain.

There are several types of symptoms that will be associated with your hip flexor pain. It can start as mild pain and can become severe and hinder your mobility.

One must take proper care of themselves if they don’t want the symptoms to get any worse. You can definitely take some medication and at the same time make sure to try out some home remedies or activities which will help in reducing the pain. If you have not encountered hip flexor pain earlier then this article is going to help you to get the in-depth knowledge about this condition.

Hip Flexor Pain can be treated by considering the intensity of the injury. Medications are definitely important but at the same time, you will have to perform simple exercises which will help in reducing the tension of the muscle, stretch the muscle and make your body more flexible.

You will have to create an ideal condition where your hip flexor muscles will be able to heal itself quickly. After injuring yourself the first thing that you need to do is visit the doctor because one needs to know the cause of the pain.

You can definitely try out some initial home remedies like cold and hot compression in order to reduce the pain. Hip pain can arise because of several reasons and which is why one must not push themselves excessively when they are performing the athletic task. The hip flexor is very important because it provides mobility and hence any type of injury to the hip flexor will restrict your mobility.

RICE method for Hip Flexor pain relief

The moment you encounter any hip flexor pain then the first thing that you need to do is use the RICE method.

1. Rest: The moment you encounter hip flexor pain the first thing that every doctor will tell you is to take proper rest. Rest is important because it will help you to avoid any type of activity that can escalate your pain. If you are a runner then you need to stop running for at least a week to see how your pain is getting reduced.

2. Ice: One must apply ice on the area where they are encountering the pain because it can make one feel much better as it will reduce the inflammation. The pain can become very intense and which is why you need to perform it at three to four times a day for at least 15 minutes. You can put some ice on a plastic bag and wrap a towel around it and then apply it on the swollen area. It will help you to avoid the irritation that might occur on your skin.

3. Compression: Compression can help in treating hip flexor pain quickly. All you need to do is wrap the ice around your hip and pelvis.

4. Elevation: When you will elevate the painful joint then it will help in reducing the swelling which will thereby reduce the pain. One can easily elevate their knee or ankle in comparison to their hip.

Causes Of Hip Flexor Pain

Due to prolonged strained or repetitive strain on the hip muscles, people develop hip flexor pain. It may also result from excessive jumping or kicking. Hip flexor pain is mainly encountered by athletes. When you are playing any sport it can happen suddenly. Apart from this, there are other factors that may contribute to the hip flexor pain and those are listed below:

• Tight muscles

• Repetitive injury in the same area.

• Excessive pushing yourself while performing any exercise.

• Muscle fatigue and poor biomechanics.

• Having a bad posture while sitting.

• Joint stiffness and weak muscles.

• Pelvic instability

People who get most affected by hip flexor pain

Hip flexor pain is encountered when you are using the tendons and muscles of the hip flexors excessively. It can make the tendon and muscles get inflamed and sore which will cause the pain. There are some people who are more prone to encountering hip flexor pain and those are:

• Dances

• Martial artist

• Basketball players

• Soccer players

• Cyclist

• Runners

• Aerobics participants

Symptoms of hip flexor pain

• Pain or cramping in your upper leg.

• Stiffness or tightness after sleeping or being stationary.

• Unable to perform sprinting, jumping or kicking.

• Bruising or swelling near the thigh and hip area.

• Uncomfortable while moving and restricted mobility.

• Muscle spasm in the thighs and hips.

• Experiencing an unexpected and sharp pain near the hip and pelvis area after facing the trauma.

• Clenching and cramping sensation in the muscles of your upper leg.

How to diagnose hip flexor pain issues?

