In human anatomy

Human anatomy

Human anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye...

, the hip extensors are a group of skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscle is a form of striated muscle tissue existing under control of the somatic nervous system- i.e. it is voluntarily controlled. It is one of three major muscle types, the others being cardiac and smooth muscle...

s that act to extend

Extension

Extension may refer to:* A cheerleading stunt* The building of community capacity by outsiders, for instance agricultural extension* Extension , relating to the pulling apart of the Earth's crust and lithosphere...

 the femur

Femur

The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...

 (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
  Gluteus maximus muscle
  The gluteus maximus is the largest and most superficial of the three gluteal muscles...
  
  
• Most of the hamstrings:
• Long head of biceps femoris, short head is not a hip extensor, only a knee flexor
• Semimembranosus muscle
  Semimembranosus muscle
  The semimembranosus is a muscle in the back of the thigh. It is the most medial of the three hamstring muscles.-Structure:The semimembranosus, so called from its membranous tendon of origin, is situated at the back and medial side of the thigh....
  
  
• Semitendinosus muscle
  Semitendinosus muscle
  The semitendinosus is a muscle in the back of the thigh; it is one of the hamstrings.-Structure:The semitendinosus, remarkable for the great length of its tendon of insertion, is situated at the posterior and medial aspect of the thigh ....
  
  

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
  Knee flexor
  The knee flexors are a group of muscles which cross the posterior of the knee joint whose contraction induces flexion of the joint. They include, but are not limited to:*The hamstrings :**biceps femoris...
  
  : hamstrings
• Hip adductor: gluteus maximus
• Hip lateral rotator: gluteus maximus