The healers of ancient Greece called her the "womb for the kidneys", the yogis consider her the most important muscle in the body, and Hippocrates was the first to give her the name "psoa" - lumbar. Where is the iliopsoas muscle and what is its importance - we will consider in this article.
Anatomy Features
This muscle is formed by the combination of two muscles: the ileum, which is located in the internal cavity of the pelvis, filling the iliac fossa, and the large lumbar, which originates from the 12th vertebra of the thoracic region and, as it descends along the spinal column, attaches to the first four lumbar vertebrae.
The fibers of both muscles are joined together and attached to the front line of the thigh in the area of the hip joint, significantly affecting its mobility.
Functionality
The main function of the iliopsoas muscle (hereinafter referred to as the PPM) is to keep the body upright, adjusting its position in space, while being the most powerful flexor of the hip joints. She also attracts the hips to the body and rotates them outward, fixes the position of the kidneys in the right place.
In fact, this muscle is one of the most important in the structure of a person, combining three important segments: legs, pelvis and trunk. Practitioners of yoga are aware of its paramount importance in the movement of man, and therefore they call it "the soul of the physical body."
Yoga exercises for stretching
Stretching the iliopsoas muscle is quite simple in execution, but it must be done regularly to achieve a stable result.
- "Horseman": a deep lunge back left foot, lowering the knee to the floor. Try to lower the pelvis and thigh of the left leg to the floor as low as possible while trying to keep the body strictly upright or with a deflection back. For a deeper extension, you can bend the left leg at the knee and pull the heel to the right buttock, also trying to stretch the spine up.
- “Half bridge”: lying on your back resting against the floor with your feet bent feet, raise your hips up to the line of the pelvis, directing the pubic bone to the sternum.
- Sitting with slightly bent legs (knees and feet together), put the body on the hips and try to push the lower ribs as far forward as possible, with your arms stretch forward, trying to fold the body in two even lines. Legs can be straightened over time, provided that the hips and lower ribs are firmly in contact.
A massage course can help get rid of the main muscle spasm, but as a long-term use it becomes ineffective and turns into a constant dependence on the master, while stretching takes no more than 10 minutes and can be performed at any convenient time, almost anywhere.
What is dangerous PPM hypertonicity
Iliao-lumbar muscle syndrome is a very common phenomenon among people who lead a sedentary lifestyle, as well as those whose work is associated with lifting heavy weights. Unfortunately, most doctors do not attach significant importance to this muscle, as a provocateur of many diseases of various kinds:
- hyperlordosis of the lumbar spine is almost always provoked by an SPM spasm, which is manifested by excessive deflection of the lower back, inadequate load on the intervertebral discs, which can lead to the formation of protrusions and hernias;
- PPM spasm squeezes the kidney area, causing them to move from the intended nature of the place, as a result - disruption of the circulatory and excretory systems;
- since the ileo-lumbar muscle attaches to the vertebrae in the thoracic and lumbar regions, its prolonged uneven tone or spasm can lead to curvature of the spine: scoliosis, and if overvoltage is at different levels: above and below, rotation forms (twisting around the axis ) with a projection into the pelvis, shortening of one of the limbs is possible;
- due to its deep location, the muscle has a direct effect on the functioning of the abdominal organs, and the nerve endings emerging from this zone also affect these processes, so treatment of diseases of the internal organs should begin with the elimination of the spasm of the PPM.
- - A chronic spasm of the iliopsoas muscle puts pressure on the hip joint area, which impairs its mobility and can lead to inflammatory processes or joint degeneration.
Arthritis, arthrosis and coxarthrosis are diseases that hypertension could provoke. An incorrect load on the hip joints will result in an overload of the knee joints and ankle.
What triggers the shortening of this muscle?
A sedentary lifestyle, long cycling and skiing significantly affect muscle spasm in this area. In the sports world, there are quite a few exercises that also shorten this area: lifting the body with legs fixed (the school often gave the press standards in this way), lifting straight legs from the floor up, and many exercises on “sitting” simulators.
The most common indicator of muscle hypertonicity is a bulging abdomen (weak abdominal muscles), protruding lower ribs and passive buttock muscles (these two main muscles are antagonists of the iliopsoas). Therefore, if you need to correct the situation, then along with the extension of the PPM, you need to strengthen these two sections, actively pumping them with the right exercises.