Help! My Hips Hurt in My Middle Split and Frog Stretch
Help! My Hips Hurt in My Middle Split and Frog Stretch
This is a question I frequently get in group classes as well as private lessons - there are some people out there that, based on their hip anatomy, have a hard time feeling inner thigh stretches in things like straddles, middle splits, and frog stretches. Instead, they feel like their legs just get “stuck” when trying to open them out to the side, or may even feel a “pinch” in the front or side of their hip. This can be frustrating because no matter how much you try to stretch, you don’t see any progress in your middles or straddles.
Now what if I told you the solution to this flexibility plateau was NOT trying to push the stretch deeper?
Feeling a “pinch” or a “hard block” in a position is generally a sign that we are (unintentionally) jamming our bones together. No amount of trying to grind your bones into each other will deepen the stretch, hence the “stuck” feeling. Instead, we want to adjust our form, shifting the position of the bones to make space in the joint, to allow us to actually get to a muscle stretch without our bones getting in the way!
Your Hip Bones & Middle Splits
Typically when we talk about our “hip joint” we’re referring to the acetabulofemoral joint, the ball-and-socket joint between the head (“ball”) of the femur (thigh bone) and the acetabulum (the “socket”) in the side of the hip bone. Other bony structures of note are the “neck” that connects the “ball” to the “shaft” of the thigh bone, and the greater trochanter, which is a big bony bulge that sits at the top of the thigh bone (it serves as an attachment site for many muscles, it doesn’t just exist to get in the way…)
There can actually be quite a bit of variation in these bony structures, including differences in:
the size, depth and orientation (direction it’s “pointing”) of the hip “socket”
length and angle of the “neck” of the thigh bone
size and shape of the greater trochanter
And in some lucky individuals, they have a combination of variations that make it more likely for the neck or greater trochanter of the femur to accidentally jam into the side of the hip joint when opening the legs out to the side. Typically this manifests as a “pinching” sensation in the front or side of the hip as these bones collide with each other:
Does that mean your hips are physically incapable of doing the middle splits? Heck no! Odds are you just need to adjust your form to accomodate YOUR unique hip anatomy to make sure you’re getting that sweet sweet inner thigh stretch, and not ramming your bones into one another.
Suggested Form Adjustments for Pinch-y Hips
There are two main adjustments we can do to help give the greater trochanter and neck of the femur some more space to open the femur out to the side without bonking into the hip bone:
Adjustment #1: Rotating the Thighs BACKWARDS (aka Hip “External Rotation”)
By rotating the whole femur (thigh bone) backwards in space, we basically re-orient the greater trochanter (big nubby part at the top of the thigh bone) back behind hip bone so that it doesn’t crash into the side of the hip when we open out to the side:
Adjustment #2: Rotating the Hip Bones FORWARDS (aka “Anterior Pelvic Tilt”)
By rotating the whole femur (thigh bone) backwards in space, we basically re-orient the greater trochanter (big nubby part at the top of the thigh bone) back behind hip bone so that it doesn’t crash into the side of the hip when we open out to the side:
Both of these adjustments are actually accomplishing the same thing: rotating the thigh backwards (relative to the pelvis), which is the same as rotating the pelvis forwards (relative to the thigh), so you can pick the one that feels more comfortable for you (including doing both at the same time).
Should Everyone Use These Adjustments?
Not necessarily! For some bodies, tilting the hips forwards and/or adding more turnout through the thighs can lessen the intensity of the inner thigh stretch. So if you don’t need to do these adjustments to feel a good muscle stretch, I wouldn’t recommend worrying about them.
At the end of the day, every body may be a little different, so feel free to experiment and choose the version of the stretch that feels the most productively challenging for you!
Related Content
Recommended On-Demand Recording
Who this routine is for:
By popular demand - this is a shorter splits training routine great for students who don’t have a whole hour to dedicate to stretching.
Progressions of drills in this routine are offered for all levels, so whether you’re a super beginner and have a super narrow “pizza slice” of a straddle, or have been working on your middle splits for ages and are getting close to flat, there are versions of drills that can challenge you at your level!
What you get:
THIS IS NOT A FOLLOW-ALONG VIDEO like the majority of my other recordings. Instead, this is a written routine that includes detailed how-to videos for each drill, as well as educational content to help you maximize your progress in your splits-training journey.
This PDF includes:
Flexibility training best practices
How to modify the drills if experiencing pain
How to test to see if you have nerve tension that will impact your middle splits & straddle pancake training (and how to adjust accordingly)
How to adjust the drills to be the most effective for your hip anatomy
Suggestions for training frequency
A program of drills with how-to videos explaining proper form, what sensations to look for, what muscles to engage (if needed), and how to modify to adjust the difficulty/intensity for each drill. The “default” routine is meant to fit a 20-minute training session
Additional recommended drills (along with how-to videos) for another 10 minutes of training for students who want to extend their practice to a 30-minute session
A printable all-on-one-page list of drills for quick reference
Heads up: Because each of the how-to videos is filmed as an educational video with comments on form, technique, and modifications - and not as a “follow along with me” style video, the videos will likely take longer to watch than to actually execute the exercise. So plan on your first run-through of this routine to take longer than 20 minutes because you’ll likely be watching the videos in their entirety which will take a bit longer (and then just skimming through them for reminders in the future).
Recommended props:
Yoga mat (knee padding is your friend!)
Some kind of long strap - can be stretchy or stiff
2 yoga blocks
A chair or low bench (very helpful for folks with tight hips)
