Learn About Psoas Muscle Pain & Psoas Release Techniques
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The Psoas muscle is a leading cause of most back pain and hip pain.
This lens will answer many questions about the psoas muscle, how it plays a key role in back pain, and a number of stretches, exercises and techniques for getting relief. Releasing psoas muscle pain takes time and patience. This lens will help you become more familiar with this mysterious muscle deep in our abdomen. You will find information on the psoas through videos, images and links that will help you understand the powerful effects of the psoas on our bodies.
Some basic psoas facts:
This lens provides extensive information on the psoas from a wide variety of perspectives. I have collected some of the best psoas resources available on the Internet. It also includes resources to release your psoas.
Visit "Barry Krost's Psoas Universe." Another website on the psoas muscle.
#1. What is the Psoas Muscle?
The number of problems caused by the psoas is quite astonishing.
The psoas (pronounced "so - az") primarily flexes the hip and the spinal column. At about 16 inches long on the average, it is one of the largest and thickest muscles of the body (in animals it's known as the tenderloin). This powerful muscle runs down the lower mid spine beginning at the 12th thoracic vertebrae connecting to all the vertebral bodies, discs and transverse processes of all the lumbar vertebrae down across the pelvis to attach on the inside of the top of the leg at the lesser trochanter. The lower portion combines with fibers from the iliacus muscle, which sits inside the surface of the pelvis and sacrum, to become the Iliopsoas muscle as it curves over the pubic bone and inserts on the lesser trochanter.
"The Psoas Book" by Liz Koch
**Information and Excellent Exercises**
The Psoas Book
Amazon Price: $18.47 (as of 06/04/2012)
The 85 page soft covered book is a comprehensive guide to the Iliopsoas muscle and its profound influence on the body/mind/emotions.
Chapters include: location, function, effects, childhood conditioning, women's cycles, the fear reflex, releasing the psoas, approaches to the psoas and ergonomics.
#2. What is the function of the psoas?
The psoas has a number of diverse functions, making it a key factor in health. The psoas functions as a hip and thigh flexor, which makes it the major walking muscle. If the legs are stationary the action of it is a bend the spine forward; if sitting, it stabilizes and balances the trunk. The lower psoas brings the lumbar vertebrae forward and downward to create pelvic tilt.When we think of smooth, elegant and graceful movement in dancers and athletes we are looking at the psoas functioning at its optimum. It requires that the psoas maintains the pelvis in a dynamically neutral orientation that can move easily and retain structural integrity. This creates positions of the spine that require the least muscular effort.
#3. What are the common pain symptoms of the psoas?
The psoas can torque your spine to the right or left, pull it forward and twist the pelvis into various distortions. Frequently one psoas will shorten and pull the spine and/or pelvis to our dominant side. The distortions of the spine and pelvis can also show up as a short or long leg. This all results in scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis, trigger points, and spasms in back muscles trying to resist the pulling of the psoas.
It can also pull the spine downward, compressing the facet joints and the intervertebral discs of the lumbar spine. The pressure can cause the discs to degenerate, becoming thinner and less flexible. This degeneration makes the discs more susceptible to bulging or tearing, especially with twisting and bending movements.
Get 7 Effective Psoas Relief Exercises!
Organized by Barry Krost after 20+ years of working with the psoas.
The 10 page E-Pamphlet, "7 Methods of Releasing the Psoas Muscle and Back Pain," is delivered electronically as a PDF. It has everything you need to begin to transform your pain and discomfort.
Full of easy directions and photos of each exercise, you will quickly find the relief you have been searching for.
Each of the 7 methods contains an introduction to the activity, clear directions and photos that illustrate the experience. This document is designed to help you to gently release your psoas. The methods, if done on a regular basis, should help to keep your back (and hips) flexible and resilient.
Only $3.95. Online purchase. You will be directed to a page on my website!
#4. What keeps the psoas in contraction?
The psoas will stay contracted because of postural habits and trauma. The way we stand, walk and sit can distort the psoas. If we walk or stand with our chin in an overly forward position the muscle will tighten. Sitting through much of the day at the office, car or elsewhere causes the muscle to shorten to keep us bio-mechanically balanced in our chairs. Over time we develop a "normal" way of holding the psoas that is dysfunctional.Unresolved trauma can keep the psoas short and reactive. This is a primary muscle in flight, fight, freeze or fear responses to danger. When survival is at stake, it propels the body to hit the ground running. When startled, it ignites preparation of the extensor muscles to reach out (grab hold) or run. Until the psoas is released the muscle may stay contracted and go into further shortening and spasm very easily.
Good Psoas Links
These help to deepen our understanding to the structure and function of the psoas.
