You’ve heard it: that hollow clunk your hip makes during certain exercises.
It doesn’t hurt, but good lord, it sure doesn’t sound good.
You’ve probably heard that it’s a tight hip flexor muscle or tendon popping over the bone. The solution must be to stretch your hip flexors, right? Wrong.
Read on to discover how to go about quieting a popping hip flexor without stretching.
Which Hip Flexor is Popping?
There are a lot of muscles that flex the hip. For the purposes of this article, we’re narrowing down the hip flexor umbrella to the psoas muscle.
The psoas can be considered part of your core because it attaches to your spine. There is so much more to your core than just your abdominal muscles!
The psoas is typically tight and weak. It’s tight because it’s trying to provide stability for another muscle that is not doing it’s job. The tightness you feel may be a result of an anterior pelvic tilt where the hip flexors pull your pelvis forward and down.
The kicker here is that even though the psoas is tight – it’s weak. When you massage or stretch a weak muscle it destabilizes. It becomes weaker. Your brain was using that muscle as a compensator and you took away your support.
The brain says, “Well that was interesting! Let’s put that stability back in place, so the body doesn’t collapse.” Then you get tight all over again. It’s a vicious circle when you stretch and stretch and never get any results.
So the psoas is the popping hip flexor and needs to be strengthened.
What You Really Need to Stretch
Stretching the hip flexors can worsen the snapping hip. So it’s important to determine which muscle actually needs to be stretched.
In my case, it was the Quadratus Lumborum (QL, pictured below.)
The QL was overworking for my psoas.
It’s kind of hard to effectively stretch the QL, so massaging it works better.
This is a common pairing, but not the only scenario. The gluteus maximus could be overworking. The only way to know for sure is to have your muscles tested. I can do that for you!
Here’s a little more about my popping hip flexor.
Strengthening the Weak Psoas
I mentioned above that you need to strengthen the weak muscle. The exercise below is the exact exercise I did for my corrective exercise homework.
Simply do it until you feel fatigue in the crease of your hip. That’s your psoas saying, “I’m tired.” The amount of reps will be different for everyone. Keep your toes turned out.
Conclusion
A popping hip flexor means you’ve got a muscle imbalance. Please stop thinking that everything that feels tight needs to be stretched. Figure out why it’s tight.
Try the steps listed in this blog to see if your hip quiets down. If it doesn’t, you have a different muscle relationship to explore. If it does help, drop me a comment and let me know! 🙂
Hi Sarah,
My name is Hitesh
My right hip is tight and tender and also tightness and tenderness above my right hip as well
I am not sure which muscle group is it for me.
My PT just suggested me stretches for the hip
I have no improvement and also my lower back hurts.
how to know for sure which muscles to stretch and strengthen to stop the popping and tighness.
If you’re arching your lower back, it may produce the popping sound in your hip. You may need to strengthen your transverse abdominis as well as your psoas. The only way to tell for sure is to get it tested. Visit the NeuroKinetic Therapy directory to find a practitioner in your area.
Hi sarah. Where in va are you!?
I’m in Round Hill. Very close to the WV and MD borders.
Hey Sarah! I’ve been stretching my hip flexors for weeks and seen no improvement so I might have a similar issue. If my right hip is the one that is popping would I massage the left QL or the right one? Thank you! This was so helpful and I’m going to stop stretching and start some strengthening!
I’d start with the right QL. If that doesn’t help within a few weeks, try the left. Thanks for the comment! Keep me posted.
Thanks so much! Going to stick with it and hope this fixes the problem! 🙂
I’ve had a popping in my right hip for some time – only noticeable when I’m doing a spider plank type move, however I’ve had alot of issues with lower back (left side) and hip flexors that spasm often. This post sounds like it could be a solution to my issue – what’s the best way to massage the QL? and how often would you massage and do the exercises? Thanks,
Rub your lower back right above the bone on the same side that the hip is popping for 1-2 minutes. Twice daily, do that massage and follow with the psoas leg raises.
Have you seen these problem areas present digestive symptoms before? The chiropractor I’ve been working with tells me that they can be related. Also, I’ve had some persistent shoulder blade/trap tightness and I’m beginning to think all of this could be related to the QL….
Thanks for your help!
I wouldn’t be surprised if QL dysfunction is related to digestive problems. I do know that upper trap and QL are related though!
Hi Laura,
I have a curious problem. My ql and left buttock are chronically tight and my left hip pops when I raise and drop my knee. Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. It’s been months.
