Tight hip flexors are a common issue for many people, whether you’re an athlete, a desk worker, or someone recovering from injury. These deep muscles—particularly the psoas, iliacus, and rectus femoris—play a crucial role in posture, movement, and overall function. When they become overly tight, they can lead to pain, reduced mobility, and compensation patterns that affect the lower back, pelvis, and even the knees.
Orthopedic acupuncture and dry needling are highly effective methods for releasing tension in the hip flexors, restoring balance, and improving function. If you’ve been struggling with hip tightness and traditional stretching or massage hasn’t provided lasting relief, these modalities could be the missing piece in your recovery.
Why Do Hip Flexors Get Tight?
Tight hip flexors can result from a variety of factors, including:
- Prolonged Sitting: Staying in a seated position for hours shortens the hip flexors, causing them to remain in a contracted state.
- Repetitive Strain: Activities like running, cycling, and even excessive core workouts can overwork these muscles.
- Postural Imbalances: Weak glutes and core instability often force the hip flexors to compensate, leading to chronic tightness.
- Stress and Emotional Tension: The psoas muscle, in particular, is closely linked to the nervous system and can hold stress, leading to chronic tension.
How Orthopedic Acupuncture and Dry Needling Work
Both orthopedic acupuncture and dry needling target the neuromuscular system. We can say we are needling the traditional acupuncture channels, or we can say we are needling nerves and muscles. Essentially, this is the same thing. We can use both lenses to enhance the efficacy of our treatment, if we know how to look at it properly. Below is a photo of the Gall Bladder meridian, and in the lower body, it also follows the path of the sciatic nerve. One of the major nerves that get compressed when hip flexors are tight, among others. With this knowledge the acupuncture and dry needling can:
- Release chronic tension and break up knots
- We spend a lot of time in chairs, mostly at work and in the car. This puts our hips in a flexed position, which keeps the hip flexors in tension. This prolonged tension is what creates knots, or trigger points. These trigger points in the psoas, iliacus, tensor fascia latea, etc, are easily released with needling.
- Improve circulation and healing response
- When tension is released and trigger points are broken up, blood, fluids and lymph are able to freely circulate. These substances are then able to create a healing cascade in injured tissues.
- Decompress nerves, and optimize neuromuscular function
- Nerves and blood vessels follow the same pathways. When blood flows better in the vessels, it nourishes the nerves next to them, and they are better able to properly fire to the muscles.
- Decrease pain and improve range of motion
- In Chinese medicine, pain occurs when there is a lack of free flow in the body. By improving blood circulation and nerve conduction, pain is reduced, and proper function is restored.
What to Expect from Treatment
During a session, we will assess your posture, range of motion, and muscle function. Needles are placed in targeted areas, often including the psoas, iliacus, rectus femoris, and tensor fasciae latae. Mild soreness may occur, like post-workout stiffness, but most feel immediate mobility improvement and pain relief.
Beyond Needling: Strengthening and Stretching for Lasting Results
To maintain the benefits of acupuncture and dry needling, it’s important to follow up with movement-based strategies:
- Glute Activation Exercises: Strengthening the glutes helps counteract tight hip flexors.
- Core Stability Work: A strong core reduces the need for hip flexors to overcompensate.
- Dynamic Hip Mobility Drills: Movements like deep lunges and hip circles keep the muscles fluid and functional.
Often, combining this Chinese medicine approach with physical therapy is necessary to fully restore function and prevent reinjury when you return to the optimum activity levevls.
Find Relief from Tight Hip Flexors
If tight hip flexors are limiting your mobility and causing discomfort, orthopedic acupuncture and dry needling offer powerful solutions. By addressing the root cause of tension and dysfunction, these treatments can help you move more freely, improve posture, and reduce pain.
If you’re ready to experience the benefits of orthopedic acupuncture and dry needling, book a treatment today!