REGIO COXAE
Hip
Common complaints — Shortened hip flexors · Hip joint wear
Common complaints
01
Shortened hip flexors
A dragging tightness at the front of the hip and in the groin, strongest on standing up after a long spell of sitting. It often comes together with low back pain.
Hours of sitting keep the hip flexors in a shortened position and they adapt to that length. The pelvis tips forward, the glutes switch on less readily and hip extension becomes limited — and the missing range is typically borrowed from the lower back.
02
Hip joint wear
Deep pain in the groin that increases with walking and on stairs. Rotating the hip inwards becomes restricted, and putting on shoes and socks gets harder.
The joint cartilage thins over the years, so load is distributed unevenly inside the joint. Earlier injury, long-standing one-sided loading and weakness of the muscles around the hip all speed the process. Judging the extent of the wear is a matter for imaging and a doctor.
How to prevent it
- Strengthening the glutes and the stabilisers around the hip — they are what takes load off the joint itself.
- Stretching the hip flexors daily, particularly alongside desk work.
- Varied movement: the hip stays healthy by using its full range regularly.
- Breaking up long periods of sitting with a few minutes of walking or hip-opening work every couple of hours.
This is exactly what prevention training is built on — if you would rather head off a recurring complaint, take a look at the service. Prevention training
This page is information, not a diagnosis. What is actually causing your complaint can only be established during an in-person assessment. If a complaint persists, is severe, or is getting worse, the first step is a medical examination, not therapy.