If you've been struggling with hip pain, groin pain, or even low back pain, this episode of the Pain Free Living Podcast may give you the answers you have been looking for.

Join osteopath and health educator Bob Allen as he gives you the 101 on the psoas which is one of the most overlooked muscles in the body.

It's a deep hip flexor that connects your lower back to the top of your thigh bone and plays an important role in walking, running, standing, and everyday movement.

In this solo episode, Bob explains what the psoas does, why it can become irritated, and how problems with this muscle can sometimes mimic hip, groin, or low back conditions. You'll find out why runners, desk workers, and people who spend long periods sitting may be particularly vulnerable to psoas-related issues.

Bob also discusses how muscle imbalances can affect your pelvis and lower back, why hip pain isn't always caused by the hip joint itself, and how healthcare professionals can assess whether the psoas may be contributing to your symptoms.

If you've been told everything looks normal but you're still experiencing discomfort, don't worry, sometimes the source of pain isn't where you feel it. Understanding how different structures work together is often the essemtial first step towards finding the right solution.

Whether you're a runner, office worker, or simply curious about how your body works, this episode offers a practical introduction to an important muscle that often gets ignored.

5 Key Takeaways

• The psoas is a deep hip flexor that connects your lower back to your thigh bone.

• Problems with the psoas can cause or contribute to hip, groin, or low back pain.

• Long periods of sitting and repetitive activities such as running can irritate the muscle.

• Pain felt in one area isn't always caused by a problem in that location.

• A thorough assessment can help identify whether the psoas is involved in your symptoms.

Disclaimer

This podcast provides general information for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and should not replace professional assessment, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek qualified healthcare advice if you have back pain, new or worsening symptoms, or any concerns about your health before starting exercise or self-care routines.

Your guide to the Psoas

If you want to know more about the psoas this Pain Free Living newsletter is for you https://mailchi.mp/574a37b01612/hey-show-that-you-care-6082098

The Thomas test is a way to assess if your psoas is a problem (although a negative result doesn't mean it's innocent) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMDd-4NspHs

Learn More

📖 Bob's Story: https://bit.ly/BobsOsteoStory

📩 Newsletter: https://bit.ly/PFL_newsletter_signup

🎙️ Social Media & More Resources: https://linktr.ee/Painfreeliving

About Your Host

Bob Allen is an osteopath, health educator, speaker, and host of the Pain Free Living Podcast. Since qualifying in 2011, he has helped thousands of people better understand pain, movement, and recovery, with a particular interest in persistent pain, older adults, and complex musculoskeletal conditions

Hello and welcome to the Pain Free Living Podcast with me, your host, Bob Allen.

And today I'm going to talk to you about hip flexors.

Now, when I talk about hip flexors, you're probably thinking if you know about anatomy, you might be thinking, okay, quads.

That's what the quads do.

Quads are the muscles at the front of the thigh.

Yes, they are a hip flexor.

The reason that I thought I'd cover it today is because over the last six to eight months, I have seen a lot of people that are having hip and groin pain because they're having issues with the hip flexor.

Now I've got your interest.

I thought I'll do a little bit of a dive into the anatomy and how it works, and then hopefully, if you have a similar problem, you'll know what to do about it.

So when we talk about hip flexors, we're talking about.

Well, most of the time we talk about hip flexors.

Most people know about the quads.

The quads and the muscles at the front of the thigh, they go from hip down to knee.

I'm pointing, even though you may be listening on audio, but the quads go from hip down to the knee, and they're responsible for a brink.

When you walk as a quads contract, it brings the knee, it brings the leg up and forward, and then you put the foot down.

So that is the primary hip flexor.

But what a lot of people don't realize is that you have two hip flexors.

So the primary one is the quad.

But actually you have a second hip flexor which is much deeper.

It's so deep, it's almost.

Well, it's so deep it almost runs along the back.

Along the back.

It's like it attaches into all of the lumbar vertebrae and discs and the transverse processes of your lumbar spine of your low back.

So the second hip flexor, it's a muscle called the psoas, which is psoas, if you want to look it up.

And it's a key muscle for hip flexion.

If your leg is straight and you lift your leg up, that's the quad.

If your leg, if your knee is bent and your hip is bent, then when you lift the leg up the.

That's your psoas, hip flexor.

So it attaches into all your lumbar vertebrae, all the important structures in your low back and then comes down and attaches onto the inside of your thigh bone.

Now, if you have an imbalance between your left and right, deep hip flexors, that can cause some problems.

People that I've seen with psoas issues, hip flexor number two are runners.

If you, or if you spend a lot of time sat at a desk, that muscle is actually shortened and, and then it can exert different pulls on the pelvis.

And if the psoas hip flexor has issues, it can be responsible for low back pain, it can be responsible for hip pain, it can be responsible for groin pain, or it can be responsible for all three, depending on how angry and upset that hip flexor is.

So if you are getting groin pain or hip pain, you've not got any issues with the hip hip, you've got full range of movement in the hip.

It could be the psoas that's causing the problem.

And like I said, the reason that I'm bringing it up is because not a lot of people know about it and even a lot of physical therapists.

And the reason I'm highlighting it is because I saw.

I saw.

I've seen three or four clients over the last few months that have had psoas issues, but they've also had groin pain and hip pain.

And one of the people I have seen, he was training for a marathon.

He got to the point where he couldn't run because he was in so much pain from his hip.

Now, when he came to see me, there's a really, really simple test which I will probably ping into the show notes on this one.

It's a really simple test you can use to see whether it's the psoas hip flexor that's causing the problem.

Something else.

So it's a really easy, really simple test to do.

And if your physical therapist knows what they're doing, they will check that as well.

If you've got groin pain or hip pain and you've got full range of movement in the hip, they should be checking that as well.

So, like I said, I'll leave a little link in the show notes to a test that you can do to find out whether that is what the problem is.

And yes, if you're getting hip or groin pain, it may not be the hip or an issue with the groin that's a problem.

It could well be this psoas, the hip flexor.

So hopefully you found that useful.

If you've got any questions, drop them in the comments for me.

And yeah, if you found it handy, tell your friends.

If you know somebody that has an issue sounding similar to that, let them know that their therapist or their GP may be looking at the wrong problem.

And yeah, like share, subscribe.

Like I said, tell all your friends and I will see you at the next one.