The iliopsoas muscle actually consists of two separate muscles, The Iliacus and the Psoas Major. Together, they are known as the Iliopsoas. which are located towards the front of our hip area.

In the diagram to the right you can see the Iliacus and the Psoas muscles which are labelled These two muscles are responsible for lifting the upper leg to the torso, or flexing the torso towards the thigh, like we do in a roll-up and down or in a sit-up.

Overdeveloped and Tight hip flexors can contribute to lower back pain by causing the pelvis to tilt forward. To counteract this, you must stretch the hip flexors and strengthen the Abdominal muscles.

This will reduce pelvic tilt and decrease lower back pain. Strengthening the lower back can also help improve the balance between the muscles of the hip region.

In all of my Pilates classes we do work to strengthen the abdominal and hip flexors, unfortunately, due to the position and function of the iliopsoas muscle most of the work we do involve strengthen the muscle with concentric contraction (shortening contraction) there are limited exercises that fully stretch out the iliopsoas muscle and the Banana Stretch is one of them.

If you have been coming to class recently you will have no doubt done this stretch and have had a talk from me!

The Banana Stretch

Lay Flat on the floor (on an exercise mat if you have one?)
Slowly, take little steps and shuffle your feet as far to your Right as you can....Make sure you keep the backs of your hips on the floor.
Now take your Left arm above your head and towards the floor (do not worry if your arm doesn't reach the floor)
Now try to shuffle your shoulders towards you Right (you may or may not be able to do this)
Now in this position. Please try to Relax, although difficult at first. by allowing all of your muscles to relax you will be able to stretch out this muscle more effectively.
As you relax, try to focus your mind on your breathing, allow your abdomen to expand and try to imagine breathing into your tummy to stretch out this deep muscle.

Try to hold the stretch for 5 - 10 minutes and then repeat on the other side.
 

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