Your Psoas Isn't Just Tight, It's WEAK [Don't Stretch, Do These Instead]

Summary

The video explains why tightness and achiness in the hip flexors happens and provides 5 exercises to address the root causes. It covers the anatomy of key muscles like the psoas, rectus femoris and pectineus. Sitting incorrectly shortens these muscles causing weakness and tightness over time. Static stretching can make this worse. The 5 exercises - self-myofascial release, standing glute contraction, standing slumpy psoas, side-lying hip extension and front support hip flexion - aim to restore muscle length, strength and control throughout the range of motion. Doing them 2-3 times a week for 4+ weeks can provide lasting relief.

Takeaways

• 😀 The psoas muscle contributes to hip flexion but also to lumbar spine stability. It needs to work properly for good alignment.
• 👉 Sitting too much shortens and weakens the psoas over time. This causes tightness and achiness in the front of the hips.
• 🧘‍♂️ Avoid static stretching for tight hip flexors, as it can make the problems worse. Follow a structured routine instead.
• 💪 Do self-massage first to improve tissue quality. Then activate and strengthen the muscles through their full range of motion.
• 👣 Standing glute contractions co-activate the hip flexors in a neutral spine position to restore proper activation.
• 🤸 The standing slumpy psoas technique strengthens hip flexion with a neutral spine, avoiding compensation.
• 🏋️‍♀️ Progressively add load to hip flexor exercises once technique is solid, to build strength effectively.
• 🦵 The side-lying hip extension drill works on regaining full hip extension range of motion and hip flexor length.
• 🔁 A complete routine should be done 2-3 times per week for at least 4 weeks to retrain movement patterns.
• 😊 Following a program like this can relieve achiness and tightness over time by addressing the root causes.

Q & A

Why does the psoas muscle often get tight and weak?

The psoas often gets tight and weak from too much sitting. When we sit, we are often in a posterior pelvic tilt and lumbar flexion, which shortens the psoas and prevents it from working properly to stabilize the lumbar spine.

Why is static stretching not recommended for tight hip flexors?

Static stretching doesn't address the root issue of weakness and can actually further irritate the joint capsule and ligaments, leading to more pain and tightness over time.

What is the purpose of the self-myofascial release technique?

The self-myofascial release technique helps to break up adhesions and scar tissue in the muscles and improve tissue quality so the muscles can contract through their full range of motion.

How does the standing glute contraction exercise help with tight hip flexors?

Activating and strengthening the glutes helps to balance out overactivity of the hip flexors by co-contracting the muscles around the hip.

What is dissociated movement and why is it important?

Dissociated movement separates out commonly linked patterns to better target specific muscles, like flexing the hip without posteriorly tilting the pelvis to better activate the psoas.

How can you adjust the standing slumpy psoas if the TFL is overactive?

Cues like abducting and externally rotating the hip can help shut off overactivity of the TFL to better target the psoas and iliopsoas.

What is the purpose of the side-lying hip extension technique?

This technique strengthens the hip extensors and flexors through their full range of motion to improve flexibility.

Why use bands for the front support hip flexion?

The bands allow progressive loading to build strength in the hip flexors in an integrated, functional position.

How often should you do this hip flexor routine?

Aim to do the full routine 2-3 times per week for at least 4 weeks to see results. More frequency with just bodyweight, less frequency if adding load.

What other resources are available for hip pain?

There is a full hip pain solution program available that includes more exercises and an easy-to-follow, time efficient programming approach.

Outlines

00:00

🚫 Why Standard Hip Flexor Stretches May Not Help

The video introduces the topic by explaining the common issue of achiness and tightness in the hip flexor area, particularly focusing on the psoas muscle. The speaker, Coach E from Precision Movement, emphasizes the importance of understanding the anatomy and function of hip flexor muscles to address the root causes of discomfort effectively. Instead of relying on standard stretching techniques, which may not offer lasting relief, the video promises to present five exercises designed to target the underlying issues. The approach is grounded in scientific reasoning and anatomy, highlighting the role of the psoas muscle in lumbar stability and its impact on overall hip function. The narrative sets the stage for a deeper exploration of specific exercises aimed at relieving tightness and improving muscle function through targeted activation and strength building.

