Fix Tight and Painful Hip Flexors with a Neurological Approach
Revolutionize Your Hip Flexor Health with These Brain-Based Drills
Are you struggling with tight or painful hip flexors despite stretching and foam rolling? It's a common issue, but the solution may lie beyond traditional methods. Today's post delves into a brain-based approach to hip flexor health, offering a fresh perspective and actionable drills to enhance mobility, reduce discomfort, and improve your overall movement. Let's explore how you can revolutionize your hip flexor care with these innovative strategies.
1. Go Local with Hip Mobilization
Start with targeting the problem area directly. A simple yet challenging drill, the straight leg hip circle, acts as a joint mobilization technique. It not only targets your hip flexors but also improves your brain's mapping of this joint, enhancing proprioception and mobility.
2. Embrace Peripheral Nerve Mobilization
Next, we shift our focus to a peripheral nerve that influences the hip flexors, the femoral nerve. Through gentle nerve gliding exercises, you can alleviate tension and discomfort, promoting better nerve health and function. This method goes beyond muscle, targeting the nerve pathways that control them.
3. Explore Opposing Joint Theory
Here's where it gets interesting. By working on the shoulder opposite to your problematic hip, you can potentially alleviate hip pain. This concept, based on opposing joint theory, suggests that mobility work on one joint can affect another. So, shoulder circles on the opposite side could unlock new levels of hip flexibility and pain relief.
4. Incorporate Vision Drills
Lastly, we look at the visual system - a higher-order control system that profoundly influences movement and pain. Simple eye exercises, focusing on improving convergence and tracking, can lead to significant improvements in hip function. Whether you have issues with your right or left hip, corresponding vision drills can create surprising results.
Incorporating these drills into your routine offers a holistic approach to hip flexor health, emphasizing the brain's role in movement and pain. Remember, this protocol is about exploring what works best for you and may require some experimentation. Keep an open mind and be patient with the process. Your hip flexors – and your overall mobility – will thank you.
👋🏻 Hi, I’m Taylor Kruse, a strength & mobility coach who’s passionate about jiu jitsu and neuroscience. I help you with daily exercise and recovery tips so that you can squash your pains and make those gains!
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- Follow structured programs to keep your joints healthy and your muscles strong even as you age by joining the Strength & Mobility Dojo
- Restore your brain-body connection by deliberately training your unique nervous system using the neurologic blueprint we provide in our specialty course, the Neuro Dojo
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