The Psoas & Iliacus

Is your back strain not going away? Do you have chronic low back pain? Do you have pain getting up from a sitting position or standing upright? Do you have pain that radiates into the groin, pelvis, legs, or buttocks? Do you have mobility issues such as limping or shuffling when walking? Do you have a feeling of tightness or stiffness in your back and/or hips?  If you experience any of these symptoms, your psoas and iliacus are most likely involved. In fact, even if you don’t have these symptoms, but feel like your body is constantly stuck in fight and flight response, this could be tied to these muscles because of their relationship with the nervous system.

The Psoas muscles originates on both sides of the five lumbar vertebrae and moves down toward the pelvis, combining itself with the iliacus muscle, located in the pelvic bone. Your psoas muscles are the primary connectors between your torso and your legs. They affect your posture and help to stabilize your spine. Your psoas muscles allow you to bend your hips and legs toward your chest, for example, when you are going up stairs. They also help to move your legs forward when you walk or run. These same muscles flex your trunk forward when you bend over to pick up something from the floor. They also stabilize your trunk and spine during movement and sitting.

We tend to be a flexion fixated society, as we spend most days sitting and then nights sleeping on our sides. With all this flexion, our iiliopsoas muscles remain in a tightened, shortened position which over time can distort our posture and create pain syndromes. Because of it’s attachments, the psoas muscles can have an affect on the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible primarily to stimulate the body for fight or flight. A chronically tight psoas, therefore, can potentially be involved in an overstimulated nervous system, create anxiety and affect your emotional state.

At Asheville Myofascial, we can test to see if the illopsoas group is shortened or tight, and then through hands on techniques release the muscles and fascial layers involved to bring the muscles to their natural length. This can be the game changer your body needs.