Malabsorption and Osteoporosis

What is osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a disease that thins and weakens bones to the point where they may break easily. This disease most often causes fractures of the bones of the hip, spine, and wrist.

Malabsorption is a universal problem in IC patients. Our digestive systems are not in a fit state to digest or absorb food well. As a result we develop multiple nutritional deficiencies. The brain and immune system cannot function properly without adequate nutrition. As a result of nutritional deficiencies, these patients are at risk of develop osteoporosis.

When  eating a nutrient dense diet, patients bones start getting heavier, the bone structure being rebuilding.

In Health and Happiness

Gloria P.

Nature's Secrets, Improve Your Health on the next NaturalNews Talk Hour - NaturalNews.tv

Nature's Secrets, Improve Your Health on the next NaturalNews Talk Hour - NaturalNews.tv

Video Information

Many health experts agree that connecting with nature is a great way to reduce stress, increase creativity and improve our health. In fact, Albert Einstein once said, "Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better". On the next Natural News Talk Hour, our guest Elaine Wilkes will reveal how to develop a more profound mind-body-soul connection with the environment. We'll look at food in new (actually, ancient) ways and learn about easy green solution to save money and help the planet. This program is designed to empower you to tune in to Nature's wisdom in order to develop a healthier mind, body, soul, and planet.

Digestion Part 2

Hello Students/Friends,

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday! I don't know about you all but as much as I love the smell of my the fresh pine tree, the lights and the festivities I am sure am glad the holiday are over once again for another year. It is good to back to class and my hope is that you are all digestion this educational food.

The Anatomy and Physiology of Digestion

The digestive process begins with the senses. When we see and smell food, especially when we are hungry, our mouths begin to "water." Saliva is secreted into the mouth from salivary glands located in the cheeks and jaw. Saliva contains the first enzymes that will act upon our food.

The first step of digestion is mastication, the chewing process. The food particles must be broken down into very tiny pieces and mixed with saliva in order for the enzymes to do their job. Many digestive disturbances could be avoided with proper chewing. In our fast-paced society most people eat too fast and swallow their food without proper mastication. When chewed properly food will be in an almost liquid form when swallowed. Many digestive disturbances of modern society could be avoided with the proper chewing of our food and by eating foods in better combinations.

From the mouth, the food moves to the stomach by way of the esophagus, a muscular tube which passes through a hole in the diaphragm to enter the abdominal area. The muscles in the esophagus squeeze the food downward with a wavelike motion, a process referred to as peristalsis. Because of this muscular action, food can be swallowed in zero gravity, or even when the body is upside down.

Whereas the pH (acidity) in the mouth and esophagus is very basic (high pH), the pH in the stomach is very acidic (low pH). This low or acid pH is the result of the secretion of hydrochloric acid (HCL), and is necessary for the action of the enzymes in the stomach that are responsible for breaking down protein. The stomach is protected from this acid by a mucus lining. The stomach acid is kept out of the esophagus by the action of the cardiac valve, a sphincter muscle which opens when food passes through, but which immediately closes to prevent the contents of the stomach from backing up into the esophagus.

Another sphincter valve, the pyloric sphincter, keeps the food in the stomach until it has been properly churned and mixed. Once the enzymes that require an acid environment have had time to do their job, the pyloric sphincter opens and the food passes into the small intestines where most of the absorption of nutrients takes place.The digestion of proteins, which occurs primarily in the stomach, requires a very acid environment, provided in the stomach by HCL (hydrochloric acid.)

The first portion of the small intestine is the duodenum. Bile, produced in the liver and stored in the gall bladder, is secreted into the duodenun by contractions of the gall bladder. The primary function of the bile is the emulsification of fats. Emulsification is the process whereby large globules of fat are broken down into smaller globules and made water soluble. One of the primary ingredients in the bile is cholesterol.

