Hydrangeas are slow to leaf out in spring. I'm in northern Virginia and mine are not fully foliated yet. You didn't tell us where you're located but they probably need more time.

I'm in zone 6 southwest Illinois. Right next to state line with MO (st. Louis)

This is a picture of my hydrangea right now... I dont know If I need to cut the Woody sticks back more. They are about 2 1/2 feet.

Need to- no. Give them time.

There are enough spring chores that you should be able to resist touching it for another two weeks or so.

At that point when you are certain it has finished leafing out you can go in and remove dead stems. But don't "prune" leafed out, healthy stems- save that for the week or two AFTER blooming has finished.

That's when you do pruning to control size or alter the shape.

That rule holds true for most flowering shrubs- prune after flowering.

You don't need to prune. The old stems will rot and fall off on their own and they'll help new growth from flopping after it rains.