Easy Physical Therapy Thigh Muscle Stretches

Updated on August 05, 2020

Medically reviewed by

The thigh describes the area of your leg above the knee joint and below the hip. These muscles help support your knee and hip joints and help move your femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone). Sometimes, these muscles become tight after injury or a period of inactivity and immobilization.

Five large muscle groups make up the thigh region:

Abductors: (like your gluteal muscles) Move the legs apart
Adductors: Bring the legs together
Hamstrings: Bend the knee and extend the hip backward
Hip flexors: Raise the leg or knee toward the torso
Quadriceps: Straighten the knee and bend the hip up

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Watch Now: 3 Easy Ways to Stretch Your Thighs

The muscles of the thigh may become tight due to the extended amount of time most people spend in the seated position during the workday. For this reason, it is important to stretch the thigh muscles frequently. A few sessions with a physical therapist can help you determine which exercises are best for stretching your thighs.

Let's review three easy stretches that target the hip flexor, hamstring, and adductor muscle groups. Your local physical therapist may have you perform these stretches a few times a day as part of your home exercise program.

Before starting this or any other exercise program, you should check with your doctor to be sure that exercising is safe for you to do.

Hip Flexor Stretch

The hip flexors connect your hip bones to your leg bones. Tightness here may be one cause of pelvic or lower back pain. Here's how you stretch your hip flexors:

Stand upright.
Step forward with your right leg.
Slowly bend your right knee keeping your left leg straight.
Continue to bend your right knee until a gentle stretch is felt on top of the thigh.
Avoid arching the back as you bend into your front leg.
Hold for five seconds.
Return to the start position.
Repeat steps 1 to 7 five more times.
Perform with left leg forward.

Remember to stop the stretch if it causes increased pain.

Standing Hamstring Stretch

Your hamstrings run down the back of your thigh from you hip to the back of your knee. Here is how to stretch them:

Stand upright.
Bend over and attempt to touch your toes while keeping your knees straight.
Continue until a gentle stretch is felt behind the knees.
Hold for 15 to 30 seconds.
Return to the start position.
Repeat steps 1 to 5 five more times.

Stop this stretch if you feel any low back pain or increasd pain in your hamstrings.

Adductor Stretch

Your adductor muscles run from the inner side of your hip to the inner side of your knee. They help to pull your thighs together. Here is how you stretch them: