ThePsoas Solution
The practitioners guide to rehabilitation, corrective exercise, and training for improved function
Evan Osar
Chichester, England
North Atlantic Books
Berkeley, California
Copyright 2017 by Evan Osar. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the written permission of the publisher. For information, contact Lotus Publishing or North Atlantic Books.
First published in 2017 by
Lotus Publishing
Apple Tree Cottage, Inlands Road, Nutbourne, Chichester, PO18 8RJ and
North Atlantic Books
Berkeley, California
All Drawings Amanda Williams, Matt Lambert
Photographs on pages supplied courtesy of shutterstock. All other photographs supplied by the author unless otherwise indicated.
Cover Design by Medlar Publishing Solutions Pvt Ltd, India
The Psoas Solution: The Practitioners Guide to Rehabilitation, Corrective Exercise, and Training for Improved Function is sponsored and published by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences (dba North Atlantic Books), an educational nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, that collaborates with partners to develop cross-cultural perspectives, nurture holistic views of art, science, the humanities, and healing, and seed personal and global transformation by publishing work on the relationship of body, spirit, and nature.
North Atlantic Books publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our website at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 905367 78 8 (Lotus Publishing)
ISBN 978 1 62317 135 3 (North Atlantic Books)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Osar, Evan, 1969 author.
Title: The psoas solution : the practitioners guide to rehabilitation, corrective exercise, and training for improved function / Evan Osar.
Description: Berkeley, California : North Atlantic Books, 2017. | Includes .
Identifiers: LCCN 2017005060 (print) | LCCN 2017005665 (ebook) | ISBN 9781623171353 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781623171353 (ebook)
Subjects: | MESH: Physical Therapy Modalities | Psoas Muscles
Classification: LCC QP301 (print) | LCC QP301 (ebook) | NLM WB 460 | DDC 612/.04c23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017005060
Contents
This book is dedicated to all the wonderful individuals who have provided me with the opportunity to experiment, discover, and most importantly learn. Thank you for entrusting me with your health.
I would like to thank:
My publisher Jonyou are a joy to work with and I am blessed to have a professional relationship with you. Thank you for providing me with the opportunities, as well as the creative freedom, to write and convey my message.
GretchenI dont think it was your intention to become my coach after constructively critiquing my first book; this came to be, however, through the process of helping me organize my many scattered thoughts and ideas and articulate them in a way that hopefully helps to educate and empower others. Thank you, Gretchen, for all your guidance, the gentle (and at times not so gentle) encouragement, and the unyielding support over the past few years. My writing and teaching are forever changed because of our work together.
My incredibly loving and supportive wife Jeniceyou give me the support, you provide me with a foundation, and every day you challenge me to be the best that I can be. I am blessed every single day of my life because you are a part of it.
I believe humility is essential to continued learning and growing. If one regards oneself as smarter or more knowledgeable than everyone else, one will lack the incentive to seek out and learn from the smartest people in ones chosen field. I want to recognize and thank a few of the many brilliant individuals I have had the honor of studying with and learning from over the years. These individuals are some of the true geniuses in the industry, and in learning from them, I am constantly reminded of the famous quote from Sir Isaac Newton: If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. Although by no means exhaustive, my list of such individuals includes: Dr. Linda-Joy Lee, Diane Lee, Shirley Sahrmann, Karel Lewit, Vladimir Janda, Pavel Kolar, and the Prague School instructors, Dr. Paul Hodges, Gwendolyn Jull, Carol Richardson, Julie Hides, and Sean Gibbons. Having the opportunity to learn from these individuals keeps me humble. Their contributions can be seen throughout the book.
Evan Osar
If you purchased or were given The Psoas Solution as a gift, you likely fall into one of two categories:
1. You are a chiropractic physician, medical doctor, physical therapist, fitness professional, or manual therapist who works with individuals experiencing low back, pelvis, and/or hip issues that you suspect are related to their psoas.
I hope this resource increases your current base of knowledge and, more importantly, provides you with some practical information that can assist you in working with your clients or patients who are experiencing chronic postural and movement syndromes related to their psoas as well as with those individuals who want to continue functioning at a high level.
2. You are someone experiencing chronic low back or pelvic or hip problems and have been told by your chiropractic physician, medical doctor, physical therapist, fitness professional, or massage therapist that your psoas is the cause of your issue.
I hope you find this book helpful. However, while I utilize with my own patients all the techniques and strategies it presents, unfortunately I cannot guarantee that the solution to your unique issue lies within the covers of this book. Your health care practitioner can determine whether or not the information it contains is applicable to your situation. If it is, and if you are diligent and patient in the process and use the information that is appropriate to your unique situation, I hope this resource can assist you in developing more optimal posture and movement habits.
About The Psoas Solution
This book represents a compilation of the information currently available on the psoas, blended with clinical evidence and integrated with practical applications of the concepts. It is not intended to provide quick-fix solutions to your own or your clients/patients postural or movement dysfunctions, or to chronic low back, pelvis, and/or spine issues. As with life itself, the development of a more optimal posture or movement strategy, or the improvement of ones chronic issues, is a journey rather than a destination. The solution lies in the journey, in the self-discovery of ones habits, and in the identification of more effective strategies for expressing optimal posture and movement. While this journey often ends in a successful outcome, it does not always result in the achievement of ones health and fitness goals, or in a complete resolution of ones tightness, pain, or dysfunction.