The Iliacus: "A Magical Muscle"

Do you have one leg that appears longer than the other? Do you ever experience a deep and dull pain in the butt?

Then check your iliacus muscle! :)

Here are two reasons why this muscle is important:

1) The iliacus helps keep the head of the femur in the hip socket. If it is weak then the head of the femur can "sag in the socket" causing the lower part of the thigh bone to protrude at the knee.

2) The head of the femur is also the attachment site of the deep hip rotators -the most popular being the piriformis muscle. Piriformis pain (often experienced as a deep pain in the butt) can occur when the muscle is pulled tight*. Since the piriformis connects the tailbone to the thigh bone, then "sagging" of the femur can cause too much tension resulting in pain in the back pocket area.

*Important Note: a muscle can feel tight when it is short, which would benefit from traditional stretching and massaging. However, a muscle can also feel tight when it is too long -like a rubber band being pulled from both ends- and often will result in trigger points that can radiate pain as shown. In this case, stretching the piriformis could cause more harm than good! The fix begins by addressing the alignment of the attachments which requires finding the weak link (usually a lazy muscle that needs to be stimulated with strength training, not stretching)! In this example, strengthening the iliacus will help neutralize the tension off the piriformis ...the site of pain (piriformis) is often several layers away from the site of dysfunction (iliacus).

Here's a corrective exercise that I learned through a course with the Postural Restoration Institute.

Illiacus Pullback:

Begin with your knees bent and ankles lined up together.

Now find the bony part of your pelvis (ASIS). Sink your thumb into the muscles above (iliacus and deep abs), and place the other fingers along the front pocket area beneath (TFL muscle).

Next, pull the "longer" knee towards the hip until both knees are at least level (the picture below shows the end of the exercise). Focus on isolating the iliacus to draw the thigh bone into the hip socket. You should feel muscle tone increase under your thumb. Try not to grip at the hip using the TFL (keep the front pocket region “soft” under your fingers), or the glutes/hamstrings (don't tighten the tush). Also keep the trunk steady and tall (avoid hiking the hip towards the head).

Cool case studies: When I started educating my physical therapy patients about this exercise, I saw big changes in the function of other muscles too! Just this past week, I was working with a female athlete in her thirties who was having knee pain, as well as an elderly man who recently had a hip replacement. Both reported that one leg felt a lot "heavier" than the other when performing a side-lying leg lift to strengthen the groin (adductor) muscles. I switched their routines to check the iliacus exercise. After a couple corrective cues, we repeated the adductor leg raises -but this time the leg "just levitated"! I was even accused of witchcraft (hence the title of this post)! I assured them I am only invested in studying the details of our Designer. ;) It's truly my passion and pleasure to share these mindful movement strategies because it obviously helps with pain, and can make our function so much easier! Move well, feel well! XO

Click here for additional corrective core/hip exercises from Core Exercise Solutions. If you're a PT, chiropractor, or trainer who wants a comprehensive continuing ed course then learn more here!

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