05:01

🔄 Introduction to Active Self Myofascial Release & Glute Activation

This section elaborates on the first two of the five exercises aimed at addressing hip flexor tightness. The first technique, active self myofascial release for the hip flexors, involves using a massage ball and weight to apply pressure and improve tissue quality around the hip. This is followed by the standing glute contraction exercise, which focuses on activating the glute muscles with proper alignment and slight internal rotation of the hips. The video emphasizes the importance of following tissue loosening with muscle activation to ensure lasting improvements in muscle function. These exercises are presented as foundational steps to prepare the body for more intensive strengthening exercises, highlighting the methodical approach to resolving hip flexor issues.

10:01

🔑 Key Exercises for Hip Flexor Strength and Mobility

The third paragraph introduces more advanced exercises that build upon the foundation laid by the initial techniques. The standing slumpy psoas exercise is designed to dissociate the commonly associated movement patterns of hip flexion and lumbar flexion, targeting effective psoas activation. The side lying hip extension and range expansion technique further aims to strengthen the hip flexors in an extended range of motion, enhancing both strength and flexibility. These exercises are detailed with specific cues and variations to ensure proper execution and maximum benefit. The narrative underscores the importance of correct posture and alignment in achieving effective hip flexor activation and strength.

15:02

💪 Advanced Techniques for Hip Flexor Conditioning

The final set of exercises, including the front support hip flexion, are designed for individuals looking to further challenge their hip flexors with added resistance. These exercises incorporate external loads, such as dumbbells and bands, to progressively build strength in the hip flexor muscles. The video emphasizes functional integration, demonstrating how core stability and hip flexor strength support each other. The concluding remarks encourage viewers to integrate these exercises into their routine for at least four weeks, suggesting that such commitment can lead to improvements in flexibility, strength, and potentially reduce pain. The speaker invites feedback and engagement from the audience, highlighting the community aspect of shared health and wellness journeys.

Keywords

💡Psoas

The psoas muscle is a major hip flexor located deep in the abdomen, which connects the lower spine to the femur. In the context of the video, it's highlighted for its role in hip flexion and lumbar spine stability. The tightness and achiness in the psoas can significantly impact posture and mobility, leading to discomfort. The video emphasizes understanding the psoas's functions and how specific exercises can alleviate tightness, thereby improving hip flexibility and reducing pain.

💡Hip Flexor Stretch

Hip flexor stretches are commonly prescribed for tightness in the front of the hip, involving movements that aim to elongate the hip flexor muscles. The video critiques the standard kneeling lunge stretch for not effectively addressing the root causes of tightness, such as lack of strength and over-aggressiveness in stretching, which could potentially aggravate the condition. Instead, alternative exercises are suggested to strengthen and properly elongate the hip flexors.

💡Active Self Myofascial Release

Active self myofascial release (ASMR) is a technique involving massage balls or other tools to apply pressure to muscles, aiming to relieve tension and improve tissue quality. In the video, it's introduced as a method to address tightness in the hip flexors by manually breaking up adhesions and restoring muscle function, setting a foundation for more targeted strength exercises.

💡Glute Activation

Glute activation exercises focus on engaging and strengthening the gluteal muscles. The video explains how activating these muscles, especially after loosening the hip flexors, can help maintain improvements in muscle tissue quality and support hip stability. Glute activation is presented as a crucial step for balancing muscle function around the hip and preventing future tightness.

💡Lumbar Stability

Lumbar stability refers to the strength and steadiness of the lower back's lumbar region. The video emphasizes the psoas muscle's significant role in maintaining lumbar stability, especially during movements that require hip flexion. Exercises targeting the psoas are designed to enhance this stability, which is key for overall posture and reducing lower back discomfort.

💡Posterior Pelvic Tilt

Posterior pelvic tilt describes a position where the front of the pelvis rises and the back of the pelvis drops. The video points out that excessive sitting often leads to this condition, which can contribute to the tightness and weakness of the hip flexors, including the psoas. Understanding and correcting this pelvic tilt is critical in addressing hip flexor issues.

