The Psoas

(photo taken from freemyself.net)

The psoas muscle, more commonly known as the "filet mignon muscle" on cows, is one that gives most of us humans lots of trouble. Lower back pain is almost ALWAYS linked to the psoas since it is one of the main muscles that connects the hips to the spine (your lower body is connected to your spine by ligaments and muscles - no bones!). This muscle originates on the bodies of the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae (the little lateral pointies on your lower spine) and inserts on the lesser trocanter, which is that big leg bone that juts out just below your hips (and causes a great deal of swearing when banged against the kitchen table).

But how do you know if your lower back pain is partly due to the psoas, or if you just have five herniated disks that are preventing you from running that extra thirteen miles a day?* Try this simple muscle test to see:

The Psoas Test

Lie down on a flat surface above the floor (a sturdy table, a firm bed) with your legs dangling off the edge of the surface, feet not touching the ground. Pull your knees into your chest, and then slowly drop one leg towards the edge of the table/bed once again. Repeat with the other leg.

WIN: Both your legs drop down to the table like a rock and you don't feel a thing. Congratulations, you have no psoas problems!

FAIL: You feel a stretching sensation before one or both of your legs touches the surface of your table/bed. What a bummer; you have a tight psoas.


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If you failed, no biggie. You are one of the many, many people that has a tight psoas. Having a tight psoas impacts the way your hips move, and therefore affects the way you walk. You may not feel any pain when you walk, but abnormal walking patterns have a way of adding up to bite you later. Though muscles stretches will not necessarily "fix" your walk, they may be a component in helping your body move more efficiently. These are some easy stretches I personally like to use.

Some Psoas Stretches
translated from Active Isolated Stretching: The Mattes Method by Aaron L Mattes

Method #1: rest upper body and pelvis on table with no weight on the nonactive leg against the table. Maintain exercising leg 95 - 100 degree angle at the knee so that you won't stretch other muscles that may interfere with this stretch.

Kick your leg up into the air, keeping the knee bent. Try to stretch it back as far as you can without bending the knee. Doing this repeatedly, about 10 times, will help stretch those tight psoas muscles out.


Method #2: from a kneeling position, begin with weight on the knee of the leg that is to be stretched. The weight bearing foot should be 12 inches in front of the weight bearing leg.

Drag your body so that your front knee finishes directly over the top of the front ankle. When moving forward onto the flexed front leg, keep the top of the pelvis tilted backward by contracting your stomach muscles. As you move forward, keep the pelvis parallel and the body as vertical as possible. Do this stretch as many as 15 times for both psoas.


For tight psoas muscles, do one of these exercises twice a day and then repeat the psoas test. After a couple days you should see improvement in your range of motion.
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For any questions on these stretches, do not hesitate to contact me! Leave comments or feel free to e-mail me (emily.nine@gmail.com).


* if you "just have five herniated disks", you would most likely feel areas of stabbing, nerve-cringing pain in your back. You probably do not have five herniated disks, especially if you are running thirteen miles a day or more.