3 Steps for Eliminating Tensor Fasciae Latae Pain

Are you looking for a solution to a tight, painful or achy tensor fasciae latae muscle, aka the TFL?

Does it feel like whatever you do, that deep and annoying tightness just won’t go away?

Well dear hipster, I’ve been where you are. My TFL used to feel tight all the time. It took me years of trial and error to figure out what would make this part of my body relax and feel better.

But once I figured it out, hot damn! My hips feel looser and more mobile than they’d ever have.

Many of my clients complain about a tight TFL too so I coached them with the same methods that gave me relief. The exercises helped them too!

In this article I will share the same 3-step strategy with you so you have everything you need to start bulletproofing your TFL.

Step 1 - Understand what the TFL Muscle does

The first step in troubleshooting any muscle is to understand its function. 

What does the TFL do? It flexes and internally rotates the hip. So, in order to make any permanent changes to how the TFL feels, you need to address these movements.

Let’s start with hip flexion. There is a misconception out there that if you have an office job, you don’t need any more work in hip flexion.

In addition to coaching and writing about exercise, I am also an attorney. This means I sit a lot. And guess what is historically one of my weakest movement patterns? You guessed it - hip flexion.

When you sit, your hips and knees are in a static position for a long time. You get good at hip flexion only in this range.

If you ask your hips to go deeper into hip flexion, it’s unlikely all that sitting would make much of a difference.

The second major function of the TFL is hip internal rotation. In my experience, this is a difficult movement for most modern adults to access. 

We don’t do much of it in daily life. If you don’t use it, you lose it and hip internal rotation is a prime example of this phenomenon.

Experiment with these two movements and pay attention to two things: (1) how much range you get and (2) how your hips feel in the movement.

When building resilience in the TFL or any area of the body, you not only want a healthy range but you also want to access that range with comfort.

Step 2 - Rebuilding Tensor Fasciae Latae Function

Now that you understand what the TFL does and where you might be limited, it’s time to start building back function.

The first exercise I recommend you practice is the standing hip flexor raise. This will target hip flexion. Practice the movement unloaded first. For most people, that’s enough of a challenge in the beginning. 

Once you can get 3 sets of 10 unloaded reps, add some VERY light weight. I am using a kettlebell in the video above because I find that it’s an efficient way to load this movement.

But use whatever you have access to - a band, ankle weights or whatever else. You don’t need much weight here to see good results.

The second exercise I recommend is the 90/90 and it is quite different from the first. This will target hip internal rotation but you are not strengthening the muscle like you are doing with the above exercise.

Think of this one more as a TFL muscle stretch rather than a strengthening exercise. The goal is to maintain a calm breathe in the movement and slowly ask your body for more range.

You don’t want to force anything. It is common for people to feel quite a bit of resistance and discomfort in this position. Don’t go into pain.

Instead, ask yourself, “what can I do to make this position more comfortable?” 

Step 3 - Integrating the Tensor Fasciae Latae Muscle in Full Body Movements

Bruce Lee said “It's not daily increase but daily decrease, hack away the unessential.” And he was pretty damn good at moving his body, yeah?

Less is more when it comes to corrective exercise. I say this as a certified corrective exercise specialist! The ultimate way to rebuild comfort and resilience in your TFL is to use this muscle dynamically in full body functional movements, like the squat.

The squat challenges the TFL in the two movements we care about - hip flexion and internal rotation. But it also challenges the body in many other ways so you get more bang for your buck.

There is a time for corrective exercise. Rushing into heavy squats without building sufficient mind-muscle connection with the TFL is not an approach I suggest. But at the same time, correctives will only take you so far.

Eventually and sooner than you probably think, you need to integrate these isolated movements into more global movement patterns. Another great movement that does this is the hip hinge.

There are many exercises and movements that fall under the “hip hinge” umbrella. Good mornings, RDLs, kettlebell swings, etc. Whichever variation you select, your TFL will be challenged in hip flexion and hip internal rotation.

The same applies for the squat. There are many variations of the squat you can practice - goblet, wide stance, narrow stance, front, etc. Select one that fits your current training goals and perform it after you do your isolated TFL exercises.

Closing Thoughts

Stretching and foam rolling your TFL will only get you so far. It might alleviate some discomfort in the short-term but it won’t build permanent changes in your body.

The only way to build this type of resilience is by increasing strength and function in the movement patterns the TFL is responsible for - namely hip internal rotation and hip flexion.

Sure, there will be some maintenance required here and there. But once you put in the foundational work, it won’t feel like you need to massage or stretch your TFL every couple of hours.

I always tell students to chase better movement, not symptoms.