I must admit I have thought about writing an article about the Quadratus Lumborum (QL) and Psoas muscles for a 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 with people suffering with hip problems and also when people tried to execute the complex multi-joint exercises I have been using a lot, so I thought it would be a good idea to 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 major. 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.
Exercise Strategies to Correct Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction & Lower Back Pain
If there is one thing I have learned in my 16 years as a trainer it is to never assume people are the same and always use assessments and tests to guide you when designing an exercise program. When it comes to back pain this is very important to remember, for it is very easy to fall into the trap of assuming all these injuries are the same and using exercises that actually exacerbate their injury instead of correcting it. Most of the lower back pain cases I see are what we classify as “flexion related” that usually end up as bulging disc injuries or sciatica type injuries. The lesser known and not as common lower back injuries are the “extension related” cases and this is where we come across the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) problems. What we must understand is that the exercises that may work perfectly with the bulging disc injury may make things worse for the person with SIJ problems. In this article, I am going to share with you some of the key things to understand about working with this type of problem and how you can correct it with specific exercise strategies.