Too much tension in the hip flexors accumulates with a lot of time spent in a chair position where the thighs are in front of the hips. With short and tight hip flexors, it is harder to fully straighten the legs let alone extend the hips while walking. This changes your walking gait and leads to compensatory movements of other parts which in turn may lead to more discomfort in areas such as the knees and lower back.

To offset the effects of tight hip flexors, I recommend practicing a lunge as much as possible, especially as a way to take a break from sitting in a chair or in the vehicle.

Take a large step and make sure your feet stay pointing straight forward. Then pay attention to the tilt of the pelvis - you need to keep the pelvis steady so that you don’t off-load the move into your lower back. Tuck your butt sending your pubic bone forward to keep the front of the pelvis vertical, if not slightly tilted back (posteriorly). This way, the stretch will be experienced in the front of the thigh of the back leg.

Do this often and you may find yourself taking easier, longer strides.

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