Psoas help?

[teigyr]

Until yesterday, I had no idea what a Psoas was except for I believe I had some cycling shorts that had that as a brand name ages ago. When I booked my massage for yesterday, I requested someone good with deep tissue because I am not flexible and my muscles tend to be a bit knotted. The person they set me up with was a runner and after ascertaining I didn't want a "fluffy" massage, he read my chart and tried to find spots that needed work.

His main concern was the Psoas muscle. He was kind of funny because after he realized he didn't have to do the "relaxing" voice and I was willing to forgo the spa experience, he started working on stretching out my legs, etc. after doing a lot of work on my back and lower back.

I read that crunches are bad though I figured core work would help. A wonderful TE person recommended pilates type exercises which make sense. The massage therapist also showed me a lunge that could help.

I am trying to be more aware of my posture. As I went for a walk at work today, however, I think it's darned near impossible to try to tuck my pelvis and straighten things out while walking. I'm pretty sure I looked goofy.

So I have a few questions. If this gets stretched out and releases, will the curvature in my back improve? Or do I need to make this a conscious decision 100% of the time? And if that's the case, how do I do this and do things like walk or run? Does it ever get where you're not thinking about it all the time?

Also, is there anything else I should be doing? Massages should help. It seems like there aren't that many stretches for it. How do I know if I'm standing the right way? Lastly, if I try to tuck my backside in and engage my core, I can only breathe from my chest. If I'm running (or walking fast), shouldn't I be trying to breathe from lower?

I swear, it's always something!

[indysteel]

Your question caught my eye because my yoga instructors of late have really been stressing the importance of tucking our tailbone down in a number of poses. After concentrating on that for a few months, my yoga practice has totally changed. I have flexibility I never knew I had and poses that were once slightly uncomfortably are now a lot easier. As soon as I walk out of class though, I sort of forget about it--until last night. My low back starting bugging me during spinning and so I decided to consciously tuck my tailbone and, voila, no more pain. I don't know if I'll ever get to the point where my posture itself changes, but I am more aware of what adjustments I can make while doing physical activity to alleviate pain.

In addition to Pilates, I'd recommend yoga, especially if you can find an instructor who understands anatomy. The one thing (or one of many things I should say) that I like about yoga is that, with a consisent practice and a good teacher, you can start to integrate your body. What I mean by that is that you don't just strengthen/stretch one part of your body at a time but really work on it as a whole. I think that kind of work can have significant physical and emotional implications.

[tulip]

Indysteel has it right. Yoga and pilates will definitely help with all sorts of issues and will have all sorts of benefits that you don't even know about yet. Practice practice practice is key (but not like 6 hours a day--consistency is key).

As for walking, each have a natural gait. Your posture will improve over time; you can't force things too soon. Breathe and practice. Congratulations.

[Wahine]

Yes, pilates and yoga are helpful.

You should be able to tuck in your lower abs (think pulling in the lower belly like you're putting on a tight pair of jeans and don't want to get anything caught in the zipper) and still breath normally. If you can't breath normally, you're trying too hard. You should be able to do this and keep your glutes relaxed. It takes some practice. I usually have patients do this contraction, hold for 10 sec and repeat for 1 to 2 min twice per day. If you want to try to do it a little more you can try while walking etc, but don't force it.

As for stretches I like this one:

http://www.easyvigour.net.nz/fitness/h_hip_flexorstretch.htm

Hope that helps.

ETA: yes too many crunches can make this worse, especially if your not keeping your back flat against the ground while doing them and yes your posture and spinal curve can improve significantly with practice.

[KnottedYet]

Hee-hee, we call the "Sir Galahad" by a different name: "The Proposal Stretch."