Name: Kneeling Hip Flexor Static Stretch
Uploaded: 2023-04-26T01:01:42.000Z
Duration: 10 min 57 s

English captions

https://stream.mux.com/mlmWI8TEAPQCUsEMMo92et8GakDs7mwR4tQt1HC9G3k.m3u8

Learn how to properly perform the kneeling hip flexor (psoas, iliacus, TFL, and rectus femoris) static stretch in this comprehensive step-by-step instructional video from the Brookbush Institute. This evidence-based video provides expert coaching on setup, positioning, alignment, and technique (including progressions and regressions). Safely improve hip flexor flexibility, enhance hip mobility, and reduce anterior hip tightness while supporting optimal lumbopelvic alignment and movement mechanics. Suitable for all fitness levels. Perfect for athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and rehabilitation clients seeking to reduce pain, improve posture, and restore optimal movement mechanics while reducing injury risk.

Introduction to Hip Flexor Stretches

Common Mistakes in Hip Flexor Stretches

Correct Technique for Targeted Hip Flexor Stretching

Advanced Modifications for Specific Muscle Targeting

Critique of Popular Stretching Techniques

Final Thoughts on Effective Hip Flexor Stretching

Kneeling Hip Flexor Static Stretch

This is Brent of the Brookbush Institute and in this video we're going over our static hip flexor stretch. I'm going to have my friend Adam come out he's going to help me demonstrate both the wrong way and the right way to do this stretch. Now me and you have been personal trainers a long time, let's show everybody how we see this done poorly quite often. Alright and you can see he gets this nice arch to his back, if he threw his arms back he looks like he should be on the front of the Titanic. Although this might be pretty like it's definitely not the greatest way to do this stretch. If we think about how much hip extension you have, which is just 10 to 15 degrees, we know that this is not 15 degrees, that's more than 45. He has to be getting that mobility from somewhere else and that should worry you a little bit. We want our stretches to be specific. You can get out of that position, it even irks me a little bit to see you in that position right. It's not a great thing to not know what you're stretching, we want to make sure that we're stretching stuff that's short. Remember hypermobility is just as dangerous as hypomobility, so if we're stretching things that aren't short we could be setting somebody up for some dysfunction, or possibly pain in the future. So how can we make this specific to just the hip flexors, and the truth is that it's actually easier. The the stretch I'm going to show you is way easier than the ones you just saw. So Adam is going to set himself up with these nice 90-degree angles, so he's going to be 90 degrees with knee right underneath his hip and then leg straight back, and then he can go ankle right under this knee, and then this knee is level with this hip, so we get these nice right angles and we get easy lines to monitor. He's got good straight posture this way, remember your psoas connects into your lumbar spine so it is important to even watch how much lordosis you're getting here. Now once he's in this position all you have to do is go posterior pelvic tilt. Now I don't tell my clients to posterior pelvic tilt but that's what we're going teach them. What I usually tell my clients to do is can you tuck your tail, alright it's scared dog, and if I have to I'll give them a little manual pressure on their PSIS usually that'll get people to tuck under, good. Squeeze their glutes is another good way to get them to posterior pelvic tilt, and usually if you can teach that simple little turn of their pelvis under, can you feel that in the front of your hip, it's like immediate. It just makes it so easy, you're just going oh hip flexor stretch got it, got it. It's just that easy, and now we can be pretty certain because all we've done there with a posterior pelvic tilt is lengthen out our hip flexors via some hip extension. Now what I can do from here is add a few little modifications if I wanted to go after specific muscles. Let's say I've taken my assessment one step further, I went from just doing the overhead squat assessment and seeing things like anterior pelvic tilt or excessive forward lean that make me think that my hip flexors are tight, to now I'm starting to think about well if knees bow in that's femoral internal rotation; of my hip flexors, my gluteus minimus and my TFL are internal rotators you following me, how can I make a hip flexor stretch specific to the TFL and gluteus minimus? It's actually not that hard, I'm going to have Adam take this leg and turn it, face the camera real quick for me Adam, he's going to take this this foot, hopefully you can see what I'm seeing, and he's going to put it behind this ankle. So we don't need a lot of external rotation, but just a little bit of external rotation because my TFL and glute minimus are internal rotators, so I'm going to externally rotate to lengthen them. He's then going to hip hike a little bit, or lean in this way, that's going to adduct his hip relative to his pelvis, and you don't even have to do that much because we still want just enough room to do a posterior pelvic tilt. Alright so now tuck under, and you should feel that more on the lateral side of your hip. How's that feeling? Good. So now I'm getting real specific, like I felt like okay he had knees bow in, that functional valgus, I know the internal rotators are overactive contributing to that knees bow in functional vagus. Maybe I even did some goniometry and he had a reduction in either internal rotation or external rotation, that gets a little complicated, but I'm getting specific. Now what else could I do? Well, let me have you turn around one more time. Alright I could go rectus femoris, let's say I have Adam as a patient and I noticed that a lot of his issues seemed more geared around the knee. Now if you are physical therapists, athletic trainers or chiropractors you could even goniometric assessment to see if they had enough knee flexion. Maybe there's somebody who's post-surgical, right we know that the rectus femoris has just geared way up, lots of overactivity, lots of active trigger points, lots of shortening and we want to figure out a way to lengthen it. Well, Adam he's already in the habit of doing this, but if we take the hip flexor stretch and we go from this plantar flat foot out position to dorsiflexed, notice that increases the amount of flexion at the knee which is now going to lengthen the rectus femoris a little bit; and what Adam should have noticed is when he goes from, so flop your foot all the way out, when he goes from their, posterior pelvic tilt, good and then tucks his toe in, then all of a sudden he feels a lot more down the center of his thigh, cool. Alright so that's great, so that's a little bit more rectus femoris. So we have got TFL which was the turn the foot in and lean over a little bit, and then we have rectus femoris which is throw the the toes in there and get a little bit more knee flexion, and then you of course have the first variation we showed you which is probably just more of a good general hip flexor stretch, maybe would incorporate a little bit more psoas and iliacus because the TFL and the rectus femoris have a little bit more slack in them than these other two positions I've showed you. Now let me harp on a couple of things that I don't like to see. The couch stretch has become incredibly popular, I want you to keep in mind that if I take this foot throw it up on something this way, and then jam my body back against my foot, that number one it is incredibly aggressive, and we have to get out of the habit of if it didn't work I need more. If it didn't work it might not be the right technique. I've never seen anybody get additional benefit from the couch stretch that I couldn't get from a kneeling hip flexor stretch, especially with toes in, it's just too much. Not to mention the couch stretch is just rectus femoris. You're shortening the rectus femoris so much at the knee, or lengthening it so much at the knee, that when you go into a posterior pelvic tilt the limiting structure is always going to be your rectus femoris, and you are going to miss TFL glute minimus, psoas and iliacus every time. So if your goal was to fix something like knees bow in or an anterior pelvic tilt, you're losing. You're losing because you're leaving a lot behind. Now the other thing that I don't like to see, is I don't like to see the very fancy hip flexor stretch which is Adam if you raise your right arm, and then Adam side bends towards me, good and then he rotates back this way. Now the problem with this stretch is not that it's not theoretically sound, it is a very theoretically sound stretch. What we're doing here is we're trying to lengthen the psoas as far as possible, remembering that our psoas attaches to the vertebral bodies of L1 through L5, so if I side bend a little bit, I pull my psoas a little longer on that side, and then if I rotate back it lengthens even further. The problem with this stretch is as soon as people do this stuff they tend to lose their posterior pelvic tilt, they tend to arch their back and then they tend to go into hip hiking, and now what we have is a theoretically great stretch with bad form; and I have to be honest I've never seen good form on that stretch ever, especially once left alone. It's one of those stretches where maybe you can get it set up right in clinic, maybe you can get it set up right with coaching, but as soon as you give it for a home exercise program, as soon as you walk away from your patient, as soon as you turn your back it becomes like this mess of they just look like Al'Dente noodles, like hey look I'm stretching my hip flexors, and it kind of goes back into our what we call the Titanic stretch, right, good. Alright last point I'm going to make harping on the static hip flexor stretch here is this is not a stability exercise, so feel free to give somebody something to hold on to. Let them hold on to a wall, like I like to do these stretches right next to a wall or like a weight rack so I can hold on to, there's nothing wrong with that, we're trying to stretch, we'll do stability exercises later, and first steps first, let's go all the way back to can we just do a good static hip flexor stretch. I know I'm giving you a lot to think about with modifications and maybe things you shouldn't do, but where we should start is stable position, 90, 90, 90, 90. Can you posteriorly pelvic tilt, hold for 30 to 120 seconds calmly, and get a good release. That's it, that's where we're going to start. If you have any questions leave them in the comments box below, thank you Adam.