A collection of informative links on the psoas and its connection to back pain.
- Ortho-Bionomy is Effective Back Pain Relief
- By Barry Krost. Ortho-Bionomy is extremely helpful to release the psoas muscle. Each position helps reset the sensors in muscles and joints known collectively as proprioceptors.
- Key to a Healthy Back: Release Your Psoas
- By Liz Koch. A key to maintaining a healthy back and preventing back problems is learning to keep the core muscle of the body, the PSOAS (pronounced so-as) released.
Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/key-to-a-healthy-back-release-your-psoas-1202684.html#ixzz0qzhpBYgu
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution - The Psoas Muscle Causes Back and Hip Pain
- By Barry Krost. The biggest factor in back and hip pain is the psoas muscle. The number of problems caused by the psoas is quite astonishing.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/857586 - How To Stop A Back Spasm | LIVESTRONG.COM
- How To Stop A Back Spasm. Back spasms can be debilitating and put you on the sidelines. They may interfere with your ability to work or participate in hobbies. The first step is to find out what is causing...
- Understanding iliopsoas: clinical implications for the massage therapist
- "One of the most enigmatic muscles in the human body is the ilipsoas (also known as the psoas). Travell and Simons name it the 'hidden prankster,' (1) and I suspect that a significant number of massage therapists are puzzled about how to manage this prankster in the clinical setting."
- Low Back Pain and the Psoas Connection
- By Chris E Barrett
"There are a myriad of causes for low back pain, but today I am focusing on one in particular: the psoas (pronounced: so-az) muscle. The "low back" link on my front page leads to an excellent picture of psoas and how it connects to the lower spine and femur (the thigh bone). Its main job is to flex your hip, so if your leg is free to move, your thigh rises: think of walking up stairs. If your leg is held steady, you bend at the hips: think of doing full sit-ups. - Low back pain causes: Iliopsoas muscle
- by CHRISTINA ABBOTT
"For those of you who practice Pilates, the iliopsoas muscle should be familiar to you. It's the deep hip flexor you use (or should be using) with teaser, rolling like a ball and any rollup or roll back exercises. In fact, this primary core muscle should be used in all your exercises whether you do Pilates or not. Dysfunction in the iliopsoas muscle causes pain in the lumbar portion of your low back." - The Psoas Muscles, Psoas Stretches, and Abdominal Exercises for Back Pain
- By Lawrence Gold
"You can free your own psoas muscles. This article presents the basis for the self-teaching program, Free Your Psoas. It provides information usually missing from discussions about treatment for tight psoas muscles and tells you what you need to know before you start." - The Iliopsoas Muscle
- "The psoas muscle is specifically linked to low back pain, sacroiliac pain, sciatica, disc problems, spondylolysis, scoliosis, hip degeneration, knee pain, menstruation pain, infertility, and digestive problems. The list can also include bio mechanical problems like pelvic tilt, leg length discrepancies, kyphosis, and lumbar lordosis."
- Psoas Stretch vs Psoas Release?
- By Johnathan Fritzgordon. "Psoas stretches are at the foundation of any yoga class even if the teachers and students don't realize it. As a yoga teacher, it is my job to stretch people, but it wasn't long before I began to come across people who didn't seem to be served by stretching. "
Release Your Psoas with TRE
An Amazing DVD by David Berceli.
An DVD by David Berceli. Look for the book and a video of Berceli below!!!
Trauma Releasing Exercises Step By Step Video Instruction and Demonstration
Amazon Price: $25.16 (as of 06/04/2012)
List Price: $27.95
#5. What is the Quadratus Lumborum Muscle?
A key muscle to understand the psoas and back pain.
I love the anatomy and physiology on these videos, but I wouldn't release it the way they show. Perhaps hard on the hands and I wonder how long lasting.
The Quadratus Lumborum is a well known muscle that is a primary cause of lower back pain. Its action of bringing the hip up is important for balancing postural distortion. Not only does it refer into the Sacro-Iliac joint, but can cause stress in that joint by pulling the hips out of alignment. Some consider the iliacus and quadratus lumborum to be functionally one muscle with continuous fibers. Quadratus lumborum is always an important player in psoas problems.
The Quadratus Lumborum is a well known muscle that is a primary cause of lower back pain. Its action of bringing the hip up is important for balancing postural distortion. Not only does it refer into the Sacro-Iliac joint, but can cause stress in that joint by pulling the hips out of alignment. Some consider the iliacus and quadratus lumborum to be functionally one muscle with continuous fibers. Quadratus lumborum is always an important player in psoas problems.
curated content from YouTube
Support for You Psoas and Lower Back
If all else fails.