At the same time that bile is secreted by the gall bladder, pancreatic juices are secreted by the pancreas into the duodenum. The bile and pancreatic juices change the pH from acid back to basic. This higher pH is necessary for the action of the pancreatic enzymes, which continue the digestive process by breaking down carbohydrates and fats into tiny particles that can be absorbed in the intestines. The substance secreted by the liver and stored in the gall bladder and released into the small intestines for the emulsification of fats is bile.

From the duodenum, the food passes through the next two parts of the small intestines, the jejunum and the ileum. The process by which food moves through the intestines (peristalsis) is made possible by involuntary wavelike contractions of the smooth muscles in the intestinal wall.

The small intestines is where the majority of absorption takes place. The nutrients are absorbed into tiny lymph vessels called lacteals, and are passed to a larger vein, the portal vein, to the liver. The liver breaks down any toxins that may be present and prepares the nutrients for release into the bloodstream. The bloodstream carries the nutrients to every cell in the body, where they are used for energy and for tissue building and repair.

From the small intestines, the remaining material, which by now is mostly nondigestable fiber, water and waste, is passed through yet another sphincter valve, the ileocecal valve, to the large intestine or colon. In the colon, any remaining water and electrolytes are absorbed, and the waste material is retained until it is time for it to be evacuated from the body through the rectum and anus. The sphincter valve located between the small intestines and the large intestines (colon) is known as the ileocecal valve.

The Digestive Enzymes

Enzymes are proteins which make possible or facilitate a chemical reaction under a given environmental condition. Digestive enzymes are enzymes which help break down food substances into forms that can be absorbed and assimilated by the body.

Digestive enzymes are very important. Unfortunately, due to our Standard American Diet and medications both prescription and over- the- counter, the body's secretion of enzymes begins to gradually decline significant enough to adversely effect the digestion and assimilation of food. This is one reason why digestive disturbances are common who are dealing with syndrome/disease, and why we often have difficulty getting the nutrients we need—a contributing factor to many health problems including osteoporosis, which is caused primarily by insufficient assimilation of proteins, calcium and other minerals. We can all benefit by eat raw organic whole fruits and vegetable which have all their enzymes in tack. Trying to do this with supplementation only helps us to avoid eating a health meals.

IC patients commonly suffer from insufficient digestive enzymes as well. Tons of antacids are purchased each year by individuals who are suffering more from a deficiency of enzymes (and from improper chewing of their food) than from excess stomach acid. Most of these individuals would be much better served by eating a healthy diet and learning how to combine their foods properly.

Digestive enzymes are normally secreted 1) in the mouth (as part of the saliva), 2) by the stomach, and 3) released into the small intestines from the liver and pancreas. The major enzymes are:

• Amylase, also called ptyalin, is an enzyme that aids the breakdown of starches.
• Mycozyme is an enzyme that also digests starches.
• Lipase, secreted by the pancreas, refers to any of several enzymes that increase the breakdown of fats (lipids).
• Protease, an enzyme that helps the breakdown of protein, is also secreted by the pancreas. Enzymes that breakdown protein are known as a proteolytic enzymes.
• Pepsin is an enzyme released in the stomach that also helps with the breakdown of protein.
• Bile, also called gall, is a bitter, yellow-green secretion of the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and released during digestion when fats enter the first part of the small intestine (duodenum). Bile emulsifies fats preparing them for further digestion and absorption in the small intestine.
• Cellulase is an enzyme that breaks down cellulose, the carbohydrate that is the main part of the cell walls of plants. Cellulose is nondigestible by humans because we to not produce the enzyme cellulase. Cellulase is produced by grazing animals such as cows (with the aid of the beneficial bacteria that reside in the animal's digestive tract), and is the reason why they can get nutrition from plants such as grasses. The human body does not produce cellulase.
• Lipase is the enzyme that helps break down fats.
  

Quiz

1. True of False:

Many digestive disturbances of modern society could be avoided with the proper chewing of our food.

