These 4 simple movements can help with hip pain, according to a physical therapist

Get hip to these simple movements that stretch and strengthen the hip flexors.Dr. Andy Fata-Chan, a New York-based physical therapist and fitness coach at Moment Physical Therapy & Performance, told The Post that static stretching often fails to address the root cause of hip discomfort.“The overall goal when trying to eliminate hip flexor pain is making sure that the joints can actually move and the muscles can lengthen,” he said.

The hip flexors are a group of muscles along the front of the upper thigh.They include the iliacus, psoas major, rectus femoris and sartorius.

Every time you take a step, you use your hip flexor muscles.Focusing on the hip flexors is crucial to maintaining mobility in our golden years. A 2021 analysis found that stretching and strengthening the hip flexors positively affects the joints, ligaments and muscles around the hip, improving balance and reducing lower back pain.Fata-Chan told The Post that there are several reasons why people experience hip flexor pain, but the most common include a sedentary lifestyle, an increase in training, and/or injury from sprinting.Many Americans sit for eight to 10 hours a day, to the detriment of their backs, hips, waistlines and hearts.Sitting for extended periods can lead to obesity, muscle weakening, spinal stress, poor blood sugar regulation and decreased blood circulation throughout the body.“If you’re in a seated position for an extended period of time, it puts the hip flexors in a shortened position,” he explained.

“Muscles can get achy and tight when they stay in the same position.There isn’t a posture that you can adopt that will address this, you need to get up and move.”A study published in the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine found that just five minutes of light walking every half hour can offset some of the increased risks associated with sitting for long stretches of the day.And while walking is a clear benefit to the body, sprinting can...