Psoas Says, "Work Me!"

Many clients seek bodywork to relieve lower back pain and, oftentimes, the therapist they visit responds by focusing directly on their backs. Makes sense, right? However, the muscles located on the back are not the only muscles that help to maintain lower back function. The result is that some clients do not receive the desired relief from their pain. The psoas is a low back muscle that is often overlooked but requires attention, nonetheless, if a client is to receive complete care for back pain. The following is a brief "lay man's" discussion of the muscle's location, function and symptoms when the muscle is tight so you, the consumer, can play a more informed role regarding your own care.

The psoas, is a long, thick muscle located directly on the anterior (front) sides of the spinal column and can only be accessed by pressing into the mid to low abdomen on either side of the navel. It attaches at the T-12 vertebrae, is connected to the subsequent descending vertebrae leading into the pelvis where it blends with the illiacus (a flat muscle located on the inside of the pelvis), then extends over either side of the pubic bone and then inserts on the medial sides of the lesser trochanters. The psoas primarily activates when you walk. It also helps to stabilize and balance your torso and abdomen when you are sitting, and it helps to support the lower spine and the pelvis. When this muscle gets tight, it pulls at, and compromises the integrity of the bones, muscles, and associated vertebral bodies to which it is attached, creating dysfunction that can result in pain along the front side of the legs, and in the lower back. It can also result in simulated sciatic pain, scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis, and even menstrual pain, to name a few issues. This may be more information than you want or need to know but it is important to know where the muscle is, what it does, and what problems can arise in order to better understand what is happening in your body.

Treatment of the psoas can be a bit uncomfortable because it requires working past the organs in front of the muscle and applying direct pressure to the muscle itself. Additionally, clients sometimes feel understandably vulnerable in regard to having their bellies exposed and massaged. However, from personal experience (both as a client and as a practitioner) the relief received is well worth the few minutes of discomfort. If you are concerned about the discomfort you might experience, remember that you can ask the therapist to modify the pressure according to your comfort level. If the discomfort feels good, breathe deeply and enjoy the feeling of the muscle as it releases. If the discomfort feels bad and you find yourself tensing up, ask your practitioner to reduce the pressure. Yes, you have the right to request and expect a depth of pressure that you are comfortable with.

While lower back pain can manifest in various ways, from mild discomfort to debilitating pain, psoas work can reduce back pain and support back health. If you do not feel relief after receiving a few massage session, express your concerns with your practitioner and consider exploring additional avenues to treat your issue. Moreover, if you have a disc displacement, rheumatoid arthritis in your lower back, or another medical condition that is affecting your back pain, consult your physician before receiving massage treatment.    

Massage: A Gift of Balance Through Touch

Our society embraces the thought of "do more, go faster, push harder..." Ironically, the ways in which we relax often reflect this same belief. Many people find centering and relaxation in activities like running laps, biking for miles, or pumping iron. All of these activities are beneficial, yet active. Unfortunately, little value is placed on the type of balance that is achieved through stillness and complete relaxation. I invite you to consider and experience balance and true relaxation through receiving a massage. Massage is a healing activity that improves our well being physically, mentally, and emotionally. It also gives us permission to take a much needed break in order to receive the care we deserve.

As we move through our busy lives, we can become accustomed to feeling disharmony in our muscles due to repetitive use of muscle groups. In fact, we can become so accustomed to the disharmony that we do not recognize that parts of our bodies are out of balance until we feel discernible pain. Stress is another symptom of disharmony in the body that people often overlook. Stress can trigger many issues that include muscle tightness, agitation, insomnia, and inability to focus. Stress can also lead to physical conditions like hypertension and depression and can be linked to outcomes like cancer and stroke.

Massage offers myriad benefits on multiple levels. It helps to relax muscle tissue, beyond what can be achieved with stretching after a workout. It can heal and re-invigorate the muscles so that the muscle group can continue to be worked at a reduced risk of injury. Massage increases the circulation of blood, nutrients, and oxygen through the body which helps to improve and maintain muscle health and support proper immune system function. Incidentally, because massage increases circulation, it can be ideal for individuals who are recovering from injury, illness, and surgery. Massage positively affects chemical levels in the body. For example, it naturally raises serotonin and endorphin levels; increased serotonin levels help to enhance a positive mood and increased endorphins help to reduce the perception of pain. Massage also lowers levels of stress hormones like norepinephrine and cortisol. These hormone shifts are, in part, why people often feel varying levels of happiness and euphoria after receiving bodywork.

Studies have proven that massage provides great benefit to many different communities of people. For example, massage helps babies, both healthy and premature, to grow and thrive faster. Massage helps pregnant women to feel more comfortable as their pregnancies progress and to deliver their babies more effectively and with less pain. Massage is fabulous for people who suffer from eating disorders because touch helps them to accept their bodies as they are, more readily. Massage is valuable for HIV and AIDS patients because it helps to reduce pain, nausea from taking medications, and feelings of isolation. Massage is wonderful for the geriatric community as well because, in addition to it helping to ease aches and pains, massage provides them with much needed connection and interaction. Even 15 minute chair massage offered in the work place lowers the number of sick days taken by employees and raises worker productivity during the work week.

Massage is one of the best things we can do for ourselves. More important, massage requires that we do little more than show up. Giving ourselves permission to receive completely can be extremely challenging, especially in a tight economy; how can we be "deserving" of something so "self-indulgent?" However, we can only be the most productive and give the best of ourselves to others when we have really cared for ourselves.