Poor mobility in the hips can result in nagging discomfort like tightness, aching, or soreness and restrict movements like walking, bending, and sitting. That’s why we will be discussing how to improve hip mobility with the easiest, quickest, and most effective methods.

The hips support the pelvis, core, torso, and legs for jumping, walking, running, and so forth. Without healthy hips, the body would be unable to perform these movements adequately needed in everyday life, like bending over, squatting, walking, or even standing. 

Within this article are the best hip mobility stretches and methods for improving hip mobility quickly and effectively for healthy, mobile hips.

What Causes Poor Hip Mobility?

There are more than a few causes of poor hip mobility. These factors that affect hip mobility can restrict everyday movements like walking and cause discomfort. 

Here are some common causes of poor hip mobility:

• Weakness in the hips and/or surrounding muscles
• Decreased stability of the lumbar spine
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Poor pelvic position (ex., Excessive pelvic tilt)
• Lack of exercise
• Osteoarthritis
• Sitting for prolonged periods
• Cerebral palsy

Can Low Hip Mobility Be Fixed?

The great news is that most causes of poor hip mobility can be combated with consistently applied lifestyle changes and adding hip mobility stretches to one’s weekly routine. For example, exercising is an excellent method of strengthening the hip flexors and surrounding muscles to prevent muscular imbalances that may cause tightness to restrict mobility. 

Taking time to learn how to improve hip mobility is crucial, as the hips provide balance and stability for everyday movements like walking, squatting, and leg and upper body movement. 

Why is it Worth Learning How to Increase Hip Mobility?

There are substantial reasons why it is worth knowing how to increase hip mobility, as it can benefit you in other ways, like understanding how to release tight calves or other body parts. In addition, improved hip mobility coincides with an enhanced quality of life, addressing discomfort and pain in the hips caused by poor mobility issues and more! 

Better Performance in Sport or Fitness

Knowing how to increase your hip mobility can significantly impact athletic performance. For example, this study showed that a single set of stretching that lasted up to 120 seconds improved jump performance and balance alone. 

Increasing hip mobility can make everyday movements easier, smoother, and quicker if you desire to enhance performance in sports or fitness or improve the overall quality of everyday life. 

A broadened range of motion in the hips from improved mobility can lead to longer strides for improved hip extension and increased running speed. The same can be said for other movements, like squatting. With the ability to achieve a full range of motion in the hips during a squat, more power can be accessed from the lower body. And the list goes on, as increasing hip mobility promotes a bounty of enhancements for athletic performance! 

Less Risk of Injury or Pain

The above study also recommends stretching the hip flexors to relieve tightness as a preventative approach for injuries. In addition, the study suggested soccer players with tight flexors stretch as tight hip flexors were shown to lead to greater activation of the “synergistic rectus femoris,” which can lead to overload and fatigue of the muscle. 

Regular exercise and stretching can benefit hip mobility, alleviate tightness and pain, and reduce the risk of injury. Some examples of injury risks associated with poor hip mobility include low back injuries like lumbar disc herniation and knee injuries such as knee sprain or strain. 

Knowing what is fascial stretch therapy and how different types of stretching or exercise can improve hip mobility is crucial for success. 

How to Increase Your Hip Mobility Fast: Stretches & Other Tips to Become More Mobile

Taking time to learn how to improve hip mobility will benefit you greatly in the long run by reducing the risk of injury and enhancing athletic performance. For optimal stretches and tips to improve hip mobility fast, continue reading! 

First - Get the Right Equipment

Starting your journey with how to increase hip mobility, the first step is buying the right equipment to promote steady progress. 

A patented upper and lower body device, CastleFlexx’s stretching equipment is specially designed. This powerful tool provides access to assisted stretching, a form of stretching that utilizes another person to achieve deeper and broader stretches. 

The benefits of assisted stretching are outstanding for enhancing mobility, eliminating restrictions in movement, and reducing the risk of injury. With our flexibility equipment, you can also gain access to flexibility and athletic performance improvements, speeding up the recovery process with improved circulation to the muscles and joints. And with CasteFlexx’s flexibility equipment, you can target mobility issues with full-body stretching and strengthening capabilities for guaranteed success! 

