Psoas and hip flexors: what they do, how to stretch

01The short answer

02The psoas, plainly

According to the medical reference StatPearls, the psoas major originates from the lumbar vertebrae; it joins the iliacus, and both insert onto the lesser trochanter, a bump near the top of the thighbone. Together, with the psoas minor, they form the iliopsoas, which StatPearls describes as the primary flexor of the thigh. The psoas also helps stabilize the lower back when sitting.

Flexing the hip is the movement of bringing the knee up: to walk, climb stairs, run. In karate, it is also the movement that chambers a kick.

03The other hip muscles

Rectus femoris. It is one of the four heads of the quadriceps, at the front of the thigh. According to StatPearls, it can flex the hip, and it extends the knee with the other three heads.

Sartorius. Cleveland Clinic lists it among the three main muscles at the front of the thigh. Leg muscles covers the whole thigh.

Piriformis. Further back, under the glutes, it starts at the sacrum and attaches near the top of the thighbone; it rotates the thigh outward. The sciatic nerve generally exits the pelvis just below it.

04Stretching the hip flexors

Here is the kneeling stretch described in a handout from South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in the United Kingdom:

• put one knee on the floor, the other foot in front, in a lunge position, with your hips and knees facing forward;
• slowly lean forward until you feel a stretch at the front of the hip of the kneeling leg;
• return to the starting position. If the kneeling knee is uncomfortable, put a cushion under it.

As for how long, the American College of Sports Medicine advises adults to hold a static stretch for 10 to 30 seconds (30 to 60 seconds for older adults), for about 60 seconds in total per muscle, at least 2 to 3 days a week; gains are greater with daily stretching.

05Stretching the piriformis and glutes

The “Stretches for the hip” handout from Cambridge University Hospitals describes a “piriformis stretch”: sitting on the floor with one leg straight and the other crossed over it, bring the knee toward the opposite shoulder until you feel the stretch in your buttock. If it is painful, the handout advises asking your physiotherapist or doctor. Glutes: muscles, exercises, stretches covers the neighbouring muscles and more exercises.

06Less sitting, more mobility

The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend that adults limit sedentary time to 8 hours or less a day and break up long periods of sitting. Joanie Roussy's women's classes, at noon on weekdays, are one way to break up an office day: Strong Nation™, Bootcamp and Zumba®, no experience needed. Adult karate, which is mixed, is open to everyone from age 14.

07After a bike ride

Cyclists on the Lachine Canal path, in Le Sud-Ouest, or on the Samuel-De Champlain Bridge path, open all year, can fit these stretches in after a ride. To reach the dojo at 550 chemin du Golf, suite 010, on Nuns' Island, see getting to the dojo and the schedule.

Sources

1. Bordoni and Varacallo, StatPearls, “Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Iliopsoas Muscle” (2026) — www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531508/
2. StatPearls, “Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Thigh Quadriceps Muscle” (2023) — www.statpearls.com/point-of-care/28132
3. Cleveland Clinic, “Leg Muscles” (2021) — my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22220-leg-muscles
4. StatPearls, piriformis muscle article — statpearls.com/sp/al/13/27239/
5. South Tees Hospitals NHS, “Hip stretch in half kneeling” (2024) — www.southtees.nhs.uk/resources/hip-stretch-in-half-kneeling/
6. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS, “Stretches for the hip” — cuh.nhs.uk/patient-information/stretches-for-the-hip
7. Garber et al., American College of Sports Medicine position stand, Med Sci Sports Exerc (2011) — doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e318213fefb
8. CSEP, Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, adults 18–64 (2020) — csepguidelines.ca/guidelines/adults-18-64/

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