Solace Massage Therapy Victoria

12/24/2025

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2026 full of love, peace & Joy

12/24/2025

10/31/2025

Happy Hallowe'en 🎃

10/14/2025

Happy Thanksgiving 🍁!
Greatful for the present & filled with appreciation for every day ahead.

08/18/2025

🔈 SERRATUS POSTERIOR INFERIOR - OVERLOOKED CAUSE OF LOWER BACK PAIN

You have a client who tells you this:

'I reached for something and suddenly I felt a sharp spasm in the lower part of my back, slightly to the side of the spine, at the bottom of the ribs, and when I breathe in really deep I can feel it'.

Based on the above description you should suspect that you might be dealing with the Serratus Posterior Inferior muscle.

💡 Where is the Serratus Posterior Inferior muscle?

The Serratus Posterior Inferior muscle connects the lower 4 ribs to four vertebrae (T11, T12, L1, L2) in the low back.

💡 What movements does the Serratus Posterior Inferior muscle control?

✔️ Forced expiration (breathing out when breathing hard)
✔️ Assists with twisting at the waist
✔️ Assists with straightening the trunk (standing up straight)

💡 Activities that cause Serratus Posterior Inferior pain and symptoms:

✔️ Twisting the body when lifting
✔️ Overreaching overhead or to the side of the body
✔️ Lifting something heavy using the back muscles instead of leg muscles
✔️ Sleeping on a sagging or too soft mattress

ℹ️ Trigger Points

Trigger points in the Serratus Posterior Inferior may cause an uncommon local ache radiating over and around the muscle.

This may extend across the back and over the lower ribs, even continuing through the chest to the front of the body.

This discomfort is typically described by clients as a nagging ache.

In many cases this pain remains after other trigger points have been inactivated. This should be a good indicator for the therapist to recheck the Serratus Posterior Inferior for undiscovered trigger points.

👩‍🔬 Stretching for self-release of the Serratus Posterior Inferior

Cross your forearms just above the wrist, at about chest height. Inhale deeply as you slowly raise them up until the area where the arms cross is level with your forehead. Now lower the arms as you exhale.

Do this once or twice, allowing for a brief rest (a few breaths) before repeating. Do this exercise set several times a day.

07/04/2025

🔈 ABDOMINAL MUSCLES AS PROXIMAL STABILIZERS FOR THE HIP FLEXORS

The hip flexor muscles are used for a variety of everyday functional activities such as advancing the lower extremity during gait, running, or lifting the leg when going up steps. Efficient ex*****on of these hip flexion activities is highly dependent on the stabilizing forces provided by the abdominal muscles.

This important point is nicely illustrated by analyzing the role of the re**us abdominis muscle while performing a straight leg raise. Fig A shows two primary hip flexor muscles generating a force to lift a fully extended lower extremity. The relatively long extended leg places very large force demands on the hip flexor muscles. To successfully perform this action, the hip flexors must produce a force that likely exceeds 10 times the weight of the leg. With weakened abdominal muscles, attempts at flexing the leg often result in an unwanted anterior pelvic tilt and associated excessive lumbar lordosis (Fig. B). The unstable pelvis and lumbar spine are pulled toward the anterior femur—into an anterior pelvic tilt—because the pelvis and the lumbar spine are more free to move than the leg. To prevent this, the abdominal muscles produce a posterior tilting force that stabilizes the pelvis (Fig. A). As is shown in Fig. B, the unwanted anterior tilt of the pelvis simultaneously increases the lordosis in the lumbar spine. For this reason, excessive lumbar lordosis is often a clinical sign of weak abdominal muscles.

The iliopsoas (and all other hip flexors) and the abdominal muscles share the responsibility of performing a basic sit-up. Although the sit-up is often discussed within the context of abdominal strengthening programs, this basic action is essential for the performance of many routine movements such as rising out of bed in the morning.

A person with weak abdominal muscles usually demonstrates a characteristic strategy when attempting to perform a sit-up, one that is dominated by strong contraction of the hip flexor muscles. Consequently, the hip flexors immediately take over the action—most notably by the exaggerated anterior pelvic tilt and increased lumbar lordosis—as the pelvis and trunk are rotated forward and upward.