17 Hip Stretches Your Body Really Needs

You also have hip adductor muscles (which include your pectineus, adductor longus, and adductor brevis) on the inside of your thigh, and hip abductor muscles (your side butt muscles, like the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, as well as your tensor fasciae latae) on the outside. When you move your legs out to the side—say, if you’re doing a lateral lunge—your hip abductors are firing; when you bring them in, like when you hop your feet back to center in a jumping jack, your hip adductors are working. You can also consider your gluteus maximus (the largest muscle in your butt) part of this area too; it plays a role when you do pretty much any move that requires hip extension, like a glute bridge or deadlift.

While your butt muscles have different functions than your hip flexors, they also tend to work in tandem with them. That’s why some of the best stretches for hips target those surrounding muscles as well.

What’s the problem with tight hips?

Tight hips don’t just create problems in your hips; they can impact functioning (and lead to aches and pains) in a bunch of other body parts too. That’s why addressing hip tightness is so important and impactful.

Specifically, tight hip flexors make it harder for your pelvis to rotate properly during exercise and everyday movements, which can cause your lower back to overcompensate, Teo Mendez, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at NY Orthopedics who focuses on sports-related injuries, musculoskeletal injuries, and arthritis, tells SELF. "This can be a setup for lower-back injury,” Dr. Mendez says. In fact, Dr. Herzberg notes that tight hips are often the reason people feel like they’ve strained or “thrown out” their back when squatting.

Too much tightness in your hips can also make it harder for your glutes to activate. Here’s why: They’re opposing muscle groups, so when one is really tight, the other becomes lengthened—which reduces its ability to contract. “Strong, powerful glutes create the anchor for your entire pelvis,” California-based trainer Holly Perkins, CSCS, tells SELF. So when they're lengthened and compromised, it can throw off your body alignment and form, making your workouts less efficient and even potentially increasing your risk of injury, Perkins says. (For example, you may become more quad-dominant, which can weaken your hamstrings and even affect your knees, she explains.)

Limitations in glute activation and hip mobility can also affect how you absorb impact, Carol Mack, DPT, CSCS, a physical therapist at CLE Sports PT & Performance in Ohio, tells SELF. “For movements like squatting, the hip needs enough mobility to be able to bend for hip flexion, rotation inward, and rotation outward,” she says. When you add plyometric exercises, like squat jumps, to the mix, your hips have to be able to go through that same range of motion, but at an even faster speed, Dr. Mack says. The quicker your hips, knees, and ankles can bend, the better the ability to absorb the impact from the ground, she adds. Joint mobility and muscle strength need to work together for that to happen effectively.

What are the benefits of hip stretches?

Hip stretches can help lengthen these muscles, which may relieve discomfort, decrease tightness, and increase mobility. This can all ultimately get your entire lower body functioning more optimally, since your hips are connected to—and function in tandem with—everything from your lower back and pelvis to your glutes and legs. Since your hips are involved in so many of the movements you make, stretching them is a great way to ensure they’re ready to work for you.

The good news is that there are plenty of good hip-opening stretches you can do. Some work directly on your hip flexors while others target the surrounding muscles.

Tack on a few of the hip stretching exercises below to the end of your workout (especially if it included lower-body moves or hip exercises), or spend just a few minutes each day doing a few of them to improve mobility in your hips. It doesn’t need to be an elaborate routine: Dr. Herzberg typically just recommends a total of four hip stretches that target different areas of the joint. Just keep in mind that “consistency is key,” he adds. The best way to have happy, healthy hips for the long haul is to weave this mobility work into your routine regularly, versus only doing them when your hips already feel tight.

Quick note: While these hip mobility and stretching exercises can help relieve discomfort caused by tightness, if you’re experiencing hip pain or more serious aches, connect with a doctor or physical therapist. They can prescribe specific stretches for hip pain—or may have you hold off on certain moves that can make things worse. You should also tap a professional if you’ve been trying these moves for a couple weeks but haven’t noticed a change for the better, Dr. Herzberg adds. Getting a more personalized approach from an expert can help usher in the relief you need.