2. True of False:

The digestion of proteins, which occurs primarily in the stomach, requires a very acid environment, provided in the stomach by HCL (hydrochloric acid.)

3. The substance secreted by the liver and stored in the gall bladder and released into the small intestines for the emulsification of fats is:
A. Protease
B. Bile
C. Lipase
D. HCL


4. The sphincter valve located between the small intestines and the large intestines (colon) is known as the:
A. Cardiac Valve
B. Pyloric Valve
C. ileocecal Valve
D. Rectum


5. Which of the following enzymes help break down fats (lipids)?
A. Cellulase
B. Amylase
C. Protease
D. Lipase

In our next class we will discuss the importance of eating foods that digest quickly and exit the body quickly. When we begin to understand the importance of having a healthy digestive tract we understand why we need to eat a certain way and why the list food to avoid or pamphlet about foods you might want to avoid, that you were given by your Urologist isn't making a bit of difference in your pain.

Have A Great Weekend Everyone! Keep Warm And Take Care of U!

Gloria Prater, Whole Health Educator and IC Patient







Answer Key:

1. True
2. True
3. B.
4. C.
5. D.

IC Patients - The Best Fit It is Important For Your Feet

Asics and Saucony are the two brand of walking sneakers, (in-comparison to others we have tried), which have provided us with support, stability and comfort. Both of these retailers offer sneaker that provide fantastic flexibility and stability. And, can be tailored to fit your foot type by simply going to their website and putting in your personal specifications.

It is important to find out which kind of shoe you need. And to do that, you’ll need to know what kind of feet you have. Two pieces of information are necessary to find the perfect pair for you.

You’ll need to know what kind of arch your fee have (normal, flat or high) and what level of pronation you have (normal, under or over). With this information, you can select a shoe that will provide maximum comfort and minimize or eliminate injury. Posture is always an issue for individuals dealing with chronic pelvic pain issues so it is important not to make matter worse by wearing the wrong shoes.

Here are some easy tests to help determine the best walking shoes for your feet:

To Determine your arch type all you’ll need is a piece of colored paper, a brown paper bag or cardboard. Get one foot wet and stand on the paper. Take a look at the imprint your foot leaves.


Normal – Your imprint will show most of your foot and you’ll notice a large band on the outside of your foot imprint, connecting the ball of your foot to your heel.


If you have a normal size arch and the most common foot type. Also known as a normal pronator, which means your foot, collapses inward slightly to help absorb shock. In most cases a person with normal or neutral feet can wear most any shoe but not in the case of an IC patient. You should wear a shoe that provides your arch with stability.

Flat – If you can see nearly the entire imprint of your foot, it means you a low arch, or flat feet. This is common for those weighing over 165 pounds. Also known as an overpronator, your feet roll excessively inward when they land, which can cause pain in your knees and shins.

A person with flat needs both stability and support.

High Arched Feet – If your imprint shows a thin band on the outside of your foot connecting your ball to your heel, you have high arches, the least common foot type.

Most likely, you’re an underpronator or supinator, meaning your feet tend to roll outward as they land and you can develop problems with your knees if you don't wear the right shoes to help with this issue. And, you should wear a shoe that provides stability, support and flexibility.

When looking for your perfect pair, look for the following qualities.

Flexibility. Look for a flexible forefoot that bends at the ball of the foot.

Try to bend the shoe at the ball of the foot. To test the flexion stability, apply pressure to both ends of the shoe with the palms of your hands. It should bend around the ball of the shoe, but not at the arch.

Heel Cushion. A walker’s heel strikes the ground the hardest (runner’s strike the middle of the foot hardest), which requires good cushioning and support of the natural heel-to-toe roll. Give the heel a good press. It should have some “give”, but shouldn’t bend in all the way under the pressure of your fingers.

Toe Box. A roomy toe box is essential so the toes can spread during the pushoff (using your toes to push off to the next step).

