You may hear a clicking noise when you move your hip, but that sound is not necessarily a hip flexor issue. Siegrist says the clicking isn't generally the hip flexor alone and often comes from a moving part, like the joint. "Maybe there is a loose body in the joint or loose cartilage at the edge of the hip joint that is mechanically getting irritated,” she says. 

There are cases of low back pain that have alarming causes, but it’s rare. Once in a while back pain is a warning sign of cancer, autoimmune disease, infection, or a handful of other scary culprits.7 Over the age of 55, about one in twenty cases turns out to be a fracture, and one in a hundred is more ominous.8 The further you are from 55, the better your odds.
^ Jump up to: a b Chou R, Qaseem A, Owens DK, Shekelle P, Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians (1 February 2011). "Diagnostic imaging for low back pain: advice for high-value health care from the American College of Physicians". Annals of Internal Medicine. 154 (3): 181–9. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-154-3-201102010-00008. PMID 21282698.
Squats. Using a squat machine will strengthen your quadriceps muscles on the front of your thigh and the hamstring muscles on the back of your thigh, both of which attach to your hip and give it support. The squat machine may be vertical, in which case you’ll start in a standing position and bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor, or it may be on a sliding incline board.
How to: Get into a high plank position on the floor, hands planted under your shoulders, butt down (a). Engage your abs by pulling your belly button in towards your spine (b). Squeeze your left glute to lift your left leg two inches off the ground, keeping your leg straight (c). Tap your left leg out to the side, then back to starting position. Repeat, then switch legs (d).
I think you should mention that for some people, stretching is not the solution and that it will deteriorate their posture. Some people need stretching, but most people I know need to strengthen their "overstretched" hip flexors. Many people can't do a single hanging leg raise. Check this site if you want to know more about the importance of hip flexors bit.ly/Unlock_Your_Hip_Flexor Report
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Qaseem, A; Wilt, TJ; McLean, RM; Forciea, MA; Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of, Physicians. (4 April 2017). "Noninvasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians". Annals of Internal Medicine. 166 (7): 514–530. doi:10.7326/M16-2367. PMID 28192789.
2016 — More editing, more! Added some better information about pain being a poor indicator, and the role of myofascial trigger points. This article has become extremely busy in the last couple months — about 4,000 readers per day, as described here — so I am really polishing it and making sure that it’s the best possible answer to people’s fears about back pain.
Simply stand up straight with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Slowly bend your knees and hips, lowering yourself until your knees obscure your toes or you achieve a 90 degree angle. Hold for a count of 5 and then gently resume your original position. This can be a tough one so again, don’t overdo it and hold on to a table if you need a little extra support! Try to repeat between 5-10 times.
Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are minimally invasive treatments to repair compression fractures of the vertebrae caused by osteoporosis. Vertebroplasty uses three-dimensional imaging to assist in guiding a fine needle through the skin into the vertebral body, the largest part of the vertebrae. A glue-like bone cement is then injected into the vertebral body space, which quickly hardens to stabilize and strengthen the bone and provide pain relief. In kyphoplasty, prior to injecting the bone cement, a special balloon is inserted and gently inflated to restore height to the vertebral structure and reduce spinal deformity.
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