Back Muscle Solutions

Releasing & relieving tight low back muscles has never been easier. The QL Claw, your personal massage therapist, at your service!

These 5 muscles are massive contributors to lower back pain. When you know where and when to release them, it will be absolutely liberating. Learning about your body gives you the knowledge to take control of your low back pain. Take 15 minutes to educate yourself on why these muscles are major back pain culprits and star feeling relief FAST. A ton of informational tutorials, videos, & articles on our website linked in bio

The Gluteus Medius muscle can cause a ton of pain in the lower back, glutes, and outer hip. The pain generally feels like nagging lower back pain and pain along the upper glutes. It stems from trigger points, tightness, and weakness in the muscle. This causes constant tension in the muscle and pulls the pelvis posteriorly out of place. To address Glute Medius pain, follow three steps:

Step 1: Massage/Release - when tightness and trigger points are present, stretching is extremely difficult and won’t last. We need to get in there and smash up that tissue before stretching/strengthening

Step 2: Stretch - After Glute Medius release, we need to stretch and open up the area, bringing length back into the muscle. The pigeon stretch targets this muscle really well

Step 3: Strengthen - Gluteus Medius pain usually happens in the first place because it is weak and/or unconditioned. A strong, flexible Gluteus Medius is armor against lower back pain

Try out step 1 with a Claw or a ball and you might feel some much needed relief in your lower back!

QL release can help relieve a tight, angry low back. A ball, a block (thanks .ot ), a rock, A CLAW! Get into this muscle and start feeling better. After some good QL release sessions, stretch and strengthen this muscle to build endurance & durability in your low back!

The Iliacus muscle is a strong hip flexor and a huge contributor to lower back pain when tight. Iliacus muscle pain is common in people who sit in chairs the majority of their days. This is because the Iliacus muscle is shortened while in the sitting position. A short, tight Iliacus muscle is a recipe for lower back pain because of the strain it places on the back.

The Iliacus connects from the top of the hip, travels inside the pelvis, and connects again to the top of the femur. It lies next to its twin hip flexor the Psoas.

The Iliacus can be hard to get at without the help of a professional, and many of the tools out there are hard, gnarly, plastic edges digging into this muscle. If you are not able to fully relax onto a tool, muscle release & relief won’t happen!

There are multiple ways to increase/decrease pressure while using the Claw for Iliacus release. First, just lay on it and breathe - if the pressure is too much, put a blanket over the Claw. This softens and broadens the trigger point. Take deep breaths and try to push the Claw deeper into the ground with each breath. To up the pressure, prop up on your toes and windshield wipe your foot back and forth. This is an awesome active release you’ll feel very quickly. If that’s not enough, activate your glute muscle. The hip flexors and glutes are antagonist muscle groups, so when you fire one, the other shuts off. Firing the glute will soften the Iliacus even more, allowing for deep, targeted pressure into a spot that’s been dying for it!

As always, stretch and strengthen this muscle after release sessions and kiss your lower back pain goodbye!