There are two types of trigger points that physical therapists treat: active and passive trigger points. Passive trigger points simply hurt at their exact location. If you have a painful muscle knot in your hamstring and someone presses on it, the pain will be felt right where the pressure is on the knot.

Unfortunately, common though the condition may be, the diagnoses and treatment of Myofascial Pain has yet to be included in most medical training.

When most people think of their core, they automatically think abs. While your abs are a key component to the core, your core also includes your low back and hips as well. Your core is your center of gravity, and a strong core allows for stronger functional movement throughout the exercise and everyday life.

Core-strength exercises strengthen your core muscles, including your abdominal muscles, back muscles and the muscles around the pelvis. Strong core muscles make it easier to do many physical activities. You can do core-strength exercises on a carpeted floor or mat.

Your core is made up of many muscles, including your rectus abdominis (what you think of when you think “abs”), transverse abdominis (the deepest internal core muscle that wraps around your sides and spine), erector spinae (a set of muscles in your lower back), and the internal and external obliques (the muscles on the sides of your abdomen).

The Police’s 1983 classic “Every Breath You Take” is not about your core muscles. It’s about a creepy, creepy guy who can’t let a relationship go. But it could be, because every breath you take, every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take (“take” again, lazy from Sting), involves using your core muscles.

Your physical therapist, chiropractor, or yoga teacher might have told you that you have a tight psoas muscle, and they may have taught you stretching exercises to release it. While they’re probably right—having a tight psoas is a very common problem—static stretching has little to no lasting effect on the level of tension in the psoas muscle.

Everyone’s always talking about CORE fitness and there is no muscle more core than the Psoas muscle (pronounced so-as). If we think of how our bodies have been designed since our primitive days, we are designed to walk, run, jump and squat … we are NOT designed to sit for long periods of time … fast forward 500 years and most of us spend a large part of the day in a seated position … whether sat at a desk, behind the wheel of a car or in front of the television?

How to Stretch Your Abs and Why It Matters Benefits When to stretch abs Examples of stretches Safety Takeaway A strong core is an essential component of overall fitness, athletic performance, and daily life.