If you experience any of the symptoms that are mentioned above then it might be a thing of concern and wishes for you need to visit a doctor. Tenderness or swelling near the hip and leg area is a prime sign that you have injured your hip flexor and this, in turn, is causing the pain. After visiting the doctor they will try to see your mobility range after the injury and they will also apply some pressure in various muscles of your hip and leg region in order to know the cause. They will ask you to perform several stretches in order to see which muscle has been damaged. In order to be double sure the doctor may also ask you to opt for the procedure which will help them to get the image of your hip flexor. This test includes ultrasound, x-ray, CT scan or MRI. In most of the cases, people are advised to opt for x-rays.

An x-ray will help you to get the images of the bones and it’s dense structure. With the help of x-rays, one will be able to know whether they have strained their hip flexor or have caused a fracture on their hips because both of them can show similar symptoms. Performing x-ray is quite sufficient when it comes to confirming any injury related to hip fracture. More information can be found out by reading hip flexors guide

Exercises for reducing hip flexor pain

When you are performing light exercises then it will help in encouraging the process of relieving the pain from hip flexor. The exercises that are recommended are used for strengthening, stretching and reducing the hip pain. Most of the exercises will not ask you to use any type of equipment and one can perform them easily at home. If you can perform these exercises on a regular basis then it will help in strengthening your muscles. If you have suffered from hip pain, then it is recommended to continue performing the exercises even after the pain subsides. One must ask the doctor about the type of exercises that they must perform in order to reduce swelling or pain.

Lunges

In order to perform lunges you will have to stand straight with both of your feet close to one another. Now you will have to take one step in the forward direction with the help of your right foot and then bend your knees in order to transfer your entire weight on that leg. This position will help in lowering the hip towards the floor and you need to hold that position for some time. Keep repeating this step with the other leg as well.

Pigeon Pose

Pigeon pose is one of the best exercises which people perform in order to reduce hip pain. Make sure that your pain is not intense because sometimes it can make things go worse. The stretching that is used in this exercise is known as the static stretching so there will be no dynamic movement. It will help in losing up the muscle.

You will have to begin from the elevated plank position exercise and then you will have to bring your left leg in the forward direction by keeping the knee on the ground. Now you will have to slide back the right leg as much as you can. You will have to hold that position for some time and then you will have to swap the sides.

Banded Bodyweight Squat

Here you will have to use a resistance band and keep even space underneath the feet and stand upright with your shoulder-width apart from one another. Now you will have to bring the resistance band handlebars behind the shoulder and hold that position. Your palms will face the forward direction.

You will have to exhale and keep on squatting by bending the knees into the sitting position keep the thighs parallel. Then you will have to inhale and then push off with the feet in order to stand or return to the initial position and keep on repeating the steps.

Bridges

This exercise will help in improving the core strength and will help in treating the hip flexors. In order to perform this exercise, you will have to lay flat on the plain surface and keep the arms on the side of your body. Now you have to bend the knees and make sure that your feet are at a flat position with the floor.

Extend your fingers in such a way that they will touch the heel. The shoulder will remain attached to the ground and it will squeeze the glute muscles. You have to lift the hips from the floor towards the upward direction. Try to hold that position for a few seconds and then return to the initial position. Keep repeating this step until you feel that the area is adequately stretched.

Dead Bug

This exercise will help in engaging the hip flexors and for improving the core strength. You will have to lay flat on the ground and keep the arms on each side of the body. Now you will raise both the legs and keep it at a 90-degree angle with respect to the floor.

Keep your back flat position with the ground. No one will have to extend their leg in the forward direction and keep it a few inches above the ground and then raise your arm of the opposite direction and keep it above the head. Now return the arm and the extended leg to the initial position and repeat the exercise with the other side.

Different processes of treating yourself during hip flexor pain

When you will encounter hip flexor pain then you will see that the leg and hip region is swollen so you can definitely take some anti-inflammatory medications in order to relieve the discomfort and reduce the swelling. It is very important to visit a doctor because one must not treat themselves with medications if they are unknown to the cause of the pain.

Once you visit the doctor they will provide you with several ways like exercises which will be quite effective in treating hip flexor pain. Depending on the intensity of the injury one will have to treat themselves accordingly.