A New Book on the Psoas
Psoas Release Party!: Release Your Body From Chronic Pain and Discomfort
Amazon Price: $14.41 (as of 06/04/2012)
The Opinionated Psoas, A Four Part Series by Thomas Myers
Mr. Myers is a Certified Advanced Rolfer® who studied directly from Ida Rolf and Moshe Feldenkrais. He has also studied less extensively with movement teachers Judith Aston, Emilie Conrad, and in the martial arts. His work is influenced by cranial, visceral, and intrinsic movement studies he made with European schools of osteopathy.
Read all four parts for a interesting understanding of the posas.
Read an interview with Thomas Myers originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, October/November 2003.
Read all four parts for a interesting understanding of the posas.
Read an interview with Thomas Myers originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, October/November 2003.
- The Opinionated Psoas, Part 1
- "The psoas is a fascinating muscle. I joke with my students that when they go to visit the Rolf Institute, after they light a candle on the altar to Ida Rolf, they will have to go over and light another stick of incense at the altar to the psoas muscle. Not a word of truth in it, of course. One of the things that drew me to Rolfing in the first place was its warm-hearted and clear-headed resistance to orthodoxy, but Dr. Rolf and Rolfing® did have a lot to do with putting the psoas on the bodywork map. Not that she was alone in worshipping this muscle, various dance teachers have gotten excited about it, and one yoga teacher even wrote a book devoted solely to the psoas."
- The Opinionated Psoas, Part 2
- "We left off last time discussing the psoas muscle, having concluded it was a hip flexor. We also put forward a set of arguments that suggested, in summary, the psoas is neither a significant medial nor a lateral rotator of the hip. In this issue, let's continue our discussion, looking now at the upper part of the psoas to see how it might affect the lumbar spine."
- The Opinionated Psoas, Part 3
- "This time, we turn to the question of what can happen if the psoas is shorter on one side than the other. Once again, we must give you fair warning that the ideas put forward in this series are speculative, and designed to encourage your thinking and experimentation."
- The Psoas Psubstitutes, Part 4
- "In this issue we turn our attention to the neighbors of the psoas to see how they both duplicate and supplement its functions."
A Bigger Psoas Perspective
Core Development
Core Awareness: Enhancing Yoga, Pilates, Exercise & Dance
Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 06/04/2012)
Tom Myers & Liz Koch: A Psoas Conversation
- Tom Myers & Liz Koch: A Psoas Conversation
- Tom Myers author of Anatomy Trains and Liz Koch author of The Psoas Book air their professional perspectives on working with the Psoas. Both Tom & Liz have extensive personal and professional experience working with the Psoas. Having trained with Ida Rolf in the 70's, Tom Myers comes to this discussion with an extensive hands-on approach, while somatic educator Liz Koch brings her 30 years of somatic explorations as validation for avoiding direct palpation of the core muscle. This conversation enlightens their mutual understanding of the Psoas and highlights the thinking behind why their approaches differ.
Unraveling The Psoas Muscle On Land - Using A Chair - Liz Koch
Remember! Always consult with your physician before starting any health program. The exercises on this page are for information only.
curated content from YouTube
How I Treat the Psoas Muscle in My Bodywork Practice
Includes a link to my Psoas Release E-Manual
I have seen many psoas injuries. As my practice evolved I tried a number of techniques to release the psoas. I've had the most success by using Positional Release techniques.Developed in the 1950's by Lawrence Jones, Osteopathic Physician, Positional Release has evolved into several systems of therapy. Today these methods are used by Bodyworkers, Chiropractors and other manual therapists. I learned a system called Ortho-Bionomy® in the 1990's developed by British trained Osteopath, Arthur Lincoln Pauls. Ortho-Bionomy is the foundation for all my sessions.
To release the psoas we move the legs and hips into the most comfortable position possible. This position resets the sensors in the muscles and joints known collectively as proprioceptors. Creating the right twist and pressure in the muscles and joints resets these sensors very quickly. The can result in the psoas changing its tension levels and learning to operate in better balance over time.
Go to "Psoas Universe" for more information on my practice.
.
Alternative Way of Lifting Light Objects (Hip Pivot)
Active Release Techniques®
Remember! Always consult with your physician before starting any health program. The exercises on this page are for information only.
curated content from YouTube
Alternative Way of Lifting Heavy Objects (Lunge)
Active Release Techniques®
Remember! Always consult with your physician before starting any health program. The exercises on this page are for information only.
curated content from YouTube
Sleep Help for the Psoas Muscle and Back Pain
Products from Amazon
These pillows and matress should help you to find a better sleep position to release psoas related pain.
Stretch and Strengthen the Psoas, Part 1
Remember! Always consult with your physician before starting any health program. The exercises on this page are for information only.