💡Sitting

Sitting is identified as a primary cause of hip flexor tightness due to prolonged periods of hip flexion and inactivity. The video discusses how the typical seated posture encourages a posterior pelvic tilt and lumbar spine flexion, leading to shortened and weakened hip flexors. It suggests that reducing sitting time and incorporating specific exercises can mitigate these negative effects.

💡Functional Integration

Functional integration in the context of the video refers to exercises that simulate real-life movements or activities, integrating various muscle groups to work together efficiently. The front support hip flexion exercise exemplifies this by combining core stability with hip flexor activation, mirroring the dynamic stability required in sports and daily movements.

💡TFL (Tensor Fasciae Latae)

The TFL is a muscle within the hip flexor group that assists in hip flexion, abduction, and internal rotation. The video mentions the importance of not over-recruiting the TFL during exercises aimed at strengthening the psoas and other hip flexors, providing tips to minimize its activation to ensure a balanced development of the hip flexor muscles.

💡Eccentric Motion

Eccentric motion refers to the lengthening of a muscle under tension, usually occurring as it returns from a contracted (shortened) state. In the video, exercises incorporating eccentric motion of the hip flexors are highlighted for their effectiveness in strengthening these muscles through their full range of motion, improving flexibility, and reducing tightness.

Highlights

The psoas muscle contributes to hip flexion and lumbar spine stability.

Sitting shortens the psoas muscle, makes it weak, and causes tightness and achiness in the front of the hips.

Static stretching can worsen achiness in the front of the hips without fixing the underlying weakness.

Self-massage helps break up adhesions, improve tissue quality, and restore mobility of the hip flexors.

Activate the hip flexors after massage to make the changes last.

The standing glute contraction trains hip muscles like the psoas in a neutral spine position.

The standing slumpy psoas targets the psoas muscle by combining hip flexion and spinal extension.

Add load to the standing slumpy psoas once technique is good to build strength.

Use cues like external rotation to prevent over-recruitment of the TFL during hip flexion.

The side lying technique strengthens hip extensors and flexors through full range of motion.

The front support exercise trains core stability while activating the hip flexors.

Use enough load and reps to sufficiently challenge the muscles without over 12 reps.

Perform this 2-3x per week for at least 4 weeks to improve hip flexor mobility and strength.

Consider the full Hip Pain Solution program for more exercise variations and structured programming.

Stop static stretching and focus on strength to relieve hip tightness and achiness for good.

Transcripts

if your psoas or your front of the hip

area feels achy and tight stop doing the

standard hip flexor stretches in this

video you're going to learn why that is

and five exercises to get to the root

cause so you can relieve that achiness

and that tightness for good

[Music]

