What is the Psoas Muscle
The psoas muscle is located in the lower lumbar region of the spine and extends through the pelvis to the femur. This muscle works by flexing the hip joint and lifting the upper leg towards the body. A common example of the movement created from this muscle is walking.
Psoas Strength in relation to back strength
Psoas Strength on Exercise Ball
For the low back and the groin, this is a great exercise.
It really involves just having a gentle squeeze upon this very, very soft inflatable ball. You just put it between your knees and you focus on sucking in your stomach, and you can focus on a nice slight squeeze.
The really nice thing about this is all the muscles in the groin; most of them start in the low back. They go right through the pelvis and come out unto the leg, and it is the psoas major and the psoas minor. This is a really nice way of just helping this whole pelvic hip region come inwards.
You just sit there and you do a light squeeze of the ball, you will find that you really cannot do it for very long, but it is a great exercise. I use this exercise when I am on the plane.
I recommend that people use it at the office. It is a super exercise for just keeping your pelvis square. So, if you practice it at the gym then you can graduate to using a heavier ball, but the simple light ball is a great place to start.
Any complications just get out of the exercise. But, feet square, shoulders square, suck in your stomach, and a gentle squeeze on the ball and I think you will be surprised that you can’t do it for very long.
Presenter: Mr. Jackson Sayers, Kinesiologist, Vancouver, BC
Local Practitioners: Kinesiologist
