The Muscles of the Pelvic Belt

There are a number of muscles that are connected to and basically wrap around the pelvis that I will refer to as the pelvic belt.

The pelvis is the center of the body. From it flow the legs, spine and arms. If it is in a balanced alignment the aforementioned trunk and extremities have a chance to work well. If it tends to live out of a neutral position it is hard for anything above it or below it to function successfully.

And what of the muscles that immediately surround the pelvis?

If you have back pain, hip pain, groin pain and the list can go on, it is likely that the psoas muscle, my favorite muscle and one I have been writing about all week,  is always part of the problem if not the cause.

My take is that if you have a problem with one of these muscles you are most likely to have a problem with all of them.

Here is the basic list of the muscles of the pelvic belt:

• The three gluteal muscles
  • Gluteus medius
  • Gluteus minimus
  • Gluteus maximus
• Piriformis
• Psoas major
• Iliacus
• Quadratus lumborum
• Tensor fasciae latae
• The Gamelli’s
  • Inferior
  • Posterior
• The Obturators
  • Externus
  • Internus

This is no great pronouncement by any means but it is hopefully helpful in understanding the universality of muscle dysfunction. I write endlessly about the psoas and other muscles that suffer for assorted reasons but the truth is these muscles are never alone.

And when it comes to the pelvis all of these muscles tend to suffer if any one of them is in trouble.