Tight hips can lead to a whole host of issues like lower back pain, misalignment in the spine, and can even lead to injury. The hip joints are actually very unique joints, known as ball and socket joints. This allows for a much greater range of motion than say the elbow joint or the knee joint.That is why you need to open the front, back and sides of your hips to really get a good stretch. I recommend that you warm up a little, and then hold each stretch for 30 seconds to a minute.