Upper Materials. Breathable materials such as mesh or leather are best as they will allow air to flow to your feet. Width. Shoes that are too narrow or wide can cause blisters and calluses. Ouch!

When trying on the shoe, place your fingers around the widest part of your foot. Is there a lot of extra material there? That means the shoe is too wide. Is it uncomfortable and tight in that area? That means it’s too tight.

Examples:

· Tom has a flat foot, wide and his foot rolls inward and flattens (pronates) and creates lower back, hip, pelvic and knee pain.

• · The two pairs of walking sneakers that are best for his foot type are the Men’s Grid Omni Walker and Asics Men’s Gel-4-to-8 Walking Shoe.

· Gloria has a high arch supinator, medium width, and I deal with Achilles tendonitis, and plantar fasciitis.

• · The two pair of best walking sneakers for her foot type is the Women’s Grid Launch and GEL-Fitwalk Lyte.

Note: The latest shoe crazy are “Shape Up’s” which I do not recommend. Individuals with pelvic pain issue have issues with posture, so if you wear a pair of shoes that try to pull you back into alignment and use muscles that are tight and full of tension you’re going to end up in a flare or making a one episode worse. Have you ever walked in sand? Yeah you probably have I would imagine. When you walk in the sand you need to make adjustments in your posture in order to compensate. As a result you use muscles you normally don’t use and again in the case of an IC Patient these muscles are usually tight, and full of tension.

Starting a daily walking routine (with the right walking shoes) and stretching afterward with the New Dawns Pilates DVD have made a huge difference in my recovery from chronic pelvic and bladder pain.

(Stretching should always be done after muscles have been warmed up via walking.)

If your already doing some form of exercise, no matter how little or how much, that's fine. What I wish to accomplish here is get you moving, with the correct footwear and to realize that walking 4 x per week is crucial to your physical and emotionally well-being.

I wish you the very best success and remember walking should be enjoyable not something that you feel pressured into. I began with 10 min walks 3 x per day and as time went on I built it to up to several 45 min walks per week. It boosted my self-esteem, toned my legs and I overtime I have experienced less and less neurogenic pain in the core of my body.

If you would like to join our Fitness/Walking group go to www.icfriends.ning.com or www.IC Anonymous.com

Warmest Wishes

Gloria Prater, Whole Health Educator and Advocate for Patients with IC

Digestive System Part 1

Click on pic and please take a look at the digestive system.

Hello Students/Members:

It is holiday season, a busy time of year and a time of year that we are all tempted to over indulge in foods that we all know are not good for us. The majority of these foods are hard to digest and aggravate our digestive system and core organs. And, for this reason I decided to discuss the digestive system. We should all know how our digestive apparatus operates. Understanding the process also helps us to have a greater understand how we can be negatively affected by the food we eat and how digestion can be a major reason for a flare or an episode lasting for a long long time. Together lets learn about the digestive system and the importance of eating foods that digest quickly and exit the body quickly. Our bodies require nutrients and vitamins from food in order to maintain a balance pH through out the body and balanced hormones. We will continue this discussion next and I will go into which food digest quickly and how to eat foods in the right combination so they don't get stuck and ferment.

Please read the following article and your assignment is to write out the words and definition that are in color in your notebook that your using for this class and too leave a comment with your thoughts in the box below.

Human Digestive System -The Mouth + Saliva

The human digestive system is a complicated and impressive system. Understanding how the digestive system works helps us to eat healthier. Stay healthy by what you eat and keep your digestive system healthy.

When you eat food, the saliva mixes with the food. This is a very important process in preparing the food for the stomach. The salivary juices and enzymes help break down the food beginning the process of changing the food to the parts the body can utilize –such as carbohydrates (disaccharides –maltose, etc), proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, etc.

Breakdown of Nutrients

When you take smaller bites and chew the food well before you swallow it, you help make the job of the stomach a little less difficult. The stomach is an amazing place where acids and enzymes work hard to kill bacteria, start the process of breaking food down into small molecules -nutrients the body can actually process –such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, etc.

