My self help guide for looking after your psoas

Given all my clients sit for prolonged periods of time as part of their job which can cause contraction of your psoas muscle.  It goes without saying that if you are having problems with your psoas muscle a massage can help, so please feel free to book.  Here is what you can do …

Strengthen Your Psoas Muscle

  1. Straight leg sit-up.
  2. Lying leg raise – lie on the back and raise your straight legs together into the air.

Stretch Your Psoas Muscle

  1. While kneeling extended hip & title pelvis posteriorly.
  2. While lying down (face up) on a bed extend your hip off the side of the bed and pull your other knee into your chest.

The Constructive Rest Position

The Constructive Rest Position (CRP) can relieve low back, pelvic and hip tension while it allows your entire body to come into neutral. Lay on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor hip-width apart and parallel to each other.   Place your heels a comfortable distance from your buttocks – or about 16 inches away. Do not push your low back into the floor or tuck your pelvis. Rest your arms over your belly. Let gravity do the work. Doing this for 10 to 20 minutes every day will release tension in your psoas muscles and help to reestablish the neuro-biological rhythms that calm and refresh.

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  • Natural ways to reduce anxiety – Part 4

    Following on from my last post on calm breathing, I want to introduce you to calming counting.  The advantage of this technique over calm breathing is that it helps you stop focusing on worried thoughts! Calming Counting

    1. Sit comfortably.
    2. Take a long, deep breath and exhale it slowly while saying the word "relax" silently.
    3. Close your eyes.
    4. Let yourself take ten natural, easy breaths. Count down with each exhale, starting with "ten."
    5. This time, while you are breathing comfortably, notice any tensions, perhaps in your jaw or forehead or stomach. Imagine those tensions loosening.
    6. When you reach "one," open your eyes again.
    As claming counts takes about 90 seconds this is precious time that your body gets to relax and quieten your mind. It is perfectly possible to do this on your commute, as long as you don't drive or at your desk or even in the loo!  

  • So how does massage help “tired” muscles?

    Many clients come to our clinics a few days after vigorous work outs or competing in sporting competition because their legs feel tried or heavy.  These clients often book a sports massage, but is their any scientific evidence to explain what is happening in the body during the treatment? Massage dilates superficial blood vessels and increases the rate of blood flow.  In addition if a deeper pressure is used like in sports or deep tissue massage on a healthy adult it improves the venous return.  Both of these changes to the blood flow represent a potent means to accelerate healing.  For example, it suggests that massage should improve the performance of fatigued muscles.  In addition, Goats asserts that massaged muscle fibres display less spasm, an increased force of contraction and enhanced endurance compared with muscles simply rested.  Which suggests that massage will assist in the improvement of sporting performance where it has been compromised. References Scull CD (1945) Massage - Physiologic Basis.  Archive of Physical Medicine 26: 159-67 Wilkins RW, Halperin MH, Litter J. (1950)  The effects of various physical procedures on circulation in human limbs.  Ann Intern Med 33: 1232-45 Goats GC (1994) Massage - the scientific basis of an ancient art: part 2.  Physiological and therapeutic effects Br J Sp Med 28(3)

  • Can Sports Massage help prevent sports injuries?

    Athletes who are looking to improve performance and increase their competitive edge do so by adopting a training schedule to enhance their skill, strength, stamina, suppleness and speed. The degree to which they develop and utilise these qualities will depend on other factors such as the level of competition, the sport played, and possibly their position in a team. However, no matter which sport, the aim is nearly always to increase the level of training and thereby subject the body to gradual and controlled overuse. This overuse can often create problems and imbalances in the muscles. If these are ignored and allowed to become chronic, they will not only hinder the athlete's rate of improvement, but also in many cases their performance may well suffer and ultimately the athlete may be susceptible to developing more conditions that are serious. Certainly if they are unable to perform at their best, they may be more at risk from other more traumatic forms of injury.   So it is essential to treat muscular imbalances early. Whether it is to carry out our normal daily activities or to participate in the majority of sporting activities, it is necessary to have normal range of movement at any given joint(s). It has been suggested that a lack of flexibility can increase the risk of musculoskeletal injuries as reduced muscle flexibility may restrict joint range of movement creating abnormal movement patterns. For example shortened calf muscles may restrict ankle dorsiflexion, causing an altered gait pattern while running or walking. This may produce a compensatory pattern of walking, with a laterally turned out foot, eventually leading to pain in the hip or knee. A sports masseur can determine if the muscular imbalance caused by training has impacted the range of movement of the client by assessing the range of movement.   By detecting these muscular imbalances early,  before they become more serious and cause pain or impact an athlete’s performance a sports massage can prevent injury.  The prevention of injury is the biggest benefit of sports massage.