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Kneeling Hip Flexor Self-administered Static Stretch:

Have your patient/client assume a half-kneeling position, with the knee on the side to be stretched directly under the hip. The other leg should be in line with the hip, with the hip and knee flexed to 90° (foot directly under the knee).

Have your patient/client assume an upright posture (normal curvature of the spine, shoulder back and down, head back and chin tucked).

Cue your patient or client to posteriorly tilt their pelvis (I find the cue "tuck the tail" to be helpful).

A stretch should be noted with a posterior pelvic tilt alone. This may take some practice but is more effective as a general hip flexor stretch than leaning forward.

Note: Leaning forward increases the lumbar curve reducing the length of the psoas, may lead to anterior pelvic tilt reducing the length of the iliacus, and also reduces knee flexion reducing the length of the rectus femoris.

Hold this stretch and wait for the discomfort to subside or for a “release” (generally 30 – 120 seconds).

Move deeper into the stretch or move on to the next muscle to be stretched.

The most common mistakes are leaning forward and losing the posterior pelvic tilt, essentially trying to stretch around the muscles noted above.

The kneeling position can be rough on the knee in contact with the floor. Use airex pads, folded yoga mats, or towels to provide as much comfort as needed.

Modifications for preferential lengthening of the TFL:

Have your patient/client start in the upright, half-kneeling position described above.

Add external rotation of the femur by having your patient/client line up the foot of the leg to be stretched with the opposite foot and hip (shift the back foot medially about 12").

Have your patient/client add the posterior pelvic tilt, describe above.

Slide the hips (lean) toward the side to be stretched adding femoral adduction.

The most common mistakes are leaning forward and losing the posterior pelvic tilt. Do not be afraid to start over, attempting to teach and maintain the posterior pelvic tilt

Modifications for preferential lengthening of the Rectus Femoris:

Have your patient/client perform the kneeling hip flexor stretch with the ankle of the back leg dorsiflexed ("tucking the toes), increasing the amount of knee flexion.

Often hip flexor stretching is done in excessively strenuous positions that place the rectus femoris in positions beyond optimal extensibility. Any stretch that places the back foot on a box, bench or against the wall is excessive and not recommended for anyone.

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