Physiotherapy clinic in Tambaram Are you...

Physiotherapy clinic in Tambaram Are you Looking for Physiotherapy Treatment in Tambaram, Sunshine Super Speciality Physiotherapy Clinic, We Provide Electrotherapy, Exercise and Manual Therapy, Orthopedic, Neuro, Cardio, Pediatric, Sports and Geriatric Rehabilitation, Post Operative Physiotherapy Treatment, Fracture Rehabilitation, pain free movement. Go to... Previous Next View Larger Image Why You Can’t Release Your Tight Psoas Muscle With Stretching Your physical therapist, chiropractor, or yoga teacher might have told you that you have a tight psoas muscle, and they may have taught you stretching exercises to release it. While they’re probably right—having a tight psoas is a very common problem—static stretching has little to no lasting effect on the level of tension in the psoas muscle. As a former ballet dancer, I used to have an extremely tight psoas muscle, which caused me to have back pain, back spasms, and functional leg length discrepancy. In the course of my training to become a Clinical Somatic Educator, I learned the technique of pandiculation, which allowed me to finally release years of built-up tension in my psoas muscle. As I practiced Clinical Somatics exercises daily, my psoas muscle gradually lengthened, my back pain and spasms disappeared, and my hips evened out. I’ll explain why stretching doesn’t work later in the post, but first I’m going to explain what the psoas muscle is and what problems a tight psoas muscle can cause. What is the psoas muscle? The psoas muscle, formally called the psoas major, is a very important core muscle. The psoas attaches the lumbar vertebrae to the lesser trochanter, near the head of the femur. The psoas muscle is often grouped together with the iliacus muscle, and together they’re referred to as the iliopsoas. Due to its location deep within the core of the body, the psoas is difficult to feel with your hands and to sense internally. Iliopsoas stretch What does the psoas muscle do? The psoas muscle performs several important actions: The psoas flexes the hip, so when it contracts it brings the knee in toward the stomach. If you spend a lot of time sitting, your psoas is likely tight as a result of spending so much time in a shortened state. The psoas laterally rotates the hip, allowing you to stand like a ballet dancer with your feet pointed outward. Dancers often have a great deal of tightness in their psoas muscle. The psoas adducts the hip, bringing the leg in toward the center of the body. If you squeeze your knees together, you’re engaging your adductors. Because of its attachments to the lumbar vertebrae, the psoas muscle contributes to lateral tilting of the pelvis (hiking the hips up one at a time) and lateral flexion of the spine (bending the spine to one side). What are the symptoms of a tight psoas muscle? You may have heard of “iliopsoas syndrome.” That’s just a convenient way to refer to the symptoms that often result from chronic tightness in the iliopsoas: Tension and pain in the lower back, hips, buttocks, pelvis, or groin Lower back spasms Snapping hip syndrome Radiating pain down the leg Sciatica Lumbar disc problems Limping Functional leg length discrepancy Idiopathic scoliosis Hyperlordosis Instability in the core of the body Limited flexibility in the lower back Why does the psoas muscle get tight? It’s safe to say that most people, from office workers to professional athletes, have some chronic tightness in their psoas muscle. In addition to overuse (like athletic training) and limited movement (like sitting down all day), physical and emotional trauma have been linked to psoas tension. Due to its location deep within the core of the body, the psoas muscle instinctively tightens up when we feel stress or fear. For some people, learning to let go of the tension in their psoas is an intense emotional process. Why stretching doesn’t work It’s widely believed that you can release a tight psoas muscle by stretching, but static stretching actually does very little to release involuntary muscle contraction. The resting level of tension in our muscles is set by our nervous system. Over time, as a result of repetitive movements and stress, our nervous system learns to keep certain muscles tight. While static stretching temporarily lengthens muscles by reducing the activity of our stretch reflex, the effect is short-lived. Our muscles typically start tightening up within a few hours as our stretch reflex regains normal function. You can learn more about the stretch reflex and why stretching doesn’t work in these two posts: What is the Stretch Reflex? and Why Stretching Doesn’t Work, and in this video: Why Stretching Doesn’t Work. As a ballet dancer, I stretched for at least 30 minutes a day for 17 years—and my psoas was still extremely tight! During my professional training to become a Clinical Somatic Educator, I stopped stretching altogether and started practicing Clinical Somatics self-pandiculation exercises. The process of releasing my psoas with pandiculation was truly life-changing. It felt like I was waking up a part of my body that I had never felt before. Pandiculation: The most effective way to release a tight psoas muscle The only way to change the resting level of muscle tension being set by the nervous system is through active movement. Pandiculation is a neuromuscular re-education technique developed by Thomas Hanna, the founder of Clinical Somatic Education. Pandiculation involves gently contracting and releasing muscles in certain ways so that accurate feedback about the level of tension in the muscles is sent to the nervous system. Pandiculation naturally resets the level of tension in our muscles, alleviating muscle and joint pain, retraining posture and movement patterns, and preventing recurring injuries. You can read about recent research on pandiculation in this article. Keep in mind—your tight psoas muscle isn’t the only problem It’s important to understand that tightness in a single muscle is never the sole cause of a painful condition or movement limitation. Every movement we make involves many muscles working together, so every pattern of tension that we develop involves chronic tightness in a number of muscles. You must work with the entire pattern of tension in order to relieve your problem. While we teach a highly effective psoas release exercise in Clinical Somatics, we still always work with the entire pattern of tension. You can learn how to address full-body patterns of tension that involve the iliopsoas in this article. The most effective Clinical Somatics exercises for releasing your tight psoas If you’re interested in learning Clinical Somatics exercises to release your tight psoas muscle, you should start with the Level One Course. The course includes the iliopsoas release exercise, as well as other exercises that relieve tightness, pain, and muscular imbalance in the back and hips. You can read testimonials about how Clinical Somatics releases tension and relieves chronic pain here. The following exercises from the Level One Course are the most effective exercises for releasing a tight psoas and the associated patterns of muscle tension. How to release involuntary muscle contraction with pandiculation How to get optimal core strength Functional back pain Idiopathic scoliosis Functional leg length discrepancy Sciatica and piriformis syndrome Muscle memory Dysfunctional muscular patterns Sarah Warren is a Certified Clinical Somatic Educator, Registered Somatic Movement Educator, and owner of Somatic Movement Center. She has helped people with conditions such as chronic back pain, neck and shoulder pain, hip and knee pain, sciatica, and scoliosis become pain-free by practicing Thomas Hanna's method of Clinical Somatic Education. Warren is the author of the book The Pain Relief Secret, which explains the science behind why learned muscular patterns lead to chronic pain and degeneration, and how Clinical Somatics retrains the nervous system, alleviating many common pain conditions. Search for: Search... The Pain Relief Secret Get the latest Somatics news, articles, and online offerings delivered to your inbox! Recent Posts How Does Fascia Affect Our Pain and Mobility? Q& A 5: Should I keep breaking down movements once I’ve learned them? 12 Science-backed Ways to Recover From Fibromyalgia Q& A 4: Why do we work with the core of the body before the extremities? If You Have Osteoarthritis, Here’s How to Give Your Cartilage the Best Chance to Heal. SUNSHINE ® SUPER SPECIALITY PHYSIOTHERAPY CLINIC - #DrParthiban #Sunshinephysioclinic.in #Physiotherapyclinicintambaram #Physiotherapyclinicnearme DR.M.P. PARTHIBAN.M.P.T (Ortho), Chief Orthopedic Physiotherapist, Call for Appointments: - 9345122177 East Tambaram, CHENNAI