Tight hips offer a clear blueprint for lower back pain

Most people are loath to look at their hips as the source of their back pain. But if you sit a lot, you should consider this: tight hip flexors are a signal contributor to lower back pain. This group of five muscles connects the femur to pelvis and provides a crucial connection between the upper and lower body. While they help initiate movements and stabilize the transfer of forces, they can also be implicated in causing dysfunction and back pain.  Here’s how:

• The seated position involves an over-contraction of the hip flexors.
• As they remain tight, they lose their flexibility and train themselves to stay this way. 
• Lost flexibility creates a pull on the pelvis which leads to Anterior Pelvic Tilt. 
• APT and tight hip flexors make good posture hard to come by, and can change the curvature of your spine.  

With a lack of support from the hip flexors and an imbalanced, unstable pelvis, your spine’s very foundation is at risk. 

But we have an action plan to help you overcome these risk factors. If we identify that you are suffering from tight hips, APT, or both, we enact an action plan with the following goals:

• Reversing APT retraining the pelvis into a neutral posture. We use pelvic tilt and bridge exercises to retrain your pelvis into a more supportive position. 
• We focus on regular conditioning of the hip flexors to keep them open and pliable rather than contracted and inflexible. 
• We restore alignment and stability in the vertebral segment of the lower back. 

Once we have your pelvis, hips and lower back realigned and in a state of balance, we can focus on developing the muscles that matter for core and pelvic stability. Your hip flexors bear a large percentage of the burden for keeping both your hips and lower back strong and balanced. It’s time to stop ignoring their role in your spinal health! Give our office in Sacramento a call to schedule an appointment today.