Low back pain…
You’ve used your roller and you’ve had a massage. You’ve taken an Advil and begged/bribed your partner to rub your back. Still…that back pain and wicked little pinch at your spine just won’t go away and maybe your hip or groin area has started to nag at you, too. The pain isn’t severe but it’s chronic and living with it is making you feel more than a bit cranky and broken. Sound familiar?
What if the back pain wasn’t directly coming from your back and maybe you weren’t getting results because you were working in the wrong spot? There’s a common culprit for this type of pain, and it is not alleviated by working the posterior side of your body. So, it’s time to flip over and meet your psoas!
The culprit
The PSOAS MAJOR is the deepest and most vital muscle in your body. It attaches from the T12-L5 vertebrae, runs through your pelvis and inserts at your femurs. It’s also the only muscle that connects your spine to the lower half of your body. Thus, making the psoas a major player in posture and spine stabilization. These muscles aid in hip flexion, allowing you to walk, run, climb stairs and bend over. Consequently, without the psoas muscle, you wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed in the morning! (Oh, darn.) Not only that, but the psoas muscle and the two ligaments attached to your diaphragm are directly connected, thus allowing you to walk and breathe and respond to fight or flight stimuli. And when stressed, guess who tightens up and yells at you? The psoas. It’s all about that mean, nasty, and incredible psoas.
The solution
So, here’s the good news…Kinetic Health’s practitioners are what you might call “body mechanics” and we can help take the pain away. After a session or two, you may just be able to bury that rolling torture device in the back of your closet again. Doesn’t that sound nice?!?!
By Erin Brummett, LMT, MMP – Founder and Medical Massage Therapist