The stomach’s digestive juices include saliva, mucous, hydrochloric acid (HCl), enzymes, bicarbonate and bile. What ends up leaving the stomach and heads to the small bowel is chyme –which is semi-digested food.

Human Digestive System -The Small Intestine

The body absorbs the molecules and nutrients that have been broken down, when it goes through the ileum (~5-7 feet long), which is the last section of the small intestine before it links to the large intestine. The villi lining the wall of the ileum help give a large surface for absorption.

Nutrients are absorbed through various ways including active transport, endocytosis, facilitative diffusion and passive diffusion.
For example:

• Fatty acids, fat-soluble substances, monoglycerides and cholesterol are absorbed through simple diffusion.
  
• Amino acids are absorbed through active absorption.
  
• Sugars like fructose are absorbed with the help of carrier protein molecules.
  
• Water and water-soluble substances are absorbed through osmosis. Water soluble nutrients leave the GI tract in the blood and travel through the portal vein to the liver and then to the heart.

The Body's Fuel + Nutrition

The nutrients that come from the food we eat and get broken down are absorbed into our body and then transported by the blood system and the lymph system to all the cells and organs in our body. The cells use these nutrients on the molecular level to give us the energy we need, the ability to heal, the fuel for our cells to do what they are supposed to do: like your heart beating!

When you smell food or think of food, this triggers the hormones and nervous system that coordinates digestion and absorption (like the brains behind it). If you are stressed or sick this can slow the process of digestion down.

The Large Intestine -The Colon

At the end of the digestion process, the waste products leave the small intestines with the help of fiber and enter the colon –the large intestine. The colon reabsorbs water and the friendly bacteria helps process vitamins and nutrients. Any fiber or undigested food that does not get broken down is excreted in the stool. That is how the digestive system works in a nutshell!

You Are What You Eat!

There is so much more than we think about that goes into how food processes in the human digestive system. The better we understand the process of how the digestive system works, the more realize the value of eating healthy and eating a balanced diet: vegetables, fruits, fiber. Nuts and seeds are good for us as well as long as we don't eat them in large amounts.

Man a Digestive Apparatus ( meaning machine or device)

The simplest definition for man is that he is a digestive apparatus. Food is taken into the stomach and bowels, where it is dissolved--brought to the liquid state--and then absorbed into the circulation and distributed throughout the body. From this circulating medium the cells of the various tissues of the body select the food elements required to do their work.

This process is called nutrition. When nutrition is going on normally, the standard of health is normal. Any influence that decreases, increases, or prevents nutrition is disease-producing, or, in better words, lowers the health standard.

The detrimental influences of nutrition may begin in the stomach; yet, farther back, the chewing may be imperfect; and, farther back still, the food may be imperfectly prepared.

The common cause of gastro-intestinal indigestion is enervation (eduction or lack of nervous energy; weakness; lassitude; languor) and overeating.

Nerve energy is required to digest food; nerve energy is required to keep up secretions and excretions; nerve energy is required to prepare enzymes (Organic substances (proteins) composed of amino acids that trigger and regulate chemical reactions in the body) for digesting our food intake and keeping up a normal resistance to environmental influences as well as those that are auto (auto refers to self when we talk in medical terminology)-generated.

When this nerve energy is up to the standard, we are poised--or balanced, as it were, with our environments--and we can eat a maximum amount of food, and take care of it. This being true, it should be obvious to those who care to reason that any influence which uses up nerve energy lowers the digestive powers of the body, and that an amount of food which can be utilized when the nerve energy is up to standard must necessarily be too much when the energy is used up in work, play, or sensual indulgence. (in other words food that are processed, refined sugar, salty fatty, oily, meat, diary, most grains, most supplements, medication - too much of these tax the digestive apparatus)

