Hamstrings and Hip Flexors: How They Work Together in Football and Everyday Movement
Hamstrings and hip flexors sit on opposite sides of the hip, and people often talk about one being “tight” and the other “weak” as if they were separate problems. In practice they work as a pair, and the pelvis is the link between them. Understanding that relationship can help you make sense of running, kicking, sitting and standing, as long as we are honest about what research can and cannot yet tell us.
Two muscle groups, one pelvis
The hip flexors, including the iliopsoas and part of the quadriceps (rectus femoris), lift the thigh forward and can tilt the front of the pelvis downward. The hamstrings attach to the sitting bone and cross both the hip and the knee. They extend the hip, bend the knee and, in theory, can help pull the back of the pelvis down. The biceps femoris, one of the hamstrings, is also anatomically connected to the sacrotuberous ligament, which links it to the pelvis.
Because the hamstrings cross two joints, the position of the pelvis changes how long they are and how much load they take. This is why physiotherapists and coaches often look at the whole lumbo-pelvic-hip area rather than just the back of the thigh.
What this looks like in football
Hamstring strains are among the most common injuries in professional football and a leading cause of missed training and matches. Most happen during sprinting. A smaller group happen in a stretching-type action, such as a kick or a slide, where the hip is bent far forward with a straight knee.
A recent systematic review of sprint mechanics in football found prospective evidence that players who showed greater gluteus maximus and trunk muscle activation while sprinting had fewer hamstring injuries, while greater anterior pelvic tilt and sideways bending of the upper trunk were associated with more. That fits the idea that pelvic control matters. It is an association, though, not proof that changing posture or tilt will prevent injury, and hamstring injury risk is clearly influenced by other factors such as strength, fatigue, previous injury and training load.
Everyday movement
The same pairing shows up away from the pitch. Walking, climbing stairs and standing up from a chair all need the hip to extend while the trunk stays steady. After long periods of sitting, many people notice that the front of the hip feels restricted. One plausible explanation is that, if the hip does not extend easily, the lower back and pelvis move more to make up the difference. This is a reasonable working idea for movement assessment, but it has not been demonstrated as a cause of pain.
Pelvic control and lower back pain
This is where claims often run ahead of the evidence. A systematic review of studies comparing people with and without non-specific low back pain found very low-quality evidence for any association between restricted hip range of motion and back pain. Another meta-analysis found that adding hip strengthening or hip stretching to back-specific exercise may reduce pain and disability in the short term, but the certainty of that evidence was rated very low.
Core stability exercise is often used to improve pelvic control. A small systematic review suggests it can change how people control pelvic tilt, although few of the studies looked at movements relevant to hamstring injury. For low back pain, a larger review found stabilisation exercises were no more effective than other forms of active exercise in the long term. In plain terms, regular, progressive exercise helps many people, but there is no single “correct” hip or core exercise that fixes back pain.
Practical exercises to try
These are general movement ideas for healthy adults, not a treatment plan. Keep everything comfortable and stop if you feel sharp or worsening pain.
Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch. Kneel on one knee, tuck the pelvis gently under and squeeze the glute of the kneeling leg. Hold 30–60 seconds, twice per side. A meta-analysis of small studies found that short hip flexor stretches of about 30–90 seconds did not reduce performance, so they are reasonable before or after training.
Glute bridge. Lie on your back, press through your feet and lift the hips without arching the lower back. Aim for 2–3 sets of 8–12 slow repetitions.
Hip hinge (Romanian deadlift pattern). With a light weight or none, push the hips back while keeping the spine long, then return. This loads the hamstrings while they are lengthened.
Dead bug. Lie on your back and slowly lower the opposite arm and leg while keeping the lower back still. This trains control of the pelvis and trunk.
Nordic hamstring exercise (for trained, supervised players). Programmes that included this exercise roughly halved hamstring injury rates in football in pooled analyses. Because those programmes contained other exercises too, its isolated effect is unclear. It is demanding and causes soreness, so volume should be introduced gradually and ideally guided by a coach or therapist.
The practical takeaway is to treat hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes and trunk as one working system, build strength and control gradually, and use assessment to decide what suits your body and sport.
Safety Notes: When to Seek Help
Sudden sharp pain at the back of the thigh during a sprint or kick, a “pop”, or bruising should be assessed before you stretch or load the area. Do not stretch hard or do Nordic hamstring exercises on a freshly injured hamstring.
Persistent or worsening back, hip or thigh pain should be assessed. Seek medical advice promptly for:
numbness, tingling or weakness in the leg
numbness around the groin or inner thighs, or any change in bladder or bowel control
back pain after a fall or other trauma
back pain with fever, unexplained weight loss or pain that is worse at night
a swollen, hot or painful calf
Growing athletes with persistent pain near the pelvis or sitting bone should be assessed before continuing to sprint or kick. The exercises above are general examples and are not a substitute for individual assessment, especially if you are recovering from injury, pregnant or postpartum, or have a medical condition.
When to take action
At Webster Body Therapy in Hovås, Gothenburg, we look at how the hips, pelvis and trunk work together and combine hands-on treatment with practical movement guidance. If you play football, sit for long periods or keep running into the same tightness or niggles, contact Webster Body Therapy to book an individual movement assessment and talk through sensible next steps.