Sartorius muscle pain? Do these 3 stretches ASAP.

No, Sartorius is not a Greek warrior that fought in the Trojan war. It’s a long skinny muscle that runs down the inside of your thigh. 

And if you’re searching for this obscure muscle group on Google, I’m going to assume that it’s causing you some discomfort. 

In this article, I’ll share 3 stretches that will help you relieve tension in this muscle group. I’ll also provide some helpful long-term strategies to prevent flare ups in the future. 

What is the function of the Sartorius Muscle?

Sartorius comes from the Latin word sartor which means tailor, because of how the muscle is used when sitting cross-legged. Tailors used to sit in a cross-legged posture when sewing and this is how the connection was made.

This cross-legged position is a helpful way to think about one of the main functions of the sartorius. It brings the hip into external rotation.

The sartorius also assists in hip flexion and hip abduction. An important point is that the sartorius is not the primary muscle creating these movements.

Instead, it has a lengthening effect in these movements and that is why stretching this muscle effectively can be so helpful in opening these positions up.

3 Sartorius Muscle Stretches to Reduce Pain & Tension

The first stretch I recommend you work on is the supine hip external rotation stretch. This is a gentle way to begin introducing rotation in your hip.

By going into the movement with such low intensity, you can identify whether you have limitations in hip external rotation. Start slow and dynamic, gently coming in and out of the position for 10-20 reps on each side. 

I like starting my stretching practice with exercises like this because it nicely warms up the hips for more challenging stretches. For some of you, the above stretch might be enough for now and that’s ok.

The key in opening up any movement in the body is to understand your current level. If you feel confident moving forward, the next stretch I recommend is the kneeling groin stretch below. 

This is a potent stretch to release the sartorius as well as all the other muscles in the inner thighs. Ensure you don’t sacrifice form for range here and keep your spine relatively straight as you explore deeper ranges of motion.

A question I ask myself in this stretch is how deep can I go while still feeling the inner thigh stretch and keeping my back straight.

The body is going to leak slack somewhere and you want to practice releasing it in the target muscles - the sartorius and adductors.

The last stretch in this tutorial is the frog and it is my favorite exercise for loosening up a tight sartorius muscle. There are plenty of ways to progress or regress this stretch so you can get value out of it regardless of what your current level of hip mobility is.

The frog mimics the squat position but makes it much easier to access because you take away the demand from the ankles and spine. The focus is on the hips and pelvis so if this is your weak area, spending some time in this position will highlight that for you.

Programming and Long-term Strategies

To get the most out of these stretches, perform them at least 2-3x a week. If you have more time and you like the way a certain stretch makes your hips feel, you can do them everyday since they are low intensity and don’t require much recovery.

My parting advice here is to be as specific as possible with your goals. I meet many people who aren’t clear what their intention is in their stretching practice.

When I interrogate them a little bit, I usually get two different answers. The first and by far the most common is the goal of getting out of pain or reducing tightness.

But pain and tightness are products of the brain and nervous system, not your actual level of flexibility. In other words, you can be flexible and feel tight. I’ve met people who can sit in a perfect squat all day long and complain about tightness.

That’s not to say that stretching can’t help but you need to address the low hanging fruit, what is going on inside your brain and nervous system. I have an eBook that can help you get started with this process.

The second, less common, but more concrete goal is increasing flexibility. More flexibility means more ease and comfort during movement.

When you increase your flexibility, you increase your movement options, and your movement becomes more graceful. If this is your goal then the above stretches will help you tremendously.