Hello friends of Ocean Therapy. Welcome to our April newsletter. It’s official we are now in spring , as I write this at the end of March the sun is warm and the daffodils and tulips have all made a welcome appearance. With the lighter mornings and evenings, it has opened up some more time for getting out to exercise, I have certainly enjoyed returning to my coastal walks before work and the school run and many of you are preparing for the running events to be held this year, including the London marathon. The spring energy has certainly got your out of the door, some of our patients ran the Weymouth Half marathon on March 16th congrats to you all it was a cold early start for you all however the sun shone and a party atmosphere greeted you all at the end celebrating your many Personal best’s. In particular may we congratulate My two sisters who ran Wendy Judge who drove down from her new home in Sheffield to participate, Melanie Holloway who ran with a football injury (we managed to treat and tape her together) and still did a fantastic time, Josh Clinch, Josie Wait and Jenna Lorraine who are both training hard for London. Another mention must go to Matt Bacon who competed in the Bath half on the same day and again ran with a Pb, congrats to you all.  As I write this I Wendy has just informed me that she has just completed a cheeky half marathon up in Sheffield !! That’s a marathon in the bag over the last week …just amazing I am very proud of my sisters !!

Briefly back to my sister Melanie and her football …. Ocean Therapy is very proud to sponsor her through her Football club the Ridgeway Ladies Football team, a fabulous hard working all girl team team that meet up to train on Tuesdays and play weekly matches home and away representing a group of talented committed women who love to play, go girls!! (please see image) If anyone is keen to sponsor the team just get in touch with myself and I can pass on any details for you ( any sponsor gift is very appreciated)

Onto other news we have had a sports science student in this last week for work experience from Weymouth college, so thank you to all the patients who kindly gave their consent to be observed, she reported really enjoying meeting you all and found her time with us very valuable.  

The clinic is now into full swing and I have returned to my full working schedule following my hip replacement…. many of you have commented on how well I am walking and moving in general. (Thank you for all your kind words)As I write this I am 4 months post surgery and I have to say there has been a huge amount of work behind the scenes to get to this point where I have been able to enjoy pain free function. I have continued to adhere to my post -surgical rehabilitation and are now completing this back in the gym (see image) a couple of times a week, plus Pilates at home, it’s also been great to see friends at the pool on a weekly basis for my lane session. Again, I cannot advise enough the importance of your pre and rehab strengthening exercises they are totally necessary!!

Psoas muscle

In this month’s spring newsletter, we are going to take a look at the Psoas muscle, a muscle that we believe here at Ocean therapy is a very overlooked muscle. It is a key influential muscle to helping reduce many issues seen in the clinic especially low back pain. It is often referred to as the gateway between the spine and our legs. It is shortened daily with our poor working positions i.e sat at a desk for prolonged periods, driving, slouching on a couch in the evenings and even side sleepers will suffer…. We will work on this muscle when treating many of you, it may seem strange as I explain that we will work within the abdominal area to commence a treatment however let’s take a look at why……so let’s look at this muscle in more detail….

The psoas muscle is a significant multi joint muscle in the human body, playing a crucial role in movement and stability.  It is the muscle that is responsible for allowing us to stand upright on two legs (bipedal). The psoas muscle originates along the lumbar vertebra -1-5 and the 12th thoracic vertebrae. (see image) this is the lower part of the spine and extends down through the pelvis to the top of the femur (the thigh bone). It joins with the Iliacus muscle (that’s another muscle in the pelvis) to form the Iliopsoas complex. It’s much like the tenderloin part of an animal.

It has many key functions including allowing for primary hip flexion which means that you can bring you thigh towards your torso and is essential for activities like walking, running and climbing the stairs.

It also plays a huge role in stabilising the lumbar spine, reinforcing the corset around your pelvis to contribute towards a good posture and balance, it provides support for the Sacro iliac joint (SI) Joint preventing it from being too loose (which can be a source of back pain for many) hence why it is so often treated in the clinic, it also allows for hip rotation.

It is the only muscle to join the legs to the spine and works with the diaphragm like a hydraulic pump, particularly as we walk to massage viscera and stimulate the flow of fluids throughout the body, helping us to keep hydrated, it will also change our breathing patterns in response to stress.

Our Iliopsoas complex as you can see is therefore a highly responsible muscle group that is often overused, be it through stress, trauma injury or by our poor habitual or sedentary habits it often becoming short, tight and weakened. It often needs more relaxation not strength hence why we reduce the tension during treatments and encourage a lengthening so that this muscle can support you the best why it can during your busy day to day life.

This tightening of the muscle can be felt and experienced in different parts of the body, you see as it shortens it flexes (bends) the lumbar portion of our spine and pelvis forward giving rise to what we refer to as an anterior tilt, which may rise to low back pain. However, in other individuals who may run or cycle a lot they may feel the tension in the front of their thighs as the lower end of the muscle which attaches here pulls on the leg. A short psoas muscle will also affect your breathing and capacity for your lungs to expand. It has been proven in cadaver models that the fascia (the all-encompassing soft tissue network that envelops all our organs and soft tissue) shares the same fascia as that of the diaphragm hence why it is so integral to optimal inhalation and exhalation. This also means that when we have reduced mobility in our diaphragm, we will also see reduced digestive flow, any contraction in the psoas can stimulate the constriction of the organs including the intestines, the stomach, pancreas and kidney, liver spleen and the uterus. lumbar pain, pelvic issues and digestive disorders all go hand in hand, especially when the sacrum is out of place due to unevenness in the pelvis. The psoas is also sometimes termed as the ‘emotional muscle’ , as we stand on two legs it displays our vulnerability it initiates the way we ‘go forward’  in a response to stress we may slump forward, bringing us into the safety of the foetal position, it is also said to be an organ of perception intricately wrapped up in our sixth sense and comes together at our ‘Solar Plexus’, a complex network of nerves located in the abdomen, being part of the autonomic Nervous system controlling involuntary bodily functions. In traditions like yoga and Ayureda, the solar plexus is also recognised as the third chakra.

‘The posts bridges the belly, enteric brain, central, and autonomic nervous systems. The large nerve ganglion located within the belly core going to the digestive and reproductive organs passes over, embeds into, and through the posts. Serving as messenger of the core our posts translates and transmits all expressions of safety, harmony, and integrity; signalling whether or not we are entered and congruent or encumbered and vulnerable. (Koch 2011)

Well as you can see the Iliopsoas complex is a truly complex and vital muscle hence why here at the clinic it will be one of our first ‘go to’ muscles for intervention. I hope you have found this information interesting and informative, to be honest there is so much to write and I could have gone into far more detail however I think this has given you an insight into why we treat this muscle. Please see the attached videos and images that we have included in this newsletter which we may refer to should you need to stretch this muscle at home.