Psoas Major, the Psilent Menace
By James Palmer, CMT — The Massage Guy
Ah, Psoas Major... The muscle that looks a lot like a pork tenderloin, because it basically is. "Psoas" translates from Greek to mean "of the loins" — which is fitting, because this thing lives deep in your core and connects your spine to your legs. It's responsible for various movements, spinal stability, and a whole bunch of unexplained pains that might be ruining your life right now without you even knowing it.
The psoas joins forces with the iliacus muscle to become the iliopsoas — our hardest working hip flexor and one of the most commonly tight muscles I encounter in clients throughout Los Angeles.
What Does the Psoas Actually Do?
When you raise your knee to 90 degrees, you can thank our friend psoas. When you do a sit-up and raise your spine up off the mat, psoas is helping to do most of the work. This is why the most effective sit-ups for your abs don't have you flexing your trunk all the way up off the floor — i.e., a crunch! If you're doing standard full sit-ups, you might be overworking the psoas and under-working your actual abdominals.
This muscle can be one of the tightest in the body. It hardly ever gets touched. It's buried deep in your belly, past your small intestines, and attaches on the transverse processes of your T12 to L5 vertebrae (that's your lower spine). From there, it dives down into the deep depths of the pelvis, finally attaching to the lesser trochanter on the inside of the femur. Whew. Not easy to get to.
My Hips Are Doing What?
I'm often told my right leg is shorter than my left. On paper, my skeleton checks out and I don't have any growth abnormalities on either side. But yet, the right leg comes up short. The answer could be hidden up in the hip! Psoas. Busted.
A tight psoas can make it difficult to lift your leg into a car, or stand up from your seat. A constant ache in the back of your groin can keep you awake at night. I know from experience. It was the uncomfortable trigger point work on my psoas that finally gave me relief.
Research has shown that people with chronic low back pain often demonstrate overactivation of the psoas muscle during hip flexion movements.* This overactivation creates a compensation pattern that can lead to pain, limited range of motion, and that feeling like one leg is shorter than the other.
Lucky Day, There Is Hope for You Yet!
Good news. It's possible to provide relief to this muscle. Make no mistake, this is not a comfortable session, so make sure you have a therapist you can trust and communicate honestly with. If you're in LA, that's me!
There are many benefits of abdominal massage. We hold so much tension in our bellies — the sit-ups and suck-ins of our magazine-perfect lives create tension and, every once in a while, it needs to be worked on. This kind of work pairs really well with deep tissue massage and myofascial release techniques for the hip flexors and surrounding tissue.
I won't spoil the fun and tell you exactly how I work on our friend psoas, but if you need it done, let's talk. With some daily stretching on your part in between our sessions, you should feel some relief from the tension you never realized you held.
Some clients even have what's called an emotional release during psoas work. Laughter, tears, anger, or fear are all normal to experience. The psoas is located near the body's core and is intimately connected to the nervous system — releasing deeply held tension here can sometimes release emotions that have been stored along with it. Breathe and relax into it.
Who Needs Psoas Work?
You might benefit from psoas release if you:
Sit at a desk all day (looking at you, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood professionals)
Experience lower back pain that won't go away
Have difficulty standing up straight after sitting for long periods
Feel like one leg is shorter than the other
Have groin pain or hip stiffness
Do a lot of cycling, running, or sit-ups
Notice your posture is constantly pulling you forward
As a mobile massage therapist in Los Angeles, I bring everything to you — whether you're in Santa Monica, Hollywood, Calabasas, Studio City, or anywhere in The Valley. No need to drive anywhere with a tight psoas making it painful to sit in the car.
This work is deep, it's specific, and it can be genuinely life-changing if you've been dealing with chronic hip or lower back issues that nothing else has been able to touch.
Ready to finally address that silent menace? Book your session here.
References:
*Cai, C., Gazali, N. A., Tan, X. N., Soon, B., Lee, A. T. H., Aw, Q. W. S., Dana, D., Kwok, J. C. T., & Kwa, M. J. (2024). Comparison of psoas major activation during standing hip flexion between chronic low back pain and healthy populations. Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, 37(6), 1299–1308.
James Palmer is a Certified Mobile Massage Therapist based in Studio City, serving Los Angeles including Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Calabasas, and The Valley. CA Certification #73025.
