illiacus

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 analyzing 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 stabilizing muscle that posterior 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.

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