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The hip routine

Six stretches for hips that sit all day: the flexors, the rotators, the adductors and the back line, in order.

This is mobility information, not physiotherapy and not a diagnosis. Pain is the border: a stretch that hurts at the attachment, sharpens, or sends pins and needles down the limb is loading a nerve or a tendon, not a muscle — stop and, for anything that persists or radiates, see a clinician. After an injury or surgery, stretching follows the treating clinician's protocol, not this page.

Sitting is the tax

The hip flexors shorten in the chair, the glutes and deep rotators go short and weak in the same position, and the adductors tighten from crossed legs and never opening the hips. The hip routine taxes the whole joint back in the other direction: flexors first, then the rotators, then the adductors, then the back line — the order matters because the flexors are the gate, and a tight psoas steals the pelvis position every other hip stretch depends on.

The rotation capacity

Most hip complaints in a sitting population are rotation complaints wearing other names: the knee that aches, the lower back that grabs, the groin that pulls. The hip routine rebuilds rotation capacity directly — the figure-four and the pigeon for external rotation, the butterfly for the adductors that limit it, the lunge for the flexors that block it. The measure of progress is not how deep any pose goes but how the walking feels: the stride lengthens when the hip stops fighting it.

Order and time

The routine runs about twelve minutes: the lunge opens the front, the figure-four and pigeon release the back, the butterfly takes the inner thigh, the child's pose settles the whole chain, and the fold finishes the back line. Each hold is a real hold — 30 to 45 seconds, breathing — and the whole routine is worth two or three sessions a week, which is the dose the range-of-motion literature actually tested.

The sequence

1. Kneeling hip flexor stretch — 30 s per side, pelvis tucked
2. Supine figure-four (piriformis) — 30 s per side
3. Pigeon pose (glutes) — 45 s per side
4. Seated butterfly (inner thighs) — 45 s, spine tall
5. Child's pose — 30–45 s, arms long
6. Standing forward fold (hamstrings) — 30–45 s, knees soft

Hold and frequency figures: the standard stretching and range-of-motion literature — 15–60 second holds, two to four rounds per muscle (about 60 seconds total), two to three sessions a week for measurable gains, static holds after activity or as their own session, dynamic movement before. The injury-prevention position: the systematic reviews — stretching does not prevent injury or soreness; it buys range of motion and comfort. Checked 2026-09-06.

Frequently asked questions

The other routines