To stretch your psoas muscle, wear shorts or loose pants. For the right psoas muscle, place the right knee on the ground (the male wedding proposal position). Use a throw pillow for cushioning your knee. Move the left leg about 6” forward, rest your hands on the left knee and bend it steeply as shown above, keeping the right knee in place. You should feel a tight stretch in your psoas muscle. Hold the stretch for 20 seconds; relax the stretch, and repeat six times. Do 3x daily.
To stretch your hip abductor muscles, use a high density foam roller. Place it on the floor under your hip as you lie on your side. Your body weight will push your hip abductor muscles into the roller, stretching them. The hip adductor muscles are just above the greater trochanter—the hard, pointy bone you can feel right over your hip. Using your hands and arms as they contact the floor, roll the hip adductor muscles back and forth over the roller. Since they are short muscles, the rolls should be short and focused.
While you are at it, stretch and massage your iliotibial (IT) band with the roller. A tight IT band can also contribute to hip pain. Use your hands and arms to roll the side of your upper leg over the roller, from the ilium (crest of pelvis) all the way down to the side of your knee, back and forth.
To stretch the gluteal muscles, sit in a comfortable chair and cross your legs (where the top leg falls downwards). Grab the top knee and pull it towards your chest and hold for 20 seconds. Relax for 10 seconds and repeat six times, 3x/day.
NEXT: Torso Circles
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