Massage for a hip flexor strain

Massage for a hip flexor strain can ease the front of the hip and thigh and make stretching and strengthening more comfortable once the first couple of days have passed. It supports recovery and return to sport; it does not heal the tear itself. A teenager who feels a sudden, painful pop at the front of the hip while kicking or sprinting should be seen by a doctor first, because in growing athletes that injury can be a small fracture where the tendon pulls off the bone.

Which muscles are the hip flexors

The hip flexors are the muscles that lift your knee toward your chest. Two of them are injured most often in sport:

• Iliopsoas. The deep hip flexor, running from the lower spine and inside of the pelvis to the top of the thigh bone. It sits under the groin and abdomen, so you cannot easily feel it.
• Rectus femoris. One of the four quadriceps muscles and the only one that crosses both the hip and the knee. It attaches to the front of the pelvis just below the bony point of the hip.

A review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine notes that quadriceps strains are common in sports with repetitive kicking and sprinting. When researchers looked at MRI scans of 105 rectus femoris injuries in professional football players, kicking caused 54 percent and sprinting 30 percent. Every injury at the upper free tendon, near where it attaches to the pelvis, happened while kicking, and three quarters of those were complete tears of at least one tendon.

Hip flexor strains also turn up in hockey. A study of 47 NHL players over one observed period recorded 4 hip flexor strains alongside 11 adductor strains. If your pain sits higher on the inner thigh, our groin strain page is the closer match.

Why the diagnosis is sometimes late

Iliopsoas injuries in particular are often recognised late. A radiology review gives three reasons: many injuries in and around the groin mimic one another, two or more problems can exist together, and athletes are highly motivated to keep playing. MRI is the most accurate way to see the iliopsoas and rule out problems in the hip joint, and ultrasound helps when the complaint is a snapping hip.

If your “hip flexor strain” is not following the usual course of steady improvement, ask a sports physician or physiotherapist to look again rather than pushing through.

Teen athletes: rule out an avulsion fracture first

This is where our role changes from supporting to referring. In teenagers whose growth plates are still open, a sudden forceful contraction can pull a small piece of bone off where the tendon attaches, rather than tearing the muscle.

A review of 1,238 pelvic X-rays in athletes found 203 of these avulsion fractures in adolescents:

Site	Where it is	Cases
Ischial tuberosity	The sit bone at the bottom of the pelvis	109
Anterior inferior iliac spine	Front of the pelvis, where the rectus femoris attaches	45
Anterior superior iliac spine	The bony point at the front of the hip	39

Soccer (74 cases) and gymnastics (55) produced the most. Plain X-rays make the diagnosis. A later meta-analysis of 596 young patients, average age about 14, found most were treated without surgery; 80 percent of those returned to sport, compared with 92 percent after surgery, which is considered when the fragment has moved more than 15 mm.

So if your teenager felt a pop at the front of the hip while kicking or sprinting and now limps, they need a doctor and an X-ray before any massage.

How massage helps, phase by phase

For an ordinary muscle strain, massage supports comfort and movement while the muscle heals. The NHS advises avoiding heat, alcohol and massage for the first couple of days after a strain, and avoiding strenuous exercise such as running for up to eight weeks.

• First couple of days: no massage on the injury. Protect it, rest it, ice it and keep it raised where you can.
• Early recovery: gentle work around the area, through the glutes, outer hip, low back and the opposite leg, while the strain settles.
• Rehab: soft-tissue work through the quadriceps and hip flexors, plus comfortable stretching, as your physiotherapist’s strengthening progresses. No deep work over a tear that is still tender to touch.
• Back to sport: regular maintenance work during a heavy training block, for example before ski season or a spring soccer schedule.

Many people searching for hip flexor massage have no tear at all, just tight hips from sitting or driving. Massage can make that feel easier too; the anterior pelvic tilt page explains what it can and cannot change.

Booking hip flexor massage at Renu

A 45-minute massage ($100) covers the hip, thigh and low back; 60 minutes ($120) gives time for both legs and the back. When you book through Jane, note the date of injury, the sport and any physiotherapy you are doing. Our Registered Massage Therapists work in a clinic on 19 Street NW in West Hillhurst, open seven days, and our sports massage page covers training-cycle timing.

When to see a doctor first

Get medical advice before massage, or soon after an injury, if:

• a teenager felt a sudden pop at the hip and now has pain, a limp or trouble lifting the leg
• you cannot bear weight on the injured leg, or can only manage a few steps
• the swelling or bruising is large or getting worse
• the pain is very bad or getting worse rather than better
• you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery along with the pain
• the hip is not improving after a couple of weeks of looking after it, or keeps catching or snapping

Pain deep in the groin that catches when you bend the hip can come from the hip joint itself. The thigh contusion page covers the different picture of a direct blow to the front of the thigh.

Questions people ask

How do I know if I strained my hip flexor or my groin?

A hip flexor strain usually hurts at the front of the hip or top of the thigh, especially when you lift the knee or kick. Groin strains sit higher on the inner thigh and hurt when you squeeze the legs together. The two often overlap, so an examination helps when it is not clear.

Should I stretch a strained hip flexor?

Not hard and not in the first few days. Gentle, pain-free movement is reasonable once the acute phase passes, and stretching can be added gradually; a sharp pull at the front of the hip is a sign to back off.

Why does my hip flexor injury keep coming back?

Returning to kicking or sprinting before the muscle has regained strength is a common reason. If it keeps recurring, ask for an assessment, since deep hip flexor problems are often diagnosed late and may coexist with another groin or hip issue.

Can a massage help tight hip flexors from sitting all day?

Yes, for comfort. Massage eases the front of the hip and thigh, though it will not change your posture on its own. Our anterior pelvic tilt page covers that situation in detail.

Sources

1. Mendiguchia et al. (2013), British Journal of Sports Medicine: Rectus femoris muscle injuries in football
2. Geiss Santos et al. (2022), Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine: Injury mechanisms and MRI findings in rectus femoris injuries in 105 professional football players
3. Shabshin et al. (2005), Magnetic Resonance Imaging Clinics of North America: MR imaging of iliopsoas musculotendinous injuries
4. Rossi and Dragoni (2001), Skeletal Radiology: Acute avulsion fractures of the pelvis in adolescent competitive athletes, 203 cases
5. Eberbach et al. (2017), BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders: Operative versus conservative treatment of pelvic apophyseal avulsion fractures in adolescents
6. Tyler et al. (2001), American Journal of Sports Medicine: Hip strength and flexibility and adductor muscle strains in professional ice hockey players
7. NHS: Sprains and strains

Page reviewed October 5, 2026. This page is education, not a diagnosis. For your own situation, talk to your doctor, surgeon or care team, or ask us.