By Bobby Aldridge

Open your hips for a better swing

Tight hip flexors are all too often reasons for back, shoulder, or foot pain. I know it sounds odd, but hear me out on this. Being the modern people that we are, we are not as active as we once were. Sitting for prolonged periods of time is a big reason for hip flexors being tight, but the supine groin stretch exercise returns your pelvis to a neutral position and helps the muscles around your pelvis learn to hold it there. 

This directly impacts pain around the hips and lower back associated with hip bursitis, hip arthritis, degenerative hip, herniated disc, spinal stenosis, scoliosis, muscle spasms, spondylolisthesis, and sciatica. What does this mean for you at the end of the day? Less pain, more mobility, and a better golf game.

How to perform the supine groin stretch:

  1. Lie on your back with one leg up over your ottoman or chair at 90 degrees.
  2. Your other leg is straight out on the floor with it propped up from the side so your foot doesn’t fall to the side
  3. You want to limit pronation and supination of the foot/ankle and foot abduction and adduction, which is very important for effective joint realignment up the entire body. This also helps maintain proper muscle length and tension throughout the leg and hip.
  4. Hold the ankle at about a 90 degree angle which creates a slight lengthening pull on the triceps surea (or two major calf muscles – the soleus and gastrocnemius) via the achilles tendon. The gastrocnemius has two heads which attach to the lateral and medial femoral condyles and when lengthened in the Supine Groin Stretch which helps rotate your femur into a more neutral alignment and decreases tibial torsion.  
  5. Your arms should be at 45 degrees with your palms up. Relax your upper body and notice that your low back should begin to get flatter to the floor the longer you are in this position. BREATHE

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