Why Your Hips Feel Painful When You Release Pelvic Floor Tension

If you’ve been doing pelvic floor release work and suddenly your hips start to ache, just know you’re definitely not doing anything wrong.

In fact, this is extremely common with effective pelvic floor release work!

When I first started releasing my own pelvic floor years ago, I remember thinking, “Wait a second… why do my hips hurt more now that I’m finally relaxing?” It felt so counterintuitive. But what I learned (and what I teach now in all my programs) is that the hips and pelvic floor are so deeply connected that when one changes, the other has to adapt.

That adaptation can feel like soreness, tenderness, or even a strange deep ache in your hips or low pelvis. Let’s unpack why that happens — and why it’s actually a good sign that your body is healing.

1. Your Pelvic Floor and Hips Are Teammates

Most people think of the pelvic floor as this mysterious little group of muscles “down there.”

But in reality, it’s part of a whole team — one that includes your diaphragm, deep core, spine stabilizers, and yes, your hip muscles.

There’s one deep hip muscle in particular that’s basically your pelvic floor’s best friend: the obturator internus. It lines the inside of your pelvis, helps rotate your hip, and literally shares fascia and nerve connections with your pelvic floor.

So when your pelvic floor has been chronically tense, your obturator internus (and other deep hip rotators like the piriformis) are often holding on too. Essentially overachievers trying to keep you stable.

Then, when you finally release your pelvic floor, those muscles have to recalibrate. They might let go for the first time in years, or take on a bit more load now that your pelvic floor isn’t gripping for dear life.

Either way, they’re doing new work — and that new work can feel sore.

It’s not pain — it’s communication. Your body is simply saying, “Hey, I’m adjusting to this new normal.”

2. Your Nervous System Is Relearning Safety

The pelvic floor doesn’t just hold physical tension — it holds protective tension.

Often, that tightness is your body’s way of saying, “I don’t feel safe letting go.” This can happen after childbirth, trauma, chronic stress, or even years of overtraining your core.

So when you start to release that tension, your nervous system sometimes goes, “Wait — what’s happening? We’ve been guarding this area for a reason!”

Your hips or low back might step in to create a new layer of protection until your body realizes it’s safe again.

That temporary tightness or tenderness isn’t regression — it’s recalibration. Once your nervous system learns that this new way of being (this softer, more open way) is safe, those sensations fade and are replaced with a feeling of lightness and space.

3. Alignment and Load Are Shifting

When you release deep pelvic tension, your alignment changes.

A chronically tight pelvic floor often pulls your tailbone under and locks your pelvis into a tucked position. When that lets go, your pelvis and hips shift into a more neutral alignment  (which means your posture, muscle recruitment, and load all change).

If your glutes or hip stabilizers have been “asleep” while your pelvic floor did all the stabilizing, they might now be waking up. That awakening can feel like soreness at first — just like any other muscle after a new workout.

Give them a little grace and gentle movement, and soon you’ll feel more balanced and strong from the inside out.

4. The Fascia Is Finally Free

Your fascia (that beautiful web of connective tissue linking every muscle, ligament, and organ in your body) plays a huge role here too.

The fascia of your pelvic floor connects to your hips, core, back, and even your diaphragm.

When you start releasing tension, that fascia regains its glide and hydration, improving blood flow and nerve communication. But just like when a limb “falls asleep” and starts tingling as circulation returns, those tissues can feel temporarily sensitive.

That dull ache or soreness in your hips is often just sensation returning to areas that have been dormant for a long time. It’s not something to fear — it’s something to celebrate.

5. How to Support Your Body Through It

Here’s how to help your body feel better while it adjusts:

💫 Gentle movement
Slow hip circles, supported bridges, and pelvic tilts help reestablish coordination between your hips and pelvic floor without adding tension.

💫 Breathwork
Long, slow exhales calm your nervous system and help your pelvic floor release more fully. (Bonus: it activates your vagus nerve, which helps your whole body feel safe.)

💫 Light glute activation
Once the tension has eased, simple exercises like clamshells or standing hip abductions, booty band work etc can help your hips feel supported again. Think of it as strengthening the team so your pelvic floor doesn’t have to do all the work alone.

💫 Heat and rest
Warmth encourages blood flow and relaxation. A heating pad or Epsom salt bath can work wonders if your hips feel tender.

And most importantly — give it time. These sensations usually ease within a few days as your body finds its new equilibrium.

The Bottom Line

If your hips feel sore after pelvic floor release, it doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong. It means your body is shifting from tension-based stability to trust-based stability.

You’re teaching your body a new language — one where you can be strong and relaxed, stable and soft.

So next time your hips whisper (or shout) at you, just smile and say, “I hear you. We’re finding our new normal.”

Ready to Go Deeper?

If this resonates with you (if you suspect your pelvic floor might be holding tension and you’re ready to finally release it safely) I made my Tight Pelvic Floor Fix program precisely for you.

It’s a gentle, science-backed system that helps you reconnect to your pelvic floor, release chronic tension, and rebuild strength from the inside out — without endless Kegels or confusion.

You’ll learn how to breathe, move, and retrain your body so that your hips, core, and pelvic floor start working together again — the way they were designed to.

Learn more and join the Tight Pelvic Floor Fix here.

Your hips (and your whole body) will thank you. 💜