hey it's coachee here from Precision

movement and we're back with another

YouTube video to help you move freely

and without pain and today we're

focusing on this area the hip flexor

area and we're going to focus a little

bit more on the psoas muscle but there

are other muscles involved in the

exercises out I'm going to show you and

in the problems of achiness and

tightness in the front of the hip right

here now if you like unique time

efficient and most importantly effective

exercises to get you out of pain and to

keep you moving then make sure you're

subscribed to our Channel because that's

what we do around here now before we get

into the five exercises I want to cover

a little bit of background some anatomy

and some scientific reasoning behind why

the soas muscle and the hip flexor area

does get tight and achy and even before

that I just want to commend you for

being here for continuing to be a

student and learning and taking control

of your own health and well-being this

is something that we need more of and we

need more people like you so keep it up

good work

now the muscle is involved I mentioned

the psoas muscle it's a popular one and

it's part of the hip flexor group so hip

flexion is this movement right here

bringing the knee to the chest that's

hip flexion the PSO is is one muscle

that does it there's also the iliacus

and those two muscles are often combined

and called the iliopsoas but we like we

think of them differently because they

have slightly different functions which

I'm going to cover in a second there's

also the rectus femoris which is a

quadricep muscle it's part of the

quadriceps group but because it crosses

the hip joint it can contribute to hip

flexion thing is we just don't want it

to contribute to hip flexion too much

and the last muscle that I'll talk about

is the pectineus and that's a short

muscle in the front of the hip here and

it does hip flexion and adduction so

these are kind of the four main hip

flexor muscles and the psoas is the one

that we're going to focus on

because of where it originates it

originates on the different vertebrae

and the lumbar spine and this tells us

that

it contributes to hip flesh and yes but

it also contributes to something at the

lumbar spine that's something is lumbar

stability especially in the neutral

position or the slightly extended

position so that's a key cue throughout

all of the exercises that you'll see is

that we need to maintain that lumbar

spine's position so that the psoas can

effectively work so now that you can see

it and you can visualize it it should

help you to execute the exercises better

and get more out of the exercises

so that's one of the cues that is really

important when you do the exercise so

remember that we're going to cover a

couple other now why does this always

get tight and weak sitting that's one

thing that contributes to so many issues

in today's society we sit too much but

specifically when we sit

we are on our butts often in a posterior

pelvic tilt so if we had a tail it would

be as if we were tucking our tail

between our legs and with a flexed

lumbar spine So based on what I just

said the psoas can effectively work in

that position the other thing is we've

got a backrest so we're leaning back

we're in this bad position this slumped

flexed position so the psoas is

shortened up and it doesn't have to work

because we're on this backrest so it the

psoas doesn't have to contribute to this

proper neutral spine good alignment of

the lumbar spine and stability of the

lumbar spine so if we're not using it

we're going to lose it use it or lose it

that's a maxim that applies to pretty

much everything human at least but if

we're not using it we're losing it so

it's getting weak it's atrophying it's

in the shortened position it's getting

short and that causes so many issues so

we're gonna do exercises to restore all

of those issues now I mentioned at the

outside of this outset of this video no

static stretching the standard stretch

is this hip flexor kneeling

lunge half dealing lunge hip flexor

stretch where you basically go like this

you can stick an arm up you can reach

over to the side like that and stretch

out the hip flexor I used to prescribe

this quite a bit actually but I rarely

do so now and when I do there's a few

specific cues that we need to keep in

mind

the problem with this is that

number one it doesn't restore strength

so if you're expecting

lasting changes in muscle length and

range of motion from this you're not

going to get it because you're not going

to strengthen the muscle with this and

number two it's really easy to be over

aggressive with this stretch you can get

in there you can really put your weight

into it Reef on it and

be aggressive

the issue here is that doing so will

aggravate the anterior

part of the hip specifically the hip

joint capsule and the ligaments there

when you do that you can increase your

achiness and you think oh I need to do

more stretching you do it you keep doing

it and it's just a vicious cycle and

you're going to get worse and worse and

more and more achy and you're not going

to really improve your hip flexor length

so we're going to go through five

exercises in this routine that you can

do two three days a week for if you want

to feel some good effects at least four

weeks it could be up to eight weeks but

four weeks is a good amount of time to

feel some good effects two weeks you

might to feel some stuff I mean you

might do start to feel some beneficial

Effects by doing it just once with me

today but if you want your results to

persist and the changes to persist

