Psoas Muscle

What is the psoas muscle?

The psoas muscle is a long, ribbon-shaped muscle in your lower back (your lumbar region). It’s one of the core muscles in your abdomen.

There’s one psoas muscle on either side of your spine. You use them to move your lower back, hips and upper legs.

Psoas injuries are less common than other causes of lower back pain, but share lots of symptoms and causes. Visit a healthcare provider if you’re feeling back pain, stiffness or other symptoms that last for more than a week.

What does the psoas muscle do?

Your psoas muscles link your spine to your lower body and connect muscles deeper inside your body to ones closer to the surface of your skin. They’re like a bridge in the center of your body that connects lots of parts and helps you perform motions that use your abdomen and legs at the same time.

Your psoas muscles work with other muscles to stabilize your posture and move your hips and upper legs. Their functions include:

• Holding your lower back still when you’re sitting down.
• Pulling your abdomen up from a prone position (picture doing a sit-up).
• Helping you flex and move your hips when you’re standing and lying down.
• Lifting your upper legs (which lets you walk and climb stairs).
• Stabilizing the top of your femur (thigh bone) when you move your hips.

Where is the psoas muscle located?

You have one psoas muscle on either side of your spine. They start in your lower back just below your ribs, run alongside your spine through your pelvis and end in your groin near your hips at the top of your femur. They form the iliopsoas muscle group with your iliacus muscles in your hip.

What is the anatomy of the psoas muscle?

Like all muscles, the psoas is made of thousands of tiny fibers woven together. These fibers stretching and pressing together is what lets your psoas move your lower back, hips and legs.

Most adults’ psoas muscles are around 16 inches long. They have a slightly triangular shape. The top in your lower back is thinner and narrower than the bottom that connects to your hips.

Nerves in your lumbar spine connect to your psoas muscles and give them sensation. They’re also connected to your femoral nerves (the same nerves that give you feeling in your thighs and quad muscles).

What are the common conditions and injuries that affect the psoas muscle?

Psoas muscle injuries are rare because they’re located deep inside your body. Athletes whose sports put a lot of force on their cores or hips are more likely to experience sports injuries that affect their psoas muscles — especially strains.

Psoas syndrome is a rare condition that happens when your psoas is irritated. It often happens without a known cause and usually causes symptoms of other, more common conditions like arthritis or sacroiliitis. The area around your spine in your lower back and hips is a complicated, complex network of muscles, nerves and joints. This can make it hard to know exactly what’s causing pain or stiffness. That’s why you should visit a healthcare provider if you’re experiencing symptoms that don’t get better in around a week.

Your psoas muscles run over or near lots of organs in your digestive system. Health conditions that affect these organs may also irritate the psoas muscles, including:

• Crohn’s disease.
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
• Diverticulitis.
• Perforated colon.
• Colorectal cancer.

How do healthcare providers diagnose psoas muscle issues?

A healthcare provider will do a physical exam to diagnose psoas muscle injuries or conditions. They’ll examine your back and hips. Tell your provider when you first noticed pain, stiffness or other symptoms and what you were doing when the symptoms started.

Does an MRI show the psoas muscle?

Yes, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can show the psoas muscles. It’s one type of test your provider might use to take pictures of your psoas muscles and the area around them. They may also use electromyography (EMG) or an ultrasound.

What are common treatments for the psoas muscle?

Which treatments you’ll need depend on what’s causing pain or other symptoms in or around your psoas muscle. If you have a minor muscle strain, you might only need to rest or avoid intense physical activities for a few weeks.

A healthcare provider might suggest physical therapy to help you recover from an injury. A physical therapist will give you stretches and exercises to strengthen your psoas muscles and increase your flexibility.

Your provider will tell you which treatments you’ll need if you have a health condition that affects your psoas muscles.

How do I take care of my psoas muscles?

Stretching and warming up before exercise or physical activity are the best ways to prevent all types of muscle injuries. Increasing your overall flexibility will also protect your muscles from injuries. The more flexible you are, the more room your muscle fibers have to stretch before they begin to tear. Improving your core strength and stability will help protect your psoas muscles.

Increase your activity level gradually. Don’t suddenly ramp up your training intensity or start exercising way more often than you usually do.

What position relaxes the psoas?

Sitting or moving in a safe, neutral posture is usually all you need to do to keep your psoas muscles relaxed. In general, you should try to:

• Keep your head above your shoulders.
• Hold your shoulders above your hips.
• Sit with your knees bent at 90 degrees, keep your feet flat on the floor and your ankles separated.
• Stand with your feet hip distance apart.

Try to avoid sitting or standing in one position for a long time. Stand up and walk around occasionally if you work sitting down. Take frequent breaks to sit down if you work standing up or on your feet a lot.

Don’t try to diagnose or treat any muscle pain at home without seeing a provider. Talk to a healthcare provider or physical therapist about specific stretches or positions that can stretch and strengthen your psoas muscles.

Is walking good for the psoas muscle?

Walking is a great way to help your body relax and return to a neutral posture, especially if you’ve been sitting still for a long time. Even taking a short break to walk around your office or home a few times a day can help your body stay relaxed and prevent lots of common aches and pains.

What is the difference between the psoas major muscle vs. psoas minor muscle?

You might see the psoas muscle called the psoas major muscle. These are interchangeable names.

Two out of every 3 people also have psoas minor muscles. If you have them, the psoas minor muscles sit on top of the psoas major. They run from the top of the psoas major and connect to the iliopsoas muscle in your pelvis.

If you don’t have psoas minors, you’ll never notice. In the 1 in 3 people who don’t have psoas minors, their body reabsorbs the muscle tissue and changes it into another kind of supportive tissue. This is completely natural and doesn’t increase your risk of injuries or any health conditions.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

The psoas muscles on either side of your spine run from your lower back to your hips. You might never think about them, even though you use them constantly throughout your daily routine. They help your body maintain its posture and move your legs and hips.

It’s rare to injure a psoas muscle, but don’t ignore pain in your lower back — especially if doesn’t get better in a week. Your healthcare provider or physical therapist will help you understand how you can strengthen and support your psoas muscles to manage symptoms like pain and stiffness.