How do you get tested to see what muscle is the problem? I remember having a popping in my right hip back in 2014 when I would walk. Thought it was no big deal and to this day, it literally feels like something tighten up at times when I lean a certain way and breathe. I have had low back pain since 2010. Any suggestions where to start? My chiropractor told me to do an exercise to stretch the hip flexor, but now I don’t know what to do.
NKT practitioners can test your muscles. The directory is here https://neurokinetictherapy.com/certified-practitioners
I would find one close to you and make an appointment. I also suggest NOT stretching your hip flexors. In most cases, although they are tight, they are weak. Stretching a weak muscle perpetuates the weakness. Get tested!
Hi Sarah,
I think I have snapping hip syndrome, doesn’t hurt at all but sometimes i feel something extending in my inner thigh/hip. It happens atleast 8x a day. And the sound is just plain horrible. It usually happens when i do a 90 degree leg flex or when im in stationary position and i try to straighten it/stretch my leg.
On top of that my knee has grinding sounds too, and would pop or make a popping sound about 7-9x a day too. No pain also but I am just 28, not an athlete or a dancer. I’m not even a runner so Im not sure why this is happening to me.
Were you able to totally get rid of the sound coming from your hip?
The popping hip sound usually indicated a tight, but weak muscle. It can happen to anyone really….the hip muscles get tight and weak from sitting as well. It’s just how the brain is trying to protect the body.
I was able to totally get rid of the sound in my hip because I had my muscles tested and found the correct pairing. You can visit the NeuroKinetic Therapy directory and find a practitioner in your area to determine which muscles are causing the snapping hip. https://neurokinetictherapy.com/certified-practitioners
Hi Sara,
Thank you so much for replying. Do you think my knees, which pops as much as my hips and has grinding sensation when i swing it back and fort, has something to do with my hips as well? When I squat sometimes, it would automatically make a popping sound 🙁
For my hips, doesn’t even take an extreme change in movement for it to make that horrible sound. It’s worst when I’m lying down and try to move or just simply flex my legs 🙁
The knee popping could be related to the hip if it’s one of the muscles that’s attached to both joints. Maybe the rectus femoris which is one of the quads. The grinding is probably not due to a muscle imbalance though.
So you suggest to do leg raises for now, i’m really hoping it would go away like yours did. I am not so sure about the psoas massage bec i can’t locate it so I don’t massage it, I just go straight to leg raises. Would that be bad, doing leg raises without massaging the psoas?
Thank you so much Sara for replying to me, I am really desperate bec I went for an ortho consult and let’s just say it was worthless trip – time and money wise. They didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know from my internet research. They just said as long as there’s no pain, they can’t do anything about it. They didn’t even tell me to go see a PT even if my hips and knees pops atleast 8x a day 🙁
I suggest not massaging your psoas and getting your muscles tested. It’s the only way to know for sure. Otherwise, you’re just guessing as to your specific muscle imbalance.
Hi Sara,
Unfortunately I am from Philippines, I’ve checked the NKT website you’ve sent, there’s only 2 practitioners here in Phils. I have sent them an email but I haven’t gotten a reply yet. I want to have my muscles tested but aside from the NKT website you recommended, I don’t know where else to go. I have asked a couple of rehab places and they dont offer muscle testing
What is a good QL stretch? I think this is my exact problem. I’ve had anterior Hip pain after running a half marathon. I knew it was hip flexor, bt have been stretching it. Not the QL. This all makes since now. I’ve been doing calm shells, and resistance band work with leg raises as well. Thanks!
There isn’t really a good isolated stretch for the QL. So I suggest self massage: on your back, find your lowest rib. Then rub straight down to the top of the pelvis. Rub for 1-2mins.
Hi, Sara!
I am a 32 year old male with various pelvis/hip flexor issues over the past 8 years. I would really like to discuss my issues through email. This is one of the few articles that has really made sense to me, but I feel like I need some further guidance to achieve better results. I’ve seen many doctors and physical therapists but nobody has ever had many comments on the hip popping. If you could so kindly email me I would so greatly appreciate it. Maybe we could both learn something in the process. Thanks again.
You can reach me through my contact page.
Hi Sara,
How long did it took you to fix your snapping hip? Did you have external or internal snapping? Thank you
It took me about 3 weeks of doing the corrective exercises. Can you clarify what you mean by internal or external snapping?
