What is the Psoas muscle?
Psoas, is one of the muscles that function to move your spine and hip. The psoas muscle attaches from the vertebrae of your lumbar spine (Lower back joints), crosses the pelvis and groin area and attaches to the femur (thigh bone). The Psoas muscle will meet the iliacus muscle and attaches to your femur as muscle called iliopsoas.
What does the Psoas muscle do?
The function of your psoas muscle is to lift your hip, bend spine forward and and contributes to side flexion of your spine also. Therefore, the psoas muscle is important in activities such as bending forward, walking and running.
However, in our everyday lifestyle, we tend to sit for a prolonged period of time because of office work, studying or driving. This can cause tension in the psoas muscle, which leads to tilting the pelvis and spine forward. This alters your biomechanics and can put pressure on your lower back, resulting in low back pain.
Also, tight psoas muscle will prevent full extension movement of your hip joint. Limited movement in joint can lead to altered biomechanical movement so in overtime it can lead to muscle imbalances, muscle or joint irritation and dysfunctional biomechanical relation between your hip and spine.
Prevent tight Psoas muscle by stretching
For proper assessment of your low back, it is best to consult with your physician including chiropractor and physiotherapist. However, you can prevent psoas muscle to tighten with the regular stretch.
Here is simple psoas stretch that you can do:
- Kneel down on one knee.
- Ensure your rear knee is directly under your hip and your front knee is in line with your front heel.
- Now tuck your bottom under, opening out through the front of the hip you are kneeling on.
- To increase the stretch, gently lean to the opposite side and place the arm of the same side you are stretching up above your head and stretch towards the ceiling.
- Maintain the position for 30-60 seconds.
- Repeat 2-3 time per day.
If you are suffering from low back pain and suspect tight hips, feel free to ask Chiropractor Harry Park at Kingsford, any questions on (02) 9663 2151. Harry can give a diagnosis with a spinal check and provide treatment and preventative exercises for your hip and low back pain.
