Hip internal rotation verus external rotation?

I constantly mix these up, as they almost seem backwards to me?

In my mind, something like a butterfly stretch would be external rotation..as you're opening up your hips. However, I think I've read it's internal?

Can someone provide maybe a quick overview or a link that gives some good examples of each?

Ah, me too. And here's what your doing - you're thinking of the bent knee and which way the foot moves when the leg is bent - that's the OPPOSITE. We're looking at the hip. So do one of two things:

1) Draw a line with marker on the top of your thigh. Do a butterfly or other stretch and watch where the pen line goes.

2) Keep the knee locked and rotate out and in - at this point it is obvious. Then, when rotated, bend the knee and see where everything goes.

dcs24 said:

In my mind, something like a butterfly stretch would be external rotation..as you're opening up your hips. However, I think I've read it's internal?

Whoops, I misread this. You are correct, a butterfly stretch is external rotation. HOWEVER, that means it stretches the internal rotators - the external rotators do the work, the internal rotators resist and are stretched