STOIK Your hips are saying WTF. Take the test.
Two minutes. A firm bed or sturdy bench, and someone to look, or your phone.
YOUR CHAIR IS WINNING.
Desk all day. Drive home. Couch all night. People who sit most of the day tend to have tighter hip flexors. This is the standard test for it, the modified Thomas test.
THREE STEPS.
GRAB A KNEE.
Sit on the edge of a firm bed or sturdy bench. Pull one knee to your chest.
ROLL BACK.
Keep holding that knee. It keeps your low back flat. Let the other leg drop off the edge, relaxed, foot off the floor.
MOMENT OF TRUTH.
Look from the side. Does the free thigh rest level with the bed, or float up?
LEVEL OR LOWER.
FLOATS UP.
The white line is the bed. Left, the thigh drops below it. Right, the thigh floats up above it.
NOW CHECK THE KNEE.
Same moment, same side. Does the lower leg hang straight down, or kick out? This one is easy to misjudge by eye, so take the photo from the side.
HANGS DOWN.
KICKS OUT.
The white line is straight down. Left, the lower leg hangs with it and the knee stays bent. Right, the lower leg kicks out ahead of it and the knee straightens.
YOU HAVE TWO HIPS.
Switch sides. No cheating. Same bed, same setup.
LEVEL IS THE STANDARD.
A thigh that rests level with the bed, or lower, is a pass. One that floats up means the front of that hip is tight. That's your hip flexors.
A lower leg that hangs straight down is a pass too. One that kicks out means the front of your thigh is tight, the muscle that runs from your hip to your knee.
Whichever side does worse is your tighter side.
Skip it after hip surgery or a hip replacement. Stop if anything pinches.
GET THE FIX.
Four moves, four weeks, test again.
TEST NO. 03 OF SIXTY TWO.
A new one lands every few weeks. Do this one, then watch for the next.