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November 28, 2007

My Mother's Psoas

I was home to visit my family for Thanksgiving this past week. My Mom was having some low back pain that would "catch" whenever she tried to roll over and get out of bed. I began to work on her and the muscles in her hips were so painful that I could hardly get into the muscles to get them worked out.

It turns out that she was exhibiting sacroiliac joint pain, something that I'm familiar working with. I pulled all of my tricks out of the bag to treat the problem. I would try a technique and then assess her pain. Each time, her discomfort improved, but it never fully went away. Finally, I decided to work on her psoas muscle using neuromuscular facilitation. Her psoas on the affected side was so weak she could hardly resist me. She even admitted that to just pick up her leg toward the ceiling was an effort. My mother has never been a gym bunny, but she does need to exercise more than she does. Even at 74, exercise can benefit the human body, so long as it's not overdone. Her homework: I suggested she start walking daily, working her way up to a half hour even if she has to break it into two or three walks per day.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Posted by linda at November 28, 2007 8:41 AM