Do your hips feel tight? Has a chiropractor, physical therapist, or massage therapist ever told you that your hips are tight? This is a pretty common thing I hear people talk about. Everybody either loves (or loves to hate) hip openers and hamstring stretches. But what do you really need to be doing to find relief? Let’s talk about how to release tight hips.
Why are my hips tight?
There are many reasons why your hips can feel tight, and likely there are several things at play. We’ve all heard the common reasons like not stretching, running or weight lifting a lot and sitting too much, but that isn’t the complete picture.
In my practice, I’ve found that the pelvic floor and position of the pelvis play a huge role in hip mobility. Here are some pictures to help you visualize this.Take a look at the pelvis:
You can see how the spine attaches to it at the top and the hip bones (aka the femurs) attach to each side of the pelvis.
Here’s the pelvic floor:
These muscles sit at the very bottom of the pelvis and are like a hammock supporting our intestines and pelvic organs. Both men and women have pelvic floor muscles, the structure is just a little different.
The pelvis can move into many different positions, but I’ll save you the nerdy details. Put simply, when the position of the pelvis changes, it always impacts the position of the hips and how much hip mobility is available. This is because the pelvis is the “socket” part of the hip joint.
Just like any other muscle, your pelvic floor can be tight, tense, or weak. When this happens, it tightens the bottom opening of the pelvis, affecting hip joint positioning, and sometimes even making the surrounding hip and thigh muscles tense as a result.
How to release tight hips
The best way to optimize the position of your pelvis and unlock tight hips is to start with your breathing. Yes, you heard me right! The way you breathe can work wonders for improving how your body moves.
Here’s what to do:
- Lay on your back with your knees bent up. Relax. Place a hand on your belly just below your belly button.
- Feel your hips and pelvic floor relax. This feels like a gentle downward release of the pelvic floor (like when you go pee).
- Contract your pelvic floor. This feels like a lifting contraction as if you’re stopping the flow of urine or rolling the hips together.
- Inhale silently through your nose taking a full inhale as your stomach rises. As you do this, relax the pelvic floor down. When you can’t inhale anymore, exhale all your air through an open mouth like you’re fogging up a mirror. Your stomach should fall downwards. As you exhale, lift and contract your pelvic floor. Exhale all the way until you feel your side abs turn on. Keep those side abs gently engaged and continue breathing like this.
- Work on this breathing exercise for 3 sets of 5 breaths, 1-3 times per day.
Though it seems simple, this can be challenging when performed correctly! It can also have profound effects on how your hips feel. Give it a try and let us know how it goes. Got more questions about how to release tight hips? Contact us, or get a good assessment of your pelvic floor by seeing a pelvic floor therapist.
They do amazing work and can provide invaluable information for improving your health. More kegels are not always the answer! My favorite pelvic floor therapists are Core Strong Physical Therapy and Pelvic Floor and More.
