Road Cycling - Hip Flexor Problems

I am having some problems with I believe to be both of my hip flexors.. they are getting a bit strained when I ride? I have no probs with any other muscle groups.. calfs, quads, and hammys are all good. Just my hip flexors. Anyone else have any issues like this.. they just always feel tight.. I am stretching but maybe not enough. I really noticed it this am on my 40 mile ride at points when I was down in the drops.

Thanks
Chaz

I had hip flexor problems that led to a groin pull. Be careful.

You want to stretch after your workout- do the runner's lunge for each leg and hold 30- 45 seconds, repeating the stretch with each leg about 4- 5 times (since you seem to have extra tightness in the hip flexors). You can stretch them before you get into the rides, but you want to make sure you have warmed up muscles first- do 5- 10 minutes of warm up cycling, then stop and stretch the muscles, doing exactly what I told you.

Start incorporating stretching into your daily activities. Really, we all should be stretching at least 30 minutes a day every day to prevent injuries.

Koffee

My anatomy knowledge is kinda average...when you say hip flexors, is that refering to aductors and those other inner thigh muscle groups that seem to get lumped into the "groin" area.

I am curious because I am having some trouble in this area myself. I'm not entirely sure if it's a lack of control issue (it's my left leg) or if it is just weaker....I guess the first leads to the other. The pain is right at the top and inside of inner thigh when "flexing" (extending, pushing down) the thigh. Never paid a whole lot of attention to stretching this area properly before...but it has my attention now. :eek:

Chainreka here is a link that might help.

http://physicaltherapy.about.com/library/weekly/aa081501i.htm

Man I did not realize that my lower back pain might also be contributed to this:mad:

Koffee Thanks for the input I need to stretch more then I do!!!


Chaz

I had some problems with this. I lowered my seat and that helped. Then I started lifting weights (not much, believe me!) and haven't had problems since.

If you belong to a local gym, I would also suggest if they have one of those heavy punching bags hanging around to spend some time doing front kicks and side kicks. Those kicks require using the hip flexor muscles, and they are excellent for building strength in the hip flexors. The kicks would really make you feel sore at first, but if you do them for about 15- 20 minutes, 2- 3 times a week, you will certainly feel much stronger within a couple of months.

Koffee

Hi,
think I would try yoga before kickboxing personally. My physical therapist taught me this one. Lay the lower half of your leg on a table; with the heel of your foot in front of the middle of your body. Lean forward from the hips. There are a number of stretches that target this area; get Andersen's Stretching book, or something similar.

Late, you just described a stretch for the hamstrings....

Yoga is great for flexibility (I totally think it's great to take for flexibility for sure!), but I was referring to building up strength for hip flexors, not flexibility.

Koffee

Hi,
thanks for pointing that out. The heel should almost be in contact with your pants. If you do that, you will be doing a hip stretch. As to the hip flexors, depend on the guy. As a middle aged person, I cant' take much impact. So Koffee, if kicking is out, what do you think is a good hip flexor exercise? My routine (which I am going to start manana, really, this time I'm serious! :rolleyes: is pretty simple. Ham curls, leg extensions, Nautilus squat machine, calf raises, seated rowing, and Roman chair.

In the yoga classes I teach, I emphasize a lot of hip work. Yoga has a long history of developing hip flexibility and strength. Originally, that was because the yogi had to be able to sit for hours in the lotus posture with a strong, erect spine. I have a number of cyclists who come to my class for the hip work.

One of the easiest and effective psoas (one of the hip flexor sets) stretch is to recline on your back, bend your knees upward, draw them back toward your head and wrap your armns firmly around the shins. Breath deeply, allowing the abdomen, lower back, buttocks and thighs to relax on the exhalation. Press downward gently with the goal of getting your thighs down onto your abdomen and chest. If I feel stiff in the middle on the morning of a ride, I always do this one for several minutes followed by some deep spinal twists. It works.

If you want to know some other hip work for cyclists, send me a private message.

If you want to pursue this deeper, you will need a teacher, at least for a while. Iyengar yoga emphasizes the importance of the hip flexors for posture and strength. Good Iyengar teachers are found in most areas. Another route is to take some "Free the Hips" Basics classes from a Kali Ray TriYoga teacher. The usually advertise as TriYoga teachers. These are great methods.

Rich

Chaz, thanks for the link. I already spent some time at this site:
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ThighWt.html#anchor1943047.

At the bottom of the page, Hip Adductors, I found what I think is my problem. I've done some, but not all those stretches before, but not seriously. After doing them, my problem is well on the way to solved...I also have to think about it on the bike.

I've never really had a problem with "Hip Flexors"...maybe they will be next if I can improve. Medial Glutes (kinda a hip muscle really) used to be my BIG problem, but only cos I wasn't pedaling anywhere near 'properly'.:rolleyes:

Edit: Hip Flexor link is easy to find there too:
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/HipsWt.html#anchor1938598