It should be obvious to any reasoning mind that a full dinner taken into a tired body cannot be digested properly; that a full meal, or any meal at all, eaten by one in great mental anguish over some great trouble, cannot be digested. And, when food is not digested, it becomes a poison. (another reason to learn to set limits and boundaries, to not do everything for your kids or your partner, to learn to say no, to learn to how exactly how you feel, to take care of you, to keep stress levels down, to exercise, to meditate)


When food is taken into the stomach in too great quantities--more than the digestive secretions (enzymes) can dissolve--digestion takes place on the outside of the ingested meal, and continues until the digestive energy is used up. As fast as the food is liquefied, it passes out through the pylorus, where, in the duodenum, it meets with other enzymes and is further fitted for absorption. Absorption is going on as fast as the food is liquefied enough to fit it for absorption, which is in a very short time after leaving the stomach.

Copy these definition down in your notebook.

• Pylorus the passage at the lower end of the stomach that opens into the duodenum which is the beginning portion of the small intestine>

• Small Intestine starting at the lower end of the stomach and extending to the jejunum >

• Jejunum the section of the small intestine between the duodenum and the ileum >

• Ileum the terminal portion of the small intestine extending from the jejunum to the cecum >

• Cecum the large blind pouch forming the beginning of the large intestine >
  

• Large Intestine the portion of the intestine that extends from the ileum to the anus, forming an arch around the convolutions of the small intestine >
  

• Small Intestine the narrow, winding, upper part of the intestine where digestion is completed and nutrients are absorbed by the blood. It extends from the pylorus to the cecum and consists of the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum.

When enzymic fermentation--digestion---ends, bacterial fermentation of the remainder of the food in the stomach begins. One or the other of these fermentative processes must go on, or eating will end; for, unless the food is liquefied, it cannot get out of the stomach and bowels.

Fact - A low fat vegan diet is much easier to digest.
Tip - Elimate one type of food from your diet at a time. I recommend eliminating first meat which is an acidic food and takes hours to digest, using up a lot of our nerve engery.
Fact - Alcohol is the most acidic beverage, Pork is the most acidic meat and Parmesan Cheese is the most acidic cheese.
Tip - If you would like to have a drink on special occasions try a red imported wine. Red wine is less acidic than white and imported wines do not have sulfates (IC Patients have intolerance to sulfates which are in domestic wines.)

Have a great week!
Gloria

Pelvic Floor 101 Class 3 - Pelvic Diaphragm Muscles

Hello Students,

Before we learn about the functions of the pelvic diaphragm muscles, let's identify them by locating them in the figure below.

Identify the following muscles:

1. pelvic diaphragm
2. pubococcygesu
3. puborectalis
4. iliococcygeus
5. coccygeus
6. piriformis
7. ilacs
8. psoas major

Upon learning location and function we begin to understand our pain and why relaxation exercises, stretching, lengthening and strengthening is a must if we want to begin resolving our pain. As different and unique as we all are we are very much alike.

IC patients often focus solely on diet when the FACT is strengthening muscles is just as if not more important than diet. Diet should should consist of foods that are easy to digest and that are fast existing which, we will talk more about in future lessons. If you think that food does not affect your pelvic area think again.

Male Pelvis

Female Pelvis





The pelvic diaphragm is the largest muscle group in the pelvic floor and is responsible for most of the function or dysfunction of this area.


This layer is divided into the coccygeus muscle and the levator ani muscles.



The coccygeus muscle originates at the spine of the ischium, inserts on the anterior portion of the coccyx and S4, and is innervated by the ventral rami of sacral nerves 4 and 5. The coccygeus flexes the coccyx and may help stabilize the sacrum through its scarococygeal attachments.



The levaotor ani muscle is further divided into the ilococygeus and the puboccoccygeus muscles. The iliococcygeus originates from the pubic ramus and arcus tendentious ligament (an extension of the obturatior internus fascia) and inserts on the coccyx.


