Muscles of the Hip

The muscles of the hip allow the hip to move. There are seventeen muscles in the hip, which are separated into four categories based upon their location around the hip. The four categories are the adductor group, gluteal group, iliopsoas group, and finally the abductor group.

The adductor group of muscles moves a limb toward the centerline...

Anatomy Terms

Full Muscles of the Hip Description

[Continued from above] . . . of the body. These include muscles such as the adductor brevis, adductor longus, and the adductor magnus.

The gluteal group, also known as the posterior thigh muscles, consists of the gluteus maximus, the strongest muscle in the body. It covers a large part of the buttock and causes the leg to straighten at the hip when a person walks, runs, or climbs. It is also used to raise the body from a sitting position. The posterior thigh muscles consist of the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, and the tensor fasciae latae.

The iliopsoas group consists of the psoas major and the iliacus. This is a powerful flexor muscle of the thigh at the hip joint. They act as important flexors of the trunk on the hip, as in sitting up from a lying-down position.

The abductor group of muscles allows movement of the limb away from the central line of the body. This group includes such muscles as the piriformis muscle, and the inferior and superior gemelli muscles. All of these muscle groups provide movement of the hip.