top of page

How Long Does It Take for the Psoas Muscle to Heal?

​

"How Do I Relax My Psoas?"

​

© 2018 Lawrence Gold 

​

certified practitioner since 1990

​

Hanna Somatic Education ®

Answer: It Depends on the Approach

​

There are four basic approaches to the healing of a tight psoas muscle.

​

The range of time is from weeks to many months, depending on the approach taken. I explain each, below.

​

The first three are most common -- and least effective:

​

  • STRETCHING

  • STRENGTHENING

  • MANIPULATION 

  • PANDICULATION

Illustration of Psoas Muscles

THE THREE BIGGEST MISTAKES MADE BY PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING 

TO GET OUT OF PAIN

STRETCHING: This approach assumes that a stretched psoas muscle will stay stretched and that your troubles will be over. But it doesn't stay stretched; it re-tightens within hours or days, typically.

 

​

STRENGTHENING: The psoas muscle is almost never truly weak, but fatigued (and sore) from being perpetually tight. Any improvement from strengthening exercises comes from inadvertent gains of control. Does it sound like strengthening an already too-tight psoas can actually help? Does that make sense?

 

MANIPULATION:  Psoas muscles released by manipulation re-tighten about as soon as by stretching.

​

People taking one or more of these three approaches generally have to repeat them indefinitely. Psoas muscles don't generally "heal" by themselves because they are rarely damaged or injured. They're tight, fatigued, and painfully sore.

​

​

PANDICULATION: the fourth approach

​

Pandiculation is a kind of action or movement pattern based on the yawning action. When applied to the movements that involve or affect your psoas, it causes two things to happen:

 

1.  Your psoas relaxes. When your psoas relaxes, the pain goes -- because, in reality, your psoas wasn't injured and in need of healing. It was tight and sore with muscle fatigue.

 

2.  Your psoas coordinates better with other core muscles and so feels more secure and stronger.

 

Pandiculation, when applied in a clinical setting, can relax the psoas in one session. Pandiculation exercises done by yourself relax the psoas more and more over a period of weeks.

​

Here's a video that explains pandiculation --

 

the release action that works better than stretching.

 

There's a psoas reconditioning program that uses pandiculation movements that involve or affect the psoas muscles. It frees movement and restores comfort.

"HOW DO I RELAX MY PSOAS MUSCLE WITH PANDICULATION?"

 

You didn't think I would leave you hanging, did you?

 

It's something completely different from stretching, and in another way, completely familiar, as familiar as yawning and stretching and feels about like that. 

 

Pandiculation is a way to retrain movement memory, efficiently, which means, get muscles to relax to their normal, relaxed resting tone efficiently and without stretching -- faster than any other method. It also improves coordination and makes muscles feel stronger (better under control).​

​

 

What are the Symptoms of a Tight Psoas Muscle?

​

In addition to pain deep inside the groin, pain along the pelvic inside wall, and a "deep stomachache", other problems from a tight psoas include (1) chronic constipation (from sluggish lumbar plexus function), (2) poor posture (balance problems), (4) reduced length of walking stride, (5) unequal leg length, (6) restricted breathing, (7) chronic fatigue (8) increased chance of back injury, and (9) torn labrum (hip joint cartilage damage).

 

Have you got one or more of these symptoms?

​​

​

WHEN YOUR PSOAS ISN'T THE REAL, CENTRAL PROBLEM

​

Sharp, off-center low back pain and pain around the rim of the pelvis are another matter -- signs of a twisted sacrum. When someone's sacrum is twisted, postural changes make the psoas tighten. In that case, you can't effectively address the psoas pain directly by any means. The position and movements of the sacrum must be corrected -- and then psoas relaxes and the pain goes away, by itself.

​

Got pain in your groin? inner wall of your pelvis? behind your stomach?

 

Those are symptoms of a tight psoas muscle. 

 

Got the other pains?  Go here.

​​

​

Psoas Health

​

When the psoas muscles, hamstrings, and abdominal muscles work freely and easily, together, the psoas muscles tighten and relax, shorten and lengthen appropriately in movement. The back muscles lengthen and the spinal curves flatten (to a normal shape). The abdominal contents rest in proper position in the abdominal cavity, where they are supported instead of hanging forward. Stride lengthens and you stand up straighter.

​

more on psoas muscle groin pain / iliopsoas syndrome

a L.E.A.R.N. Advantage Approach

consulting and mentoring

Personal Attention Mentoring
CLICK THE IMAGE, ABOVE.

Most people do just fine with this program, by themselves, 

but just in case, there's ...

personal attention mentoring

People have been coming to me from around the world (actually) for pain relief in my clinical practice since 1990. I have been helping people with psoas pain get comfortable, again, since 1994. I developed the self-relief program offered, here, in 2008. Click the email icon, below, to reach me, personally.

bottom of page