The iliopsoas has an underrated role in spinal stabilization. It makes sense when you see how the psoas attaches all along the lumbar spine, providing compression and stabilization against uncontrolled spinal flexion, lateral flexion, and shear. It’s kind of a big deal like that.
Interestingly enough, the psoas also has tremendously important fascial networks, with the medial arcuate ligament providing a continuation directly to the diaphragm. Its lower fibers directly attach to the pelvic floor. It’s another reason why breathing patterns can affect everything (but more on the breathing another time).
So for people who have chronically tight hip flexors, which would be the more effective solution: stretching them, or addressing the fact that they’re pulling double duty for an unstable spine and underdeveloped core, which is what made them tight in the first place?
Another way to look at it:
If you stretched a short and tight muscle and it regained length, it shouldn’t get tight again, should it? Conversely, if the muscle wasn’t technically “tight,” but rather holding excessive tone in order to keep your spine from looking like a losing round of Jenga, stretching it will just give more opportunity for low back pain, and quickly lead to the muscle tensing up again to defend the spine.
That’s the problem with conventional hip flexor stretches.
So the key is to create a good position of your joints so your core can work as its supposed to. From there we want to engage core, fire the glutes and THEN add the hip flexor strengthening drills.
While there are many exercises that can help strengthen the core, put you in better positions, in this video I'm showcasing 6 exercises to use to strengthen the hip flexors. You can use them in warm ups, as fillers, as part of a daily movement routine as well.
1. Dead Bug w/ Band + Exhalation
2. Banded Hip Flexor Raise w/ Pause
3. Half Kneeling Hip Flexion Holds
4. Hip Flexion End Range Holds
5. Hip Flexion End Range Lift Offs
6. Hip CARs (Controlled Articular Rotations)
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