01/31/2024
With Gratitude
Thank you so much for having Insight Movement as part of your self-care team. Our monthly 'With Gratitude' series highlights education and self-care tips for everyone who has ever encountered discomfort within the soft tissues of their body.
Iliopsoas: A Common Key in Unlocking Stuck Pain Patterns
Why is my Iliopsoas muscle noteworthy?
Iliopsoas is a deep core muscle that is designed to stabilize your pelvis and spine. It starts at about your mid-back and ends on the upper part of your leg. Iliopsoas responds to stressors of all kinds by clamping down. It also shortens in the same way after long periods of sitting. (Shout out to my desk job folks!) Most people experience Iliopsoas tightness as pain in their lower back.
Caring for Iliopsoas
In between massage therapy sessions, I recommend stretching iliopsoas on both sides of the body, every day.
-Stand with your feet hip width apart
-Step one foot behind you and place on the ground with a straight leg
-Bend the front knee, not to exceed 90 degrees, with your knee behind your toes
-Lift your core upwards and inwards
-Note that the stretch will be felt in the upper back leg and low belly
The most effective stretch will be 60 seconds long on both sides.
Maintaining Back Health
If not the culprit of your back pain, Iliopsoas will definitely be involved. More importantly, until the Iliopsoas is released, it will hold a muscular pain pattern in place, regardless of location in the body. It is part of a larger 'protective mechanism' that our body employs when it does not feel safe. Your best bet is to think about your Iliopsoas and your teeth. The addage 'if you've got 'em, floss 'em' is applicable here as 'if you've got 'em, stretch 'em.'
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To learn more about me and why I started my practice, click the link below for my recent interview with Voyage Denver.
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