This pain pattern indicates disc compression at the lumbosacral joint. If this pain is chronic or debilitating, seek professional help. Like this other pain pattern, spending lots of time with your hips flexed (i.e. extended forward or backward) will make this worse. Sleeping in a flexed position, sitting for long periods, driving, etc. Avoid activities …
This is one of the classic stretches for hip flexors, and for good reasons. It gives you lots of control and allows you to be very specific. Most people think of Iliopsoas as THE hip flexor. As well, hip flexor muscles include other muscles: Iliopsoas Psoas Major Iliacus Rectus Femoris Tensor Fascia Lata Sartorius Gluteus …
Client Description Use the arms of the chair to help push yourself out of the chair and keep your head back. As your head drops forward, you will find that your back feels more fragile and painful. Avoid sitting with your knees above your hips. Having your knees flexed at more than 90 degrees will …
Self Care – Stiff and Slow When Rising From Seated Position Read More »
Avoid spending long periods with your hips flexed. This sleeping position, with the pillow between the legs, is great for relieving hip and low back pain that comes from the gluteal muscles but makes this pain along the low back worse. Driving, working at your desk, and other seated positions should be avoided for extended …
Stiffness in the low back can come from a number of larger muscles like spinal erectors, latissimus dorsi, and psoas. Fragility in the low back usually comes from a joint problem in the vertebrae. The two patterns play in concert to create a pain pattern that is a combination of the two. This post is …
Stiff, Fragile, Aching Low Back: Pain Patterns, Causes, Self-Care Read More »
People with this pain run their hand up and down along one side of their low back and say that it hurts there. They often say that they have pain along one side of the low back when they get up from sleep, after a drive or some other activity where the hip flexes for extended …
This protocol treats the iliopsoas through NeuroMuscular Therapy (NMT). This routine should be proceeded by pelvic balancing and release of the superficial abdominal muscles. Abdominal pelvic balancing and other approaches are discussed in the self-care and therapist notes.
Therapist are usually very opinionated about their approach to the iliopsoas complex. Its impact on posture, digestion, emotions, and much more is fodder for lengthy bodywork discussions. Even after 30 years, I’ve learned more by putting together these illustrations and posts. I find that craniostructural work is always the first step for lasting relief, followed …
Iliopsoas Complex (Deep Abdominals) – Massage Therapy Notes Read More »
These people complain of sharp pain across the low back when getting out of bed, out of a car, or standing from a chair. They may also be slow to rise from a seated position. People with this condition also tend to walk and stand with their hips thrust back and their shoulders forward to accommodate the tight psoas major muscles. This …
People complain of a stiff and/or painful back but it is most painful near the fold of the hip in the front. They move stiffly and tend to have other back problems. The low back has flattened and become stiff. It may or may not have pain that feels like they are fragile and may move in …
