Hip extensors

In human anatomy, the hip extensors are a group of skeletal muscles that act to extend the femur (thigh bone) from the lumbo-pelvic complex, i.e., pull the knee down and backward.

The hip extensors are (in descending order of importance to the action of extending the hip joint):

• Gluteus maximus muscle
• Most of the hamstrings:

• Long head of biceps femoris, short head is not a hip extensor, only a knee flexor
• Semimembranosus muscle
• Semitendinosus muscle

Other actions

Muscles that act as hip extensors frequently perform other actions. Due to this, they can be strengthened with movements besides those involving hip extension, and stretched with movements that do not involve hip extension (or hyper extension). Awareness of these actions allows trainers to modify flexion/extension movements/stretches to modify the work done and emphasize different hip extensor muscles. Examples include:

• Knee flexor: hamstrings
• Hip adductor: gluteus maximus
• Hip lateral rotator: gluteus maximus

See also

• Hip flexors, the antagonist muscles