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11 Psoas Stretches to Alleviate Tightness and Improve Your Mobility
Get that sweet, sweet relief with these stretches and yoga poses to tackle tightness.
By Michele Ross•
What Is the Psoas?
Psoas Stretches: Benefits and Importance
The 11 Best Psoas Stretches
What Causes Psoas Muscle Tightness or Pain?
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Do you sit all day long, struggle with lower back pain, or experience tightness in the hips and upper legs? If one or all of these apply, you’ll want to incorporate psoas stretches into your routine. The psoas muscle, aka the psoas major, might not get a lot of airtime (or stretch time), but it’s crucial for everyday movements like walking and climbing stairs to popular exercises such as leg raises and bicycle crunches. When it’s tight, you may feel physical discomfort that can hinder regular movement and athletic performance—and that’s where some highly beneficial psoas stretches swoop in to work their magic.
Keep reading to learn all about the psoas, what causes tightness and pain, and the best psoas stretches for relief.
What Is the Psoas?
“The psoas muscle is a long ribbon-shaped muscle in the lower back or lumbar region, and is one of the core muscles in the abdomen,” explains Sandra Gail Frayna, a physical therapist at Hudson Premier Physical Therapy & Sports in New Jersey. We have one psoas muscle on either side of the spine. “They are used to flex your hip joint; aid in mobility in the lower back, hip, and upper legs; and [help] with stabilizing posture.”
The psoas is activated while sitting, walking, running, and lifting—especially when raising your knee towards your chest (think: ascending stairs, playing soccer, or doing certain exercises. Standing leg lifts, hanging leg raises, tuck jumps, mountain climbers, high knees, tuck ups, and scissor kicks, are moves where you may feel this muscle, explains Peloton instructor Logan Aldridge. Simply put, the psoas muscle is constantly engaged when you’re at your desk, walking around the house, and in many scenarios when you’re breaking a sweat.
The psoas muscle may also have a relationship with the fight-or-flight response. Per the National Library of Medicine (NLM), it’s “one of the principal actors in the complex neural network of human psycho-somatic experience and the reactive stress system.” The psoas and its association with lower back pain may even be linked to the incidence—and relief, when the muscle releases and relaxes via stretching—of post-traumatic stress disorder, the NLM adds.
Psoas Stretches: Benefits and Importance
Since the psoas is constantly used throughout daily life (including many sports and workouts), it’s important to stretch it regularly to reduce or prevent pain and help keep the muscle loose and limber. “Doing so will increase the range of mobility in the hips, lower back, and pelvis, which will aid in walking, exercising, and stability,” Frayna shares.
Logan tries to incorporate psoas stretches into his personal workouts as often as possible, “particularly as an activation in warm-ups and always as a post-workout stretch and cool down.”
The 11 Best Psoas Stretches
Ahead, Logan shares how to perform six of the best psoas stretches safely and effectively. He recommends incorporating psoas stretches into your daily routine.
1. Half-Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch
Start in a half-kneeling position, with one knee on the floor and your other foot flat in front of you. Keep your torso upright and engage your core to stabilize your spine.
Slowly shift your weight forward, leaning into the front leg until you feel a stretch in the front of the hip of the kneeling leg.
Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds.
Switch sides and repeat.
2. Standing Psoas Stretch
Stand with your feet hips’ width apart.
Step one foot back and bend both knees, lowering into a lunge position until you feel a stretch in the front of the hip of the back leg. Keep your torso upright and your pelvis tucked to avoid overarching your lower back.
Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds.
Switch sides and repeat.
3. Low Lunge with Quad Stretch
Start in a low lunge position with one knee on the floor and your other foot flat in front of you.
Reach back your hand of the same side as the back leg, grasping your ankle or foot.
Gently pull your foot towards your glute to deepen the stretch in the front of your hip and quadriceps. Keep your chest lifted and your hips square.
Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds.
Switch sides and repeat.
4. Supine Psoas Stretch
Lay down on your back with both knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Bring one knee towards your chest and hold it with both hands.
Slowly straighten your other leg along the floor. You should feel a stretch in the front of the hip and possibly the front of the thigh.
Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds
Switch sides and repeat.
5. Seated Psoas Stretch
Sit on the edge of a chair or bench with your feet flat on the floor.
Extend one leg straight out in front of you with your heel on the ground.
Lean back slightly and lift the toes of the extended leg towards the ceiling, keeping the knee straight. You should feel a stretch in the front of the hip of the extended leg.
Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds.
Switch sides and repeat.
6. Side Lying Psoas Stretch
Start lying on one side with legs straight and stacked on top of one another. Your arms can be used to support you.
Bend top leg to bring your heel towards your glute. Grab your ankle with your top hand to pull your foot closer to your glute.
Squeeze your glute to push your top hip forward. Then, pull your leg back further behind your body.
Hold the stretch for 20 to 30 seconds.
Repeat three times on each side.
7. Psoas Release with Foam Roller
Lie face down on the floor with a foam roller placed horizontally under your pelvis. Support your upper body with your forearms and elbows.
Slowly roll back and forth from the bottom of your rib cage to the top of your hip bone, targeting the psoas. Apply gentle pressure and focus on areas of tightness or discomfort.
Continue for 1 to 2 minutes, then rest.
8. Glute Bridge
Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Engage your core by pressing your lower back toward the floor.
Maintain a flat back as you lift your hips as high as you can. Squeeze glutes at top.
Hold the bridge for 5-10sec. Lower slowly.
Complete 15-20 reps.
9. Camel Pose
Start in a tall kneeling position with hands on your hips, hips over knees, and shoulders back.
Squeeze your glutes and push your hips forward as you arch your back.
Reach your hands back to grab your heels or ankles. Continue squeezing glutes/thighs to push hips forward.
Hold the pose for 20 to 30 seconds.
Repeat three times.
10. Cobra Pose
Start lying face-down on your chest with your legs straight behind you and together. Place your hands under your shoulders, elbows pointing straight back.
Press into the floor and extend your arms, raising your chest while keeping your thighs on the floor. Keep your shoulders back and down.
Hold the pose for 20 to 30 seconds.
Repeat three to five times.
11. Pigeon Pose
Start in downward-facing dog.
Shift your weight forward as you bring your right knee toward your right wrist.
Bring your right foot towards the left edge of your mat as you lower yourself to the ground.
Your hip bones should be facing forward and your left leg should be parallel to the mat, left foot flat against the mat, toes pointing backward.
Place your hands under your shoulders and press into your fingertips to keep your torso upright.
Hold the pose for 20 to 30 seconds.
Reverse to the starting position.
Repeat three times on each side.
What Causes Psoas Muscle Tightness or Pain?
“Primary causes of psoas tightness are overuse of hips and injuries from sports,” Frayna shares. Per a 2009 article in the Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, myofascial pain and tightness in the psoas major tend to be prevalent in soccer, dance, and hockey.
Psoas muscle tightness is also common in office workers and others who spend long periods in a seated position, as this causes the muscle to shorten and stiffen. (Consider this to be a friendly PSA to get up from your desk or couch every so often, in addition to practicing the psoas stretches to come.)
Unsure if your psoas is tight or if something else is causing discomfort? “When the psoas muscle tightens, there will not only be pain and tension in the lower back, but also the buttocks, groin, hip, and pelvis will be tight and sore as well,” Frayna explains. If stretching and strengthening them still doesn’t provide relief, she advises consulting a physical therapist to confirm that psoas tightness is actually at play or if there’s another underlying issue.
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