Owww, my tight psoas.

I have this nagging lower back pain that is confined to my right side.  When I run it comes and goes, and can extend from just above my hip, through my butt, down into my hamstring.  The name of my injury/ailment/disease is ________.

Since WebMD has virtually rendered doctors obsolete, I have diagnosed myself, via the Thomas test methodology, with a tight psoas.  What the hell is that, word, which if I knew how to pronounce, I would repeat, you ask?

It's pronounced SO-us, and it is a muscle that runs from your lower spine to your femur, located inside of your pelvis.  One of its major functions is to lift the knee when running, so it can get used heavily.  Side note: quite the sacrum on Mr. Body Worlds in the picture.

So now that I have a pain in a muscle that I didn't even know I had, what to do about it?
1.  Eat more fiber.  Again, in this world without doctors, that just seems like sound advice.
2.  Stretch.  Do the Thomas stretch, named for Thomas Jefferson, who had notoriously tight psoai (yes, both of them were tight). 
3.  More stretching.  The kneeling lunge. 
4.  Warrior I yoga pose. 

And if you want to go beyond just the psoas and stretch the pelvic bowl, Dwight Schrute demonstrates the appropriate form.

 

 

Green leafy vegetables, stretching, and the internet.  See, doctors are worthless.