Ways to treat hip flexor pain at home

Depending on the direction of the doctor and the physiotherapist the way to treat your hip flexor pain will depend. The doctor will definitely provide you with some counter medication for pain relief and at the same time will ask you to use crutches in order to help yourself while walking. If the injury is very severe then you need to opt for physical therapy.

People perform several exercises which will help in restoring their flexibility near the hip region and it will also help in rebuilding the flexor muscles of the hip. If you have a mild injury then there are small home remedies that you need to perform and those are written below:

1. Rest: The first thing that you need to do to recover from this unbearable pain is to take rest. Stop running or performing any type of rigorous activities as it will make the symptoms worse. You need to rest completely until you see that the pain is becoming mild.

2. Heat: Apart from applying cold compression make sure you are also putting some heat pack on the affected region because it will help in reducing the pain. All the heat packs are available in pharmacies or you can purchase them online.

3. Compression wraps: If you have hurt yourself while playing and have faced some hip injury then you can definitely opt for compression wraps because they are very useful. They are available in various pharmacies or you can purchase it online. One can see that their swelling is getting reduced once they start applying the compression wraps.

4. Hot showers: Hot shower is very helpful because it will help your muscle to relax which will, in turn, heal the muscle fibers rapidly.

5. Keep the legs elevated: The muscle fiber needs to get healed completely in order to allow you to work properly. It is always advised to keep the legs in an elevated position in order to refrain yourself from putting any type of pressure on it. Any type of pressure on the hip flexor can elevate the pain and the situation can become worse.

6. Over the counter pain relievers: There are several over the counter pain medications which one can use in order to get relief from the hip pain.

7. Platelet Rich Plasma Injection: When you will inject the concentrated growth factor of platelets into the blood of the patient then it will help in accelerating the healing process of the hip flexor.

8. Rehabilitation and physical therapy: Even after several weeks if you see that there is no improvement in your pain and it is still restricting you from performing any type of task then you will have to opt for rehabilitation or physical therapy in order to gain mobility and full strength.

When will you need to opt for the surgical treatment?

The injury of hip flexor can become very intense and may not heal quickly and that is the time when the doctor will suggest you opt for surgical treatment. Surgeries are used for repairing the muscle that has been ruptured during the injury.

It is quite obvious that you will need to perform some diagnosis methods like x-ray, CT scan, or MRI in order to see whether you will see through medications and exercise or you will need some surgery.

How to prevent hip flexor pain or injury

1. After you face any type of hip flexor injury you need to give the muscles proper time to heal itself before you are performing any type of sports or athletic activities. After recovering you will be able to gain proper strength and flexibility that will help you to perform the tasks easily.

2. While playing any type of sport make sure you have the protective gear in order to avoid hip flexor injury.

3. One must ask the doctor about all the activities and exercises that one must perform in order to keep their body flexible which will help you to avoid hip flexor injury.

4. After every exercise, one must take proper rest that will allow them to cool down. Avoid doing rapid stretches of repetitive stretches because your body needs proper time to stretch slowly.

5. Before every session of exercise or sports, one must warm up properly. In order to avoid any injury initial exercising is very important.

Conclusion

The pain in the hip flexor can become very intense and cause inconvenience but since it is a common injury so you will get several ways to treat yourself properly. Depending on the seriousness of the injury the number of days that it will take to recover will depend. If you are suffering from serious injury then it will take at least 6 weeks for you to recover completely from hip flexor pain. Always ensure that you are performing exercise that will help in improving the mobility of the lower leg as a part of the recovery regimen.

People can also perform some strength training exercises because it will help in strengthening the hip muscles and will strengthen your core. Apart from that, you need to ensure that you are warming up and performing some minor exercises before you are vigorously running, kicking or performing any type of athletic activities. Most of the people end up hurting their hip flexors because of their stiff body. If you are someone who does athletic activities every day then there is a very low chance for you to suffer from such injuries.