you've got to put in the time and the

Reps the first technique we're going to

go through is active self myofascial

release for the hip flexors and with

this

got a massage ball here and I'm going to

use a weight that's the easiest thing to

use for this exercise you can use apply

pressure with your hand but it's much

easier to do it with the weight

for this all you're going to do is in

the front of the hip where those muscles

are you're going to place the ball then

you're going to place the weight on the

ball and keep your knee bent to start

once you got some pressure there

relax all the muscles you're not tensing

up the hip flexors and then just slide

the legs slowly

forwards now you're going into hip

extension

and then move the ball to another area

and repeat

if you feel anything weird you might be

on a vessel

just don't go on that area don't do

anything that feels weird or causes more

pain so I'm going to reset all around

the front of the hip here for one to two

minutes

and if you only have one side that

bothers you do both sides this is good

for you and this will help to restore

tissue quality

break up any adhesions or scar tissue

and

allow that muscle to work properly

through its full range of motion allow

it to contract through its full range of

motion

so that's active self myofascial release

for the hip flexors one to two minutes

per side

after that we've restored length there

after that we want to get the activation

going right away

we never stretch or we never go for

massages and then just leave it at that

we loosen the tissue up improve the

quality of the tissue then we activate

that tissue and that's how we can get

those changes that we've

gained through the massage or through

the stretch or the release

we can get them to stick so the next

exercise is the standing glute

contraction

this is in the ROM coach app

and I've shown this in other videos but

it's very simple

all you do is you start off good posture

good alignment

relaxed knees soft not hyper extended

just soft and then you're going to

slowly ramp up glute activation with a

little bit of internal rotation of the

hips turning the thighs inside this way

just a little bit it could be like

one to five degrees that's all

I'm gonna wrap it up nice and strong as

hard as you can

in terms of activating the glutes and

then holding that for

five to ten seconds

and then you release gradually

so it's a slow ramp up and slow ramp

down

the key is that internal rotation

that'll help you to keep your weight on

your feet even not rolling out to the

sides and it keeps that alignment of the

pelvis and the hips so again I'm

standing here I'm going to ramp up the

glute activation

with a little bit of internal rotation

once I'm holding it as strong as I can

without any pain or issues

I'm breathing and holding for five to

ten seconds or one to two slow breaths

and then I wrap it down

and what this is doing is it's

activating we're focused on activating

the glutes but it's going to co-contract

around the hips get all the hip muscles

working those hip flexor muscles that we

talked about earlier and it gets them

working in this neutral or slightly

extended position because remember we've

got our hips stuck in this position from

all the sitting so now we're lengthening

it and we're activating the muscle so

we're starting to restore that

activation restore that strength for

this exercise two to three sets no one

to two sets actually four to six reps

holding for five to ten seconds

after that we're gonna go to the

standing slumpy psoas and this is a

great exercise because it dissociates

the commonly associated movement pattern

of hip flexion which is when we Flex our

hips we often posteriorly pelvic tilt

and flex our lumbar spines but by doing

that we're not effectively targeting the

psoas muscle especially so we're going

to do the opposite

what you do is you stand against the

wall lean against the wall and just get

in bad posture so we're starting off in

that posterior tilt

lumbar flexion and slumped spine it's

really bad posture from here I'm going

to do one side I'm going to flex the hip

as I

anteriorly pelvic tilt

and straighten up and get into good

posture good spinal posture at the top

here I'm holding and what I'm thinking

of is keeping my pelvis level so I might

have to drop this

hip towards the ground

and then breathing naturally and sucking

the leg in to the pelvis those two cues

so I'm here holding and then from there

I slowly lower down and try to feel

the hip flexors lengthen and keep them

contracted to work that eccentric motion

of the hip flexors

again let's demo that I'll do the other

side so switch sides start off

slumped posture bad posture

and then I'm going to flex the hip

and get into good posture at the same

time

and hold at the top keep driving the

knee up to flex the hip and activate

those hip flexors and think of pelvis

level here so dropping this hip towards

the ground and sucking the leg into the

pelvis sucking the thigh into the pelvis

not reaching it towards the wall but

sucking it away from the wall

a strong support leg here

and then keep those muscles on as I drop

the foot slowly to the ground for a soft

Landing

that's the standing slumpy sauce and

it's a great exercise to work this

muscle in the proper way to start to

build strength here now once you've got

good activation we can actually use them

add some external load like a dumbbell

to this because by then you're queuing

your Technique should be good you know

all the cues there

and all you do is you start off

same way and then place the dumbbell on

the knee

and then suck that leg in

