Hips
Psoas stretch: the hip flexor that also steadies your spine
The psoas is the only muscle joining your spine to your leg, which is why the front of the hip and the lower back so often turn out to be the same conversation.
Clinically reviewed by Lee Albert, NMT · 8 August 2026
Where it is and what it does
The psoas major runs from the sides of the lower spine, crosses the front of the pelvis, and attaches to the inside of the thigh bone. It is the only muscle that connects the spine directly to the leg, and that geography explains most of its reputation. Pull on it and the lower back is at the other end.
Its classic job is lifting the thigh toward the chest. Its less advertised job is holding the lumbar spine steady, and the architecture backs that up: the muscle's fibre lengths and passive properties resemble the lumbar erector spinae more than they resemble a simple limb flexor. Calling it a hip flexor is half right, and the missing half is why just stretch it is not a complete answer.
Sitting, and what it actually does to the hip
Sitting holds the hip in flexion for hours, which is to say it holds the psoas short and still. What follows is usually not dramatic. It is a hip that objects to the first few steps after a long drive, a stride that shortens without anyone noticing, and a lower back that arches a little more to make up for a hip that will not extend.
That last part is the one to watch while stretching. If the hip will not open, the lower back will supply the range instead, and the stretch you feel across the front is being paid for by the spine. Every version below manages that with the same tools: a shorter step, an upright torso, and something under the hands.
Nobody can put a finger on it
The psoas sits behind the abdominal contents, and it is not something you can press on from the outside in any meaningful way. Talk about releasing it, unlocking it or massaging it out is well-meant and anatomically optimistic. What is available is the same thing available for any other muscle: putting the hip into extension gently and repeatedly, and giving the muscles that oppose it something to do.
That second half matters more than the stretching. A hip that is short at the front is usually a hip that is not being extended, and hip extension is a strength job, which is why the sequence below ends with one.
The sequence
- 1
Low lunge, hands on a chair · 30 to 60 seconds each side
The most accessible version in the family. The chair keeps the torso upright, which is the single adjustment that stops the lower back arching to supply range the hip will not.
- 2
Low lunge, small range · 30 to 60 seconds each side
A gentle rock forward and back rather than a held position. Graded exposure to hip extension, which suits a front-of-hip that has been reacting to the long-held version.
- 3
Low lunge, short stance · 30 to 60 seconds each side
A shorter step means less hip extension and less pull on the lower back. This is the step up from supported, and for many people it is the version to stay with.
- 4
Low lunge · 30 to 60 seconds each side
The full position, with a blanket under the back knee. Reach for it when the shorter stance no longer registers, and keep the pelvis heavy rather than chasing depth.
- 5
Glute bridge · 30 to 60 seconds, or slow repetitions with a short hold
The other half of the job. A hip that is short at the front is usually a hip that is not being extended under load, and this is hip extension trained rather than stretched.
Around ten minutes, and it is deliberately short. Take the first version that gives you a clear sensation across the front of the hip and stop there; the deeper ones are progressions, not targets. Padding under the back knee is standard rather than a concession. If the stretch is felt as a pinch at the front of the standing hip, or in the lower back rather than the front of the trailing thigh, shorten the stance.
What the research says
There is no clinical guideline for psoas stretching specifically, and it is worth saying that outright rather than dressing up a guess. What can be sourced is the anatomy and the general dose.
On the anatomy, a study of psoas muscle architecture, in vivo sarcomere length range and passive tensile properties found that the muscle's average fibre length and passive biomechanical properties resemble those of the lumbar erector spinae, and concluded that this supports a role as both a flexor of the hip and a dynamic stabiliser of the lumbar spine. That is the technical version of a practical point: this muscle has a job holding your back steady, so treating it as a knot to be undone misreads it.
On dose, the American College of Sports Medicine position stand recommends flexibility exercises for each of the major muscle and tendon groups, totalling around sixty seconds per exercise, on two or more days a week. And on what stretching changes, the 2025 meta-analysis of stretching mechanisms found no significant effect on fascicle length after either single sessions or courses of static stretching; the range of motion gains tracked reduced stiffness and increased tolerance to passive tension instead. Alongside that, the WHO's 2020 guidance asks adults for muscle-strengthening activity across all major muscle groups on two or more days a week, which is the sourced reason a hip that will not extend deserves strengthening work and not only stretching.
Sources
- 1Regev et al., psoas muscle architectural design, in vivo sarcomere length range and passive tensile properties support its role as a lumbar spine stabilizer (Spine, 2011)
Psoas major's average fibre length and passive biomechanical properties resemble those of the lumbar erector spinae, supporting a role as both a hip flexor and a dynamic stabiliser of the lumbar spine.
- 2American College of Sports Medicine position stand, quantity and quality of exercise for apparently healthy adults (Garber et al., Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2011)
Adults should do a series of flexibility exercises for each of the major muscle and tendon groups, totalling 60 seconds per exercise, on two or more days a week.
- 3Mechanisms underlying range of motion improvements following acute and chronic static stretching, systematic review with meta-analysis (Sports Medicine, 2025)
Neither acute nor chronic static stretching significantly changed fascicle length; range of motion gains were associated with reduced overall stiffness and increased tolerance to passive tension.
- 4WHO 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour
Adults should do muscle-strengthening activities at moderate or greater intensity involving all major muscle groups on two or more days a week.
Common questions
Can you actually stretch the psoas on its own?
Not in isolation. It shares a tendon with the iliacus and works alongside several other hip flexors, so a lunge lengthens the group rather than one muscle. That is fine. The positions above are the practical way to put the hip into extension, whatever you call the muscle at the end of it.
Can I release the psoas by pressing on my stomach?
No, and it is worth being clear about it. The muscle lies deep behind the abdominal contents, and there is no reliable way to reach it from the surface. What does move a short hip is repeated gentle extension and strengthening the muscles that produce it.
Does a tight psoas cause lower back pain?
It is one of several things that can contribute, and it is not a diagnosis. Because the muscle attaches to the lumbar spine and also stabilises it, a hip that will not extend often leaves the lower back supplying the range instead. If back pain is the main issue, treat it as its own subject rather than as a psoas problem, and see a clinician if it is persistent, severe, or travelling into the leg.
How long and how often?
The American College of Sports Medicine flexibility guidance is about sixty seconds in total per muscle group, on two or more days a week, which the doses above sit inside. Sitting jobs make daily short doses more useful than occasional long ones.
My back arches when I lunge. What am I doing wrong?
Usually nothing but the step length. When the hip has run out of extension, the pelvis tips and the lower back takes over. Shorten the stance, put your hands on a chair so the torso stays upright, and let the sensation be smaller. A smaller stretch in the right place beats a bigger one in the wrong one.
Should I stretch it or strengthen it?
Both, and the strengthening is the part people skip. Stretching changes stiffness and how much tension you tolerate; it does not make muscle fibres structurally longer. What keeps a hip extending is being asked to extend under load, which is why the glute bridge closes this sequence.
This page is general movement information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. Keep the sensation to a stretch across the front of the hip and thigh; a pinch at the front of the hip joint, pain in the lower back, or symptoms travelling down the front of the thigh are reasons to shorten the stance or stop. Get clearance first if you have had hip or back surgery, a recent injury, or cannot kneel comfortably.
Also called psoas stretch, psoas stretches, hip flexor stretch, how to stretch your psoas, tight psoas, iliopsoas stretch. Movements are drawn from the clinically authored Vinys library. This page is general movement information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. How the method works.