The Psoas
The Psoas is another problem area that not many people know about, unless they have had problems in the past with tight hips and bad backs.
The psoas muscle is made up of the ‘psoas major’ and ‘psoas minor’, and originates on the lumbar region of the spine and inserts on to the lesser trochanter. In other words…it attaches the lower back (lumbar region) to the inside of the thigh (lesser trochanter). The psoas major assists with flexion and external rotation (bringing the knee up and turning it out) and is also considered a muscle of the hip flexors. A common problem associated with the tightening of this muscle is lower back pain.
Check out the video link below to see where the psoas is located.
People who sit down a lot for work (or who are just plain lazy!) often have tight hips. Sitting down means that the psoas is in a shortened position for a prolonged period of time and accordingly the muscle tightens, if this happens the shortened muscle can cause the pelvis to tilt when you stand up, causing achey hips and pain in the lower back.
Use rb5’s method .
- Use a Small ball of some kind (Harder the better)
- Place the ball on your belly button and move it sideways an inch to locate the psoas
- Follow the steps on Foam Rolling The Psoas