Hi Sara,
Please refer to the website below, they discussed the difference between internal and external hip snapping/popping:
https://www.epainassist.com/sports-injuries/hip-injuries/snapping-hip or http://www.sportandspinalphysio.com.au/dancers-how-to-fix-a-clicking-hip-snapping-hip-syndrome/
I’m suffering from what I think is bilateral painless internal hip snapping. Whenever I flex my leg 45 or 90 degrees outwards, more often than not there’s an audible sound (or sometimes there’s no sound at all but I feel something extending inside) coming somewhere near my groin area
How many times a day do you do the leg raises? I do it in the morning only. Sometimes the next day, the crease would feel hot to the touch or a very mild burning sensation, painless as well. Maybe I overdid the leg raises
Thank you 🙂
Based on the second link you posted, I had internal hip snapping. The stretches that they suggest doing would help treat external. The authors do not state how to treat internal snapping in that particular article.
I am so desperate that I’ve been doing those stretches along with the leg raises you’ve recommended. The orthos I’ve consulted with are all useless. I guess having 27+yrs of experience makes them dismiss hip snapping easily bec mine does not require surgery. They just told me to come back when there’s pain and do some stretches on my own. Didn’t even recommend PT 🙁
Would you mind me asking how many times a day did your hip snapped/popped? How many times a day do you do the leg raises? I can only do 25 leg raises on each hip. Have you ever experienced the crease would sometimes feel hot to the touch or has very mild painless burning sensation after leg raises?
I am so sorry if I have a lot of questions. And I appreciate that you always take time to answer, that means the world to me. Finding someone who successfully treated their snapping hip gives me hope that I might overcome it as well.
My hip snapped occasionally. I did the exercises once a day. A burning sensation often means a nerve is involved. I recommend seeing a chiropractor or other trained professional. And I can no longer comment on your particular case as it’s outside of my scope of practice. Find someone in your local area who can thoroughly evaluate you.
Hi Sara, Wow, this really hits home with me. I intuitively felt like my hip popping was due to over stretching, but listened to some web advise that suggested more stretching. Next morning the popping was worse for a few hours, so I knew that was not the way. I will try your advice pronto as it makes total sense with my experience thus far. One other thing that I noticed was that doing leg lifts caused the hip to pop, but rotating my leg inward while lifting the leg actually stopped the popping. I notice that your leg lifts rotate the leg outward. Does my experience make sense? Do you have any suggestions for popping knee on the same side??? Thank you so much for sharing and guiding us along the way to good health! Karen
Changing the angle of the leg raise will target different muscles and muscle fibers. So rotating inward reduces psoas activation and stops the pop….but doesn’t address the underlying issue.
I feel like this is maybe what is happening to me. I’ve gone to two different PTs over the last couple years and nothing has really improved. We’ve focused on core work and stretching as well as strengthening my upper back muscles to improve posture. I’m getting so hopeless about finding a fix to my hurting right hip, popping a slow back pain. These things are all on the same side. I looked and there aren’t any neurokinetic pts near where I live in Idaho. What would you suggest I do?
Have you had any imaging done to rule out other issues? Pain could be an indication of something else. I would ask your doctor since you’ve worked with 2 PTs already.
Heya Sara!
Have you experienced popping/clicking when doing (relatively simple) standing knee lifts as well? Because I do, and wonder if this comes from my right hip flexor being weak.
Thank you for sharing your experience(s) with the world.
I haven’t personally. But that’s hip flexion, so it could be your psoas or possibly your tensor fascia latae (TFL).
Hi,
Just found this! I started to have a click\pop\ on my left side. It started after a combo of pulling something heavy up stairs. Later possibly added to by bowling. No popping\clicking going moving forward, but when I do lateral leg swings, like what runners sometimes do to warm up, I get the click pop and without pain. Also can get it when doing mountain climbers, certain leg movements while sitting in chair. Got MRI of lower back, doc seemed to think it is facet arthritis, but I have no lower back pain. I am going to PT, second time, and they are working me with stabilization exercises with exercise ball. They don’t agree with doc and think its my SI and I am hyper mobile. This because we have been able to reset what they think my SI when I lay down and resist while they hold my hamstring, we get a pop, which in some cases in my SI area has alleviated some light ache\pain. I’m trying to be patient. The day before I did what I thought I injured myself I did a 8 mile run and I felt fine. I’ll try this exercise you recomend but would love to hear what you think. This happened around March\April last year and its driving me nuts.