How’s Your TFL Muscle (Common Hidden Cause Of Low Back, Hip, Knee & Ankle Pain)?

Cori Lefkowith, of “Strong at Every Age”, shows us what to do about it:

The problem is often not what it seems

The tensor fasciae latae (TFL) is a small muscle on the outside-front of your hip that helps flex your hip, internally rotate your thigh, and lift your leg sideways, but when it becomes overactive it often compensates for weak or poorly recruited glute medius muscles.

This can become a bigger problem than it needs to, because many people focus only on where pain appears, without realizing the TFL is behind it (often literally). For this reason, stretching, strengthening, resting, foam rolling downstream areas, or even doing glute exercises like band walks, clamshells, or lateral raises can backfire if your TFL is still doing the work.

In particular: if you feel a given exercise more in the front or side of your hip than the side of your butt, you’re likely reinforcing compensation rather than fixing it.

Because changing recruitment patterns is easier when tight muscles are first relaxed, use a three-step process of:

1. foam rolling overactive muscles
2. stretching and mobilizing them
3. activating the weaker muscles

…in that order!

For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations of how, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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How Tight Are Your Hips? Test (And Fix!) With This

Take care!