HIP FLEXOR TENDINOSIS & GROIN TENDINOSIS
A FEW OF THE HIP FLEXOR TENDONS
SOMETIMES THE GROIN MUSCLES / TENDONS ARE CONSIDERED HIP FLEXORS
As you might imagine, the “Hip Flexors” are muscles that flex your hips. Flexion of the hip is easy to understand. If you bring your knee toward your chest, you are flexing your hip. Every time you walk, run, squat, kick a ball, or do about anything that involves moving your thigh, you are putting your hip into at least some degree of flexion. Soccer players who have explosive muscle contractions of the thigh / hip every single time they kick the ball, are extremely prone to Hip Flexor Tendinopathy or Tendinosis of the Hip Flexors. If you do not understand the difference between Hip Flexor Tendinitis and Hip Flexor Tendinosis, you need to spend just a few minutes on our TENDINITIS -vs- TENDINOSIS page.
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Although there are many muscles that are considered to be “flexors” of the hip, the two muscles that are most commonly thought of as “The Hip Flexors” are the Illicacus and Psoas (often referred to as one muscle — the illiopsoas). Although the illiosposas is the muscle most commonly associated with the Hip Flexor family, it is certainly not the only one. Some of the most powerful muscles of the front thigh are considered to be Hip Flexors as well. These include the powerful Quadriceps Muscle (Rectus Femoris in the picture below), the TENSOR FASCIA LATA on the outside of the hip area (which attaches to the incredibly long tendon-like ITB — sometimes called the Illiotibial Tract), as well as the Sartorius and Gracilis.
Where will you feel most cases of Hip Flexor Tendinosis (HERE)? If you go to you ASIS (the bony bump at the front of the top of your pelvis area — your belt will sit on or just above the ASIS) and slide straight down just a smidgen, you will be there. In the case of an injured groin tendon, the pain will be felt most commonly in one of the cord-like tendons on the high inside part of the thigh. Be aware that many cases of “Groin Pulls” are actually related to tearing the fascia of this region. See middle picture below. By the way, I commonly see Hip Flexor problems hand in hand with abdominal issues (HERE). And HERE and HERE are cool testimonials from people who struggled with Hip Flexor issues — one of them for 15 years — before having said problems solved in a single visit.
HIP FLEXOR ANATOMY
| DEEP HIP FLEXORS & GROIN MUSCLES |
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| FASCIA AROUND THE GROIN |
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You can see the illiacus and psoas muscles in this picture. However, please note the other muscles that are in the area, and are considered to be hip flexors as well. Sartorius, Quadriceps, and TFL are three of several (including groin muscles).
I also included this picture from Gray’s Anatomy to show you just how much fascia there is in the “Groin” or “Hip Flexor” region. Torn fascia and FASCIAL ADHESIONS are a huge problem and major contributor to Chronic Pain! Your problem may not be Tendinosis. Address Fascial Adhesions and Destroy Chronic Pain!