The puboccoccygeus muscles is divided into the pubovaginalis and puborectalis muscles. The pubovaginalis originates at the posterior aspect of the os pubis and inserts on the perineal body and vaginal walls, forming a sling around the vagina.


The puborectalis originates from the pubic bone and obturatio internus fascias and inserts onto the coccyx and lateral walls of the rectum, similarly forming a sling around the rectum.


The innervation of the levator ani muscles is from the inferior rectal branch of the pudendal nerve of S2 through S4 and ventral rami of S2 through s4. The function of the levator ani muscles is to support the pelvic viscera.


The pelvic diaphragm muscles are approximately 70% slow-twitch muscles fiber (type1) and 30% fast-twitch muscles fibers (type 2). Both types of muscles fibers have specific functions in the pelvic floor, and a complete exercise program should train both types of muscles fibers. The physiology of these muscles is similar to that of other skeletal muscles. Sensation in the region is limited and may be decreased with surgery or childbirth. The PFM responds to quick stretch and has extensive fascia throughout the muscle layer.


The PFM contract as a unit to achieve various functions. Impairments can occur in a single layer or throughout the entire skeletal muscle layers.


Related Muscles


The piriformis and the obturator internus (the intrapelvic hip rotators) are located within the pelvis and can affect the function of the PFMs. The piriformis originates on the anterior surface of S1 to S4. (See The Anterior Sacroiliac ligament in the figure below)

It's inferior border is close to the superior border of the coccygeus muscle and it inserts at the great trochanter of the femur. (See Greater Trochanter in the figure below)

The obturator internus originates at the inner rim of the obturator foramen and inserts onto the great trochanter.

The levator ani muscles attach to an extension of the obturator internus fascia (i.e. the arcus tendinous, also called the white line). (see white line in the figure below)

This muscles is best envisioned three dimensionally. Impairments in length, strength, endurance, and patterns of recruitment of the piriformis and obturator internus muscles often contribute to PFM impairments and vice versa. Hip function may need to be considered with pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic floor dysfunction with hip dysfunction.

The adductor muscles group also may participate in PFM pain syndromes. The muscle originate at the pubic ramus and ischial tuberosity, inserts on the posterior femur and medial femoral condyle, and is innervated by the obturator and sciatic nerves. Adductor fascia at the pubic rami is in close proximity to the superficial perineal muscle fascia.

The psoas minor and major muscles originate form vertebral bodies and disks of T12 through L5. The iliacus muscle originate at the medial iliac fossa. Both muscles fuse and travel in an anteroinferior direction under the inguinal ligament to insert onto the lesser trocanter of the femur.

The iliopsoas muscle is innervated by the L2 , L3 and L4 spinal nerves. It is a key muscle to treat in lumpbopelvic dysfunctions. Travell and Simons Call it the hidden prankster and stress its importance in pelvic function.

Trigger points in the psoas muscles are a common cause of pain in both the lower back and the groin. They can also contribute to gynecological symptoms . Despite their seeming inaccessibility, psoas muscles are actually very easy to massage. Psoas trigger points refer pain to low back. When the trigger points are really bad, back pain can extend from the lower shoulder blade area to the upper gluteal region. Pain is worse when you're standing. Sit-ups are impossible and you may have difficulty getting up out of a chair. Severely troubled psosas muscles may prevent you from standing or walking so it is very important to exercise these muscles.

How to exercise Psoas trigger points can be found HERE

Deep Tissue massage for Psoas Muscle can be found Here

Psoas Muscle Exercise can be found Here

Your assignment is is the read this material and re-read it again. Locate the different muscles that are shown on the pics/figures and to do watch the three videos and try out these exercise. Don't be afraid to have your partner watch the video's with you or teach him/her how to do these exercise so they can help you. This also helps to bring the two you closer together.

Next we will return to this same page and begin learning the definition, functions etc.......

PS: Sorry I am late posting the class, we had a few family crisis this week.

Gloria Prater, Wellness Educator

Feel free to ask questions or make comments.