The Power in Psoas Release, by Logan Medrano

LMT, Logan Medrano Talks about the Power of Psoas Release

Name: Bodyworks DW Advanced Massage Therapy
Rating: 5

Most common pain issue you see with your clients?

Definitely, lower back pain. It's one of the reasons I started wanting more training on psoas release techniques!

How do you work to correct this issue?

First, I do an assessment to figure out where the lower back pain is stemming from. Is there a tilt in the pelvis? Maybe a rotation forward or backward? An elevation between the left or right side?
Then I work with the hip flexors - release of the psoas and quads, adductors, abductors, hamstrings and QL (quadratus lumborum).
I often give a passive psoas stretch as a "homework" assignment where the client lays flat on their back with both of their legs elevated up on a chair or a couch. It's just a really easy, relaxing stretch that also provides a good psoas release for an often neglected muscle.

What makes psoas release one of your favorite areas to work on?

The psoas is a very large deep-seated core muscle. It connects the all of the lumbar vertebrae to the femur (your thigh bone)! It's a muscle that's often contracted especially for people who work a desk job. I like that when it's released most people feel a HUGE difference right away.

Psoas release is great for lower back pain but it's also great for neck pain. The pelvis and the neck also have a strong correlation with each other. And I've had psoas work release neck and jaw tension too!

What inspired you to start a career in massage therapy?

Back in 2006 my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer. She was receiving really incredible care at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and they had a licensed massage therapist on staff that would come around and give bedside oncology massages. I asked the therapist one day if she could teach me a few techniques to help ease my mom's post-chemo pain and she did.

I went on to study music and audio production at first but kept with me a fond appreciation for massage. Then several years ago I had an injury that required surgery and afterward I started to get regular massages to help with my recovery.

I was amazed at the results.

I always believed in the validity of massage therapy but it was in my own recovery that I realized I wanted to give back to other people and help them be pain-free in their own bodies.

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