Release Tension in Your Groin and Hips With These 5 Inner Thigh Stretches

If your hips and inner thighs often feel tight or you have groin pain, stretching your inner thighs and lower body can help. Keeping your hips and legs flexible can help prevent hip, knee and lower back pain.

Your inner thigh muscles, also called adductors, are a set of five muscles. They work to bring your leg in toward the center of your body, rotate it inward and also give your pelvis support. They help keep your entire lower body — including your lower back, hips and knees — in the proper alignment.

Tight inner thighs can be caused by a number of things, but researchers from an October 2022 study in the ‌Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies‌ say there's a good chance being inactive or sitting too much is involved. Try to stay active throughout the day to keep your muscles loose.

Weakness in your glutes can also cause muscle imbalances that contribute to inner thigh tightness, according to July 2019 expert commentary in the ‌International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy‌.

That's because your groin and glutes are opposing forces through the hips — so weak glutes can mean your inner thighs have to work harder to move and stabilize your hips. Incorporating glute strengthening exercises along with inner thigh stretches can be helpful.

If you have strained your groin through exercise or a sport (running, tennis, skating, basketball), you may also have inner thigh tightness.

"When you have tight hip adductor muscles, this will cause compensation in other areas of your body such as your low back and knees, leading to joint wear and tear — and eventually pain and injury," says physical therapist Grayson Wickham, DPT, founder of Movement Vault. "For this reason, tight adductor muscles can lead to knee pain, hip pain, groin pain and back pain."

Wickham says the following signs indicate you have tight inner thigh muscles:

• Not being able to sit cross-legged
• Difficulty with the butterfly stretch
• Not being able to spread your legs apart very far in a standing split position
• Difficulty performing a squat
• Groin strain or pain

The American Council on Exercise says there are many benefits of a regular stretching program, including reduced muscle tension, improved range of motion and improved flexibility. A regular stretching program can also help prevent injuries (such as strains and sprains) and help your muscles work more efficiently, which can improve your athletic performance.

However, Wickham says it is important not to overstretch one particular muscle group.

"Being too flexible, also known as hypermobility, can lead to joint pain and injury because you lack joint stability," he says. "You should focus on having great adductor mobility, which means you have good inner thigh flexibility, muscle activation and active range of motion. This will help you perform almost any leg movement or exercise better, as well as help prevent lower back, hip and knee pain."

Experts say inner thigh stretches help prevent groin or adductor strains, and stretching is also often used as a treatment for groin injuries as well — just make sure if you've got a strain, you're doing other therapies. Stretching alongside other treatments is generally helpful, according to a September 2021 review in the ‌Journal of Functional Morphology‌‌ and ‌‌Kinesiology‌, but more research is needed to verify the benefits of stretching alone in the treatment of groin strains.

The following five stretches will help loosen up your inner thighs and improve your hip flexibility. There are different types of stretches that should be done at different points in your exercise routine. When you think of stretching, you might be thinking of static stretching, which means you hold a stretch for a period of time (such as 30 seconds) without moving. These types of stretches are best done as a cooldown after exercise.

Another type of stretch is called dynamic stretching, in which you are moving your body as you stretch. This type of stretching is best done as a warmup before exercise.

Wickham's preferred method of stretching is called active stretching. This type of stretching is recommended after a warmup or at the end of your exercise routine.

"With active stretching, you are first stretching out your inner thigh adductor muscles as much as possible and then contracting these same muscles while they are maximally stretched out," he says.

You can also use a foam roller on your inner thighs to help increase circulation before stretching.

The following moves include dynamic, static and active stretches to help loosen up your inner thighs.

This is a dynamic inner thigh stretch that can be done as part of a warmup to loosen up your hips.

The lateral lunge is another dynamic stretch to improve the flexibility of your inner thighs. This should also be done as a warm-up exercise.

This is an active stretch that should be done after a warmup or after exercising to help improve inner thigh flexibility. This stretch involves contracting your muscles to help deepen the stretch.

The butterfly stretch is a static or passive stretch that should be done as part of a cooldown at the end of your exercise routine.

The yogi squat, or malasana, is a yoga move with many benefits, including stretching the inner thighs, opening up the groin and pelvic floor, and stretching the calves.