This is part two of my detailed articles about two confusing muscles of the hip that many people blame for chronic pain with either back or hip problems, when in reality these muscles are merely reacting to dysfunction created elsewhere and trying to improve stability. The two muscles I am referring to are the quadratus lumborum which I discussed in part one, and Psoas Major which I am analysing in this article. Without a doubt this is one of the most misunderstood muscles in terms of its function and as a result its influence on dysfunction around the hip and pelvis. For a long time it Psoas has been referred to as a “hip flexor muscle” and blamed for creating excessive anterior tilt of the pelvis which is a common postural fault with back pain and hip related problems. However when you observe its attachments and how it functions you find out it is more of a stabilising muscle that posteriorly rotates the pelvis! The bigger problem is more to do with a lesser known muscle called Illiacus that works very closely with the psoas major. This changes everything in how you would try to restore function and stability to hip and pelvic problems and in this article I will attempt to explain how this works and the best ways to restore hip function.

I must admit I have thought about writing an article like this about the Quadratus Lumborum (QL) and Psoas muscles for a very long time but have avoided it, for I was afraid it would take me too far down the rabbit hole of confusion and contradictory conclusions that make absolutely no sense. However, I have come across problems with this muscle several times recently when working with various people with hip problems or those that have tried to execute the complex multi-joint exercises I have been using a lot and thought I should try to explain why this happens, and more importantly what you can do about it. To make this easier to understand and also minimize the length of the article I have split this into two parts with part one about the QL and part two about the psoas. They really work together to create stability of the spine during movement although they are often misunderstood and trained as prime moving muscles. The QL helps form the lateral stabilizing system needed for walking and single leg stance whereas the psoas allows the hip to flex without damaging the spine. There is no doubting they are very unique muscles and when you understand their purpose it is easier to determine what exercises work best and how to prevent problems from occurring.

In my last article I discussed many different types of strength training and fitness equipment choices and discussed what I found to be the most essential to the least essential. While this prompted some feedback one of the most interesting questions was related to a picture that showed a guy doing a bench press versus a guy doing the cable press with a caption asking which exercises yields the best results?  The question was meant to be about the equipment being used but some thought it was asking which one is the better exercise choice? Once again there is no definitive answer to this question as it all depends on the person and the reasons they are using the exercise. Having said that I tend to rate the bench press below several similar exercises and I believe it is highly over-rated in terms of its overall benefits, and under-rated for the risks it presents. In this article, I will explain why I don’t rate the bench press so highly and the many other exercises you can use instead that deliver a much greater result.