Athletes Treating Athletes

In this post I’m going to show you a mobilization technique specifically for the front of the hip/psoas area. To do it you’re going to need a new tool or to be creative and built your own. My personal favorite is to slice open a tennis ball and stick it on the end of something like a tennis racket. that way you have something soft to apply pressure with and a good handle to hold that pressure throughout the movement.

The whole goal of this mob (mobilization) is to use anchor down the psoas and then stretch the muscle out against it. In other words, we’re trying to actively release the muscle.

Key Points:

1) Do your homework first!! make sure you can find the hip flexor muscle before jabbing something into the “approximate area”. Click here for a full review on where and how to find it.

2) The other leg should be bent and relaxed.

3) This is not a traditional stretch. No hold time is required. Go for reps instead. 10 will do the trick.  Like I said in the video- you may not be able to straighten the leg all the way or lower it to the floor. You want the move to be slow and controlled. Don’t try to force it. If you hit a pain or stop point, just hold there for second or two and then bring the knee back up to that start position. You can build into the reps as tolerated.

4) Good idea to follow this mob up with some gentle stretching of the area. click here to learn how.

4) Follow up with ice if you are hitting any sore/painful points. 10 minutes right on the front of the hip.

Video:

The green torture tool in the video is called the Theracane. There are a few varieties you can choose from and they usually range in the $20-30 range. Here are some on amazon.

This can be a tough move. Any questions leave a comment below!