- Psoas Health: Trauma Recovery Protocol [plus exercises]
- This Liz Koch article has some exercises including a more detailed description of Constructive Rest.
- The Psoas - Stretching Revisited
- "...a key part of the answer to eliminating common mechanical low back pain is to keep the muscles of the low back in balance. This will improve your posture and dancing as well. Since the psoas often becomes tight and shortened from sitting, the answer must include daily stretches and exercises to counterbalance the tightening."
- Psoas Muscle.. "true core"
- by Tim Luchinske
"I will be posting a video (hopefully today) on an exercise plus a stretch that targets this muscle.
The psoas muscles and the abdominal muscles are agonist and antagonist as well as synergists. Allow an imbalance between these two groups and you will run (literally) in to problems. Lower back pain is one of the more common issues from having a tight psoas." - Iliopsoas Self-Stretch
- A widely used standing stretch can easily be modified to become a facilitated stretch for the iliopsoas.
- Strengthening the Psoas Muscle
- This site focuses on strengthening the psoas specifically for cycling. Includes a You Tube Video. This seems more advanced to me. Be careful.
The Psoas and Hip Replacement
A tight psoas can damage the hip requiring a hip replacement.
A tight psoas changes leg length. Unequal leg length put biomechanical stain on the hip joints because of dysfunctional walking/gait. Hips become arthritic and require replacement. True? And even with surgery when does the psoas get released?
- It's the Psoas, stupid!
- "Clearly, before my surgery, my psoas had gotten so tight that I couldn't extend my left leg flat on the ground while laying on my back."
- Hip Pain and Hip Replacement
- "Unfortunately, for most people, both legs are not exactly the same. They may look the same, but from a bio-mechanical standpoint, they are not the same."
"Because the hip joint connects the leg to the pelvis, the hip joint will sustain the brunt of any bio-mechanical abnormality that may occur. If one leg is shorter than the other, the hip joints will be stressed because the leg length discrepancy causes an abnormal gait (manner of walking)." - Iliopsoas impingement after total hip replacement
- THE RESULTS OF NON-OPERATIVE MANAGEMENT, TENOTOMY OR ACETABULAR REVISION
"We have reviewed a group of patients with iliopsoas impingement after total hip replacement with radiological evidence of a well-fixed malpositioned or oversized acetabular component." - Pain related to the psoas muscle after total hip replacement
- "Residual pain after total hip replacement may be due to a number of causes both local to and
distant from the hip. We describe pain related to the psoas muscle after total hip replacement in nine patients."
Books on Back Pain
Psoas Stretches and Back Exercises
Make sure your psoas has some flexibility before trying these. Remember! Always consult with your physician before starting any health program. The exercises on this page are for information only.
curated content from YouTube
More Psoas Links
More informative links on the psoas and the related muscles that are apart of psoas dysfunction.
- The Psoas as Pulley
- More from Jonathan Fitzgordon.
"The psoas fits in the mechanical model acting as a pulley as it curves over the front rim of the pelvis on the way to the femur." (Mach 26, 2008) - The Psoas Muscles and Abdominal Exercises for Back Pain
- A comprehensive article. Includes information on the psoas and walking.
- The Psoas: is It Killing Your Back?
- Lots of good information and exercises! From Stonglifts.com.
Remember! Always consult with your physician before starting any health program. The exercises on this page are for information only.
Psoas Techniques
A variety of Psoas techniques.
I don't agree with most of these approaches nor am I endorsing them. They are generally too invasive and too deep. But it's for you to decide.
Always consult with a physician before starting any health program.
Always consult with a physician before starting any health program.
curated content from YouTube
Stretch and Strengthen the Psoas, Part 2
- The Almighty Psoas Muscle - MyYogaOnline
- A look at the psoas from a yoga perspective. Includes look at the psoas in the Sun Salutation pose.
- Nia and The Psoas Muscle
- Nia is a body-mind-spirit fitness and lifestyle practice that changes the psoas by teaching you to consciously realign and re-pattern the function of the psoas.
- The Perky Psoas
- From: Troy McCarty Pilates
- The Benefits of the Iliopsoas Muscle to Pilates - Part 1
- By Aliesa George, founder of Centerworks® Pilates Institute.
Core Sun Salutation Flow
Remember! Always consult with your physician before starting any health program. The exercises on this page are for information only.
curated content from YouTube
Psoas Stretch and Burn
Remember! Always consult with your physician before starting any health program. The exercises on this page are for information only.
curated content from YouTube
Disclaimers
The information provided on this web page is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her physician.This page is for educational purposes only. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. If you have, or suspect you have a health problem, you should consult your health care provider.
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