Deep Tissue Work

Performing deep tissue work on the hips can function to improve mobility by targeting the fascia and surrounding muscles. This method can address tightness while promoting blood flow and circulation to the area. In addition, deep tissue work can reduce inflammation and pain if discomfort, aches, or tightness in the hips. 

Exercises

Regarding weakness in the hips or surrounding muscles, exercise is an effective strategy for strengthening the muscles while improving mobility. The glutes work in sync with the hip flexors, so if one is weaker, the other muscle will take over, resulting in tightness, discomfort, or a raised risk of injury.

These are some beneficial exercises that work the hips and glutes:

• Romanian deadlifts
• Good mornings
• Hip thrusts
• Glute bridges
• Deadlifts
• Lunges
• Squats

90/90 Stretch

A highly favored mobility stretch for the hips in the health and fitness world, the 90/90 stretch takes the hips through external and internal rotations. One hip will rotate internally throughout the 90/90 mobility stretch, while the other will rotate externally.

Rotation of the hips is vital for daily activities like getting dressed, walking, sports, and sitting. This mobility stretch is beneficial for opening up the hips, targeting the muscles surrounding the hip capsule, such as the glutes, adductors, abductors, psoas, and piriformis. 

Hip CARs

Taking the hip joint through its full range of motion, hip CARs (controlled articular rotations) are a great mobility exercise to expand on hip mobility improvements. This mobility stretching exercise also benefits the glutes and feet, improving strength in the glutes and balance in the feet. 

Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch

A great warm-up and cool-down stretch for the hip flexors, the kneeling hip flexor stretch will lengthen and contract the hip flexors to reduce tightness and increase engagement of the hip flexors. Reducing tightness in the hips will naturally improve mobility, allowing more ease of access to a broader range of movement. 

Learning how to increase hip flexor mobility is very important. The hip flexors can play a role in contributing to lower back pain and other concerns, which is why performing mobility work with the hip flexors is crucial. If the hip flexors are tight, it can impede hip extension and, therefore, quality of movement. 

Lying Figure Four Stretch

The lying figure four stretch improves mobility in the hips by targeting the gluteus medius and hip flexors. The gluteus medius supports the hips during movement while providing stability for the hip joint. 

Lying Knee To Shoulder Stretch

Performed either knee to the same shoulder or knee to the opposite shoulder, the lying knee-to-shoulder stretch is excellent for releasing tension in the back, piriformis, and hip flexors. By performing this stretch, you target the hips and glutes to remove pressure from the lower back and hips. This release of tension drastically reduces tightness in the hips for improved mobility. 

How Long Does it Take to Improve Hip Mobility?

So, how long it takes to increase flexibility and mobility in the hips? 

It takes about 2-4 weeks to notice improvements in hip mobility through consistent stretching and exercise. The recommended amount of stretching is 4-5 times a week to encourage quick and profitable progress in hip mobility. In addition, incorporating exercises to improve hip mobility at the gym or home can promote further progress by strengthening the hips throughout various movements. 

Closing Thoughts on How to Improve Hip Mobility

Throughout this article, we discussed the importance of hip mobility and how to increase hip flexor mobility quickly. Exercises to improve hip mobility are crucial for injury prevention, like preventing lower back or knee joints that depend on the hips and everyday movements like walking and squatting. And that’s not all! 

Hip mobility promotes balance and stability in the torso and lower body. In addition, healthy mobility in the hips brings fluid ease to everyday movements and promotes good posture. To target hip mobility concerns and achieve speedy progress, CastleFlexx’s flexibility equipment does wonders. Designed for the everyday person to obtain the benefits of assisted stretching without the requirements of a second person, our flexibility equipment can help you achieve deeper and broader ranges of movement and stretches for enhanced mobility and flexibility. 

Improve hip mobility today with CasteFlexx’s flexibility equipment for easy access to deep stretching whenever you want!