Hip Flexor Pain

I was playing ball for about 4 hours, showered, had a few drinks w/ friends and felt no hip pain…next day, hip flexor pain on my right hip and I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE IT CAME FROM!!!
It occurs when I lift my right leg up. When my thigh and torso creates an angle above 90 degrees (aka the “Captain Morgan” stance), I hear/feel 2 things rubbing/sliding against each other in my right hip flexor and the pain increases…any idea of what the hell happened to me or what I should do?

I’m thinking about ice/heat pads & foam roll the hip flexor/upper thigh

P.S. - I’m 20 yrs old so it’s not b/c im old. I’ve never had this hip pain before. I never do any exercises for my hip flexors but I squat and deadlift quite often so i’m thinking muscle imbalance?

x2 on ice but I wouldn’t roll over the area thats in pain. Try going above and below the area, so quad and maybe glute if it doesn’t roll over the irritation.

ic. I just started reading about hip flexor pain on Learn About Hip Flexor Injury - Sports Injury Info and it mentions how if your lower abdominal muscles can’t stabilize the pelvis, the hip flexors can get overworked leading to injury…Since my right oblique got kinda banged up from basketball a few days ago, i’m thinking that my right hip flexor had to compensate for that…makes sense

Pastee, I might be able to help. I’ve had the same problem. It came from squatting without proper glute activation. As I got “stronger” I was lifting heavier but my left glute wasn’t firing. My left hip flexor took on the task. Obviously the hip flexor doesn’t have the capacity or potential strength that the glute has, so I strained it. I would recommend resting until you can foam roll it. Foam roll it A LOT, and stretch it as soon as you roll it. If you can get ART, get it. The point is to get the hip flexor to loosen its grip. It will not stretch until it releases. Remember that the more you activate the glute, the more the hip flexor will want to release. Focus on those activations. When you finally squat again, stretch the hip flexors in between each set. Maybe even stretch the quads with the hip flexors too. Make sure those glutes are firing and get the muscle/mind connection. Those hip flexors can be stubborn so I suggest you pray for help!

If the pain is more prominent above 90 degrees, then it is probably your psoas. . .which is a very hard muscle to foam roll… but luckily, a very easy muscle to self-massage.

Lay on your back, but pull your right leg up so that the knee is raised and your foot is on the ground. Let your knee drop to the inside across your body and allow it to tilt your torso to the left. This lets all the guts slide out of the way so you can really dig in there without fear of jacking anything up.

Place the back of your fingers together with palms facing like you are making an M with your hands. Feel around for the sore spot in the thick rounded mass of the psoa about 2 inches to the right of the belly button to the pelvis. If you feel a heavy pulse, move a bit more to the right. The psoas is a very deep muscle that runs into your posterior, so don’t be afraid to give it some mustard. The rule is the same as foam rolling, the more it hurts, generally, the more you need it.

[quote]Im_New_Feed_Me wrote:
If the pain is more prominent above 90 degrees, then it is probably your psoas. . .which is a very hard muscle to foam roll… but luckily, a very easy muscle to self-massage.

Lay on your back, but pull your right leg up so that the knee is raised and your foot is on the ground. Let your knee drop to the inside across your body and allow it to tilt your torso to the left. This lets all the guts slide out of the way so you can really dig in there without fear of jacking anything up.

Place the back of your fingers together with palms facing like you are making an M with your hands. Feel around for the sore spot in the thick rounded mass of the psoa about 2 inches to the right of the belly button to the pelvis. If you feel a heavy pulse, move a bit more to the right. The psoas is a very deep muscle that runs into your posterior, so don’t be afraid to give it some mustard. The rule is the same as foam rolling, the more it hurts, generally, the more you need it.[/quote]

Bingo. This is good advice. It could also be the psoas and illacus are stuck together. Those are the two muscle groups you’re feeling in the captain morgan pose. They are designed to bring the legs up in that pose.

And I just want to give anyone who foam rolls the groin a big heads up: be careful. There are a lot of structures down there, but some you don’t think about. For example: The spermatic cord.

Be careful.

lol, spermatic cord. Great advice guys, will do. Also, the pain went away in a day, so don’t really know what the problem was. But, When I do raise my leg up “Captain Morgan pose”, i still do feel something grinding/passing against each other…Will use those tips, thanks guys.