drive that knee up and here we can

progressively add load

to build strength

just like any other exercise we would do

in the gym

so it's a great way to get that so as

activated and then use the same

technique and cues to get it stronger

now one thing that a lot of people one

problem that a lot of people run into is

over recruitment of the tfl which is

another hip flexor and it's not one that

I talked about earlier because we don't

really want it to hit Flex too much but

if the tfl is working too much

the tip you can do a couple tips you can

do to shut it off is when you're flexing

the hip you're going out a little bit

it's a little abduction and a little bit

of external rotation and that'll Target

more the pectinius the iliopsoas the

iliacus and turn off the tfl so those

cues there can help you adjust if you're

feeling too much tfl activation on the

outer hip over here

it's outstanding sloppy so us for that

do two to three sets four to six reps

per holding for five to ten seconds and

if you can add load start to add load

next up we've got one of my favorite

techniques to restore this hip extension

range of motion which is

your lengthened hip flexor position

it's the side lying hip extension and

range expansion technique

so for this relying on our side and make

sure you're in good posture in terms of

your spine you're not curled up into the

fetal position

and I'm going to work this bottom leg

I'm going to actively

bring my leg back let me switch views

for you

be a little easier for you to see

so I'm going to actively bring my leg

back this way so now I'm in hip

extension with the glute activation

and this is the range that I want to

work so I'm driving it back and right

there the first activation is holding

there glued activation keep trying to

drive my heel back

holding for 10 to 15 seconds strong

contraction of the glutes

and then I'm going to place my other

foot on the knee and drive my knee into

the foot not letting it move and what

this is doing is it's strengthening the

hip flexors in this extended range of

motion

again 10 to 15 seconds holding nice and

strong keep activating

and the last contraction there are three

contractions is the hip extension again

driving the heel back firing up the

glutes trying to get deeper into the

range of extension

maintaining good posture breathing

and then let it go and that's one cycle

on that side and I would switch sides

and do two to four cycles and that's

going to work that end range of motion

of the hip flexors that length and range

of motion of the hip flexors and it

strengthens both the hip blasters and

the glutes there the hip extensors there

and that's what's going to tell your

brain hey I've got strength here so I'm

using it so I'm not going to don't don't

lose it I need this all right so that's

the side lying hip extension end range

expansion Erie technique

the final one we're going to go through

is another one that you can

progressively add load two and it's

called the front support hip flexion so

for this you can see I got some bands

I've got these ankle straps here I've

got an ankle strap attached over there

and then I'm strapping up over here I'm

going to crawl forward

off the mat here and then front support

is basically push-up position

and from there all I'm doing is I'm

flexing nip same cues apply keep the

pelvis level so don't hike the hip

keep driving the knee up so I'm

activating constantly it's just a two

second hold there

and then return

and then two second hold all the way up

sucking the pelvis the leg into the

pelvis

and then controlling the way back

the good thing with this band setup is I

can add bands if I need more load

and this exercise is an example of

functional integration because here I

need that good core stability to

maintain alignment of the spine and to

train this aligned spine which is

necessary for any sport you're doing

baseball tennis you want good posture

and an aligned spine so I've got the

core stability going while the hip

flexion is going so even if you're

running you want good posture and the

ability to maintain good posture as

you're running and the hip blusters are

working properly so this is a great

exercise and for this one do two to

three sets six to ten reps depending on

how much load you got but keep the Reps

no more than 12 but if you can get

enough load and enough bands so that

it's challenging and you can only do six

ten reps that's how you're going to

build strength so this whole routine

again do it two to three times a week

the more intensity that you use like the

more weight you use or the more bands

you use the lower frequency per week

you'd want to do if you're only doing

body weight you can easily do this three

days a week and give it at least four

weeks and if you do that and you drop

the static stretching you're going to

feel looser you're going to have greater

range of motion and you're going to have

greater strength and if you have pain

hopefully you're going to have less pain

and I'd love to know how it goes for you

so leave us a comment down below

so that is today's video hope you found

it enlightening and you found something

useful and you're going to do this

routine more importantly and got some

other stuff for you if you want to check

it out some other videos that are

related here and here and they're pretty

popular and if you do have pin if you

like this approach the best that we can

give you is our hip pain solution

program so click the link down there

because it includes exercises like this

and a lot more and includes the approach

and the programming that is easy to

follow and time efficient