A lot of times, problems aren’t as easy as it seems. This is definitely the case when it comes to lower back pain. Lower back pain can be tricky because the lower back is at the core of your entire body. And as you know, what happens in one part of your body will effect every other part as well. Thus, not only can pain isolated to your lower back be the culprit of your symptoms, but also pain in either your upper and lower body can manifest itself in your lower back as well. This means that solving lower back pain doesn’t always involve just treating the lower back. Although it may provide temporary relief to focus on the lower back, failing to address the root cause of the pain will cause these symptoms to become chronic. One commonly overlooked reason for lower back pain relate to the hip flexors.
What are the hip flexors?
As its name implies, the hip flexors flex the hip. But what exactly are the hip flexors and where can they be found? The hip flexors are actually a collection of muscles, including the iliacus, psoas, pectineus, rectus femoris, and sartorius. What you need to know is that they reside deep near your pelvis and can get tight from activities such as sitting for an extended period of time. Having tight hip flexors will throw your hips out of alignment and put unnecessary stress to your lower back. Until you resolve the hip flexor tightness, a lot of your lower back pain will not fully go away.
What can I do?
You can relieve tight hip flexors in a few different ways. One way is through massage. At Attuned Vitality, we offer deep tissue massage therapy that is effective at working out the trigger points and tight areas in the muscles. We also offer class iv laser therapy that also aims to relax the muscles. Outside of the therapies that we offer here, some of the proactive things you can do at home include performing stretches. Stretches include butterflies and split stance positions. Be sure to take it slow and use the progression that is safest and most appropriate. Aim to hold the stretch for 5 minutes or more at a time for multiple times throughout the day. Additionally, you can stand more often if you tend to sit a lot to help keep your hip flexors from staying in that shortened position for too long.
If you are interested or have questions, please make an appointment with Dr. Wendy. Be sure to follow us on Facebook to stay up to date on our business.