Advanced Manual Therapy with a Focus on Function
This is a great stretch for the iliopsoas muscle. The iliopsoas is a combination of 3 muscles, the iliacus and the psoas major and the psoas minor. The iliacus muscle flexes the hip, flexes the trunk when the legs are fixed, tilts the pelvis anteriorly, which increases the lumbar curve in your lower back, and it approximates the femoral head into the hip socket. The psoas major also acts to flex the hip, flex the trunk when the legs are fixed and anteriorly tilts the pelvis, but it also assists lateral flexion of the lumbar spine. The psoas minor, which only about 40% of the population actually have it, tilts the pelvis anteriorly and assists to create the lordotic curve, or the lumbar curve, in the lower back. The psoas major attaches to all 5 lumbar vertebrae (L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5) and the last 3 thoracic vertebrae (T10, T11 and T12). The iliacus attaches to the iliac fossa, or the inside of the pelvis. They both combine and attach onto the lesser trochanter of the femur. When these muscles collectively become tight, they can create lower back pain, especially when one side is tighter than the other. These muscles can become tight from sitting for prolonged periods of time or from constant hip flexion. These muscles can be overused when the abdominal muscles are weak or inefficiently used. You DO want strong hip flexors, but you also want them to be flexible. If you have tight hip flexors it doesn't allow the body to get into hip extension, which is important for walking and running. If you lack hip extension, the body compensates and takes it from the lower back, which can cause low back pain. …...more
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