The psoas (pronounced SO-as) is a deep-seated core muscle connecting the lumbar vertebrae to the femur. It is arguably the most important muscle in your body and is the strongest player in the group of muscles known as your hip flexors – which contract to pull the thigh and torso toward each other. The psoas muscle connects the lower body to the pelvic area, the pelvic area to the lower lumbar spine and the lower lumbar spine to the upper body. If you’re an active person that runs, bikes, dances, climbs, practices yoga, exercises or just sits on your couch, your psoas muscles are involved. Without the essential functions of this muscle group, you would struggle to even get out of bed in the morning. They help to stabilize your spine and impact your posture.

The psoas muscles are comprised of both slow and fast twitching muscles. Since they are major flexors, having weak psoas muscles can cause many of the surrounding muscles to compensate and become overused. Which is why a tight or overstretched psoas muscle could be the cause of many of your aches and pains, including low back and pelvic pain.

As a major player in back issues, knee issues and tight hip sockets, it is often an exhausted psoas that disrupts range of motion, as well as digestion and bladder functioning. Strengthening your psoas can often times be a potential solution.

However, there are alternatives to alleviating discomfort that can stem from your psoas. One of those alternatives is a recently developed tool called the PSO-RITE. The PSO-RITE was popular in small circles, but after it was mentioned on Joe Rogan’s podcast by Mike Chandler (video embedded below), overall interest in the product increased. The company saw a 10x increase in sales after it was discussed on the podcast. Today we will take a look at this product and evaluate how to use it and some of the potential benefits.

What is the PSO-RITE?

After hearing about the product, you may have still been curious (like we were), what the heck this tool was. We first learned of the PSO-RITE in the context of relieving the psoas muscles, however it’s described as a bit more on their site. . According to the online retailer, “The PSO-RITE is the most versatile full body self massage tool on the market. The design mimics the hand and elbow. Giving you the same feeling when you get a massage from your massage therapist but you are in control of the pressure. It’s great for releasing hard to reach muscles like the psoas, shoulders, hamstrings, lower back and neck.” 

If you’re already planning to purchase it, my readers get a special 10% off discount when they use discount code BMT10. Click Here to Shop Now.

Specifications of the PSO-RITE

• Length: 10.7 inches
• Width: 5 inches
• Height: 5.3 inches
• Peak to peak distance: 6.3 inches
• Weight: 1.55 pounds (18.48 ounces)
• Made of: ABS Plastic
• Available in four distinct colors
  • Sunset Red
  • Bora Teal Blue
  • Night Black
  • Ocean Blue
• Made in the USA
  
  

How to use the PSO-RITE?

The PSO-RITE can be used when you wake up, before you go to bed, and before, during, or after workouts. To use the device, you simply lay your body on the device so that the pressure of your body weight targets the area you wish to get relief. It’s great for the psoas, hips and glutes, pectorals, calves, feet, rotator cuffs and lower back. As you apply pressure to the targeted area, move your limbs slowly to activate the muscle being targeted (i.e. if you are targeting your psoas, slowly raise and lower your knee). PSO-RITE has some fantastic, short videos demonstrating how to use the device to target different areas of the body. You can view these videos on their Instagram page pso_rite.

PSO-RITE outlines use of the tool into three levels:

• Level 1). Light – Circulation/Exploration –  keep it playful, very light to scan the body.
• Level 2). Medium – Preparation/Relaxation – Warms up the tissue for a workout or individualized sport.
• Level 3). Heavy – Mobilization/Recovery – Release scar tissue, increases mobility, and helps with post-workout recovery.

When using the PSO-RITE for the first time, it is recommended that you utilize the “push-move” strategy. In utilizing this strategy, you will gently push the device against your body and then move to a slightly different area along the muscle searching for tighter areas. Do this several times and then test the area. It’s also important to not apply too much pressure. You don’t necessarily need to put all of your body weight onto the device. Go slow and test the amount of pressure. It is possible to get injured if you are applying too much pressure or using the tool too aggressively.

The next thing to focus on is deep breaths. As you find tender areas, take a second to take a deep breath. Then continue to target the area. As you do so, move the surrounding limb to activate the entire muscle area (i.e. if you are targeting your rotator cuff, move your arm and shoulder around as you apply pressure.

As you get comfortable with how to use the tool (and begin to explore “Level 3”, it is important to “Test-Massage-Re-test”. What is meant by this is, test your range of motion, massage the targeted area with your PSO-RITE, and then test your range of motion again to see if it’s resolved your tightness and discomfort. Utilizing this pattern will prevent you from over-working a specific muscle area. If you start to feel numbness or a “heartbeat” an any of the targeted areas, you are pressing too hard and need to move to a different area.

Lastly, If the peaks are too narrow or too wide for you, simply move the PSO-RITE so that only one peak is applying pressure to the target area. If the pressure is to much, you can place a towel over the peaks or place the PSO-RITE on softer surface such as a carpeted floor or yoga mat. You can also change positions and start back at light movement to build up circulation and move to medium and then hard, but don’t rush it.

Who is the PSO-RITE for?

The PSO-RITE can be used by everyone (kids 13 or older and adults 65 of younger). Many healthy adults who want to improve their physical performance can benefit from this tool. It is especially great for people who sit all day and work on a computer.

What does the PSO-RITE do?

According to the creator, the device increases circulation, relaxation and warmth to the muscles, and increases mobility. The PSO-RITE is used for muscle lengthening and joint decompression, which enhances physical performance. It also adds range of motion by releasing tension in the muscle allowing the joint to have more space, increasing mobility/movement.

How versatile is the PSO-RITE?

If you haven’t caught onto it yet, the great thing about the PSO-RITE is that it’s not just for targeting the psoas. You can use this device on many areas of your body. As long as you are able to get creative with it and have one of the peaks land on the area you intend to target, than you can use it. However, where the PSO-RITE may be lacking in versatility is when you want to target smaller muscle groups such as the neck or arms. Fortunately, PSO-RITE has designed smaller tools (pso-mini and pso-key) to target these areas. Unfortunately, it requires buying an additional device.

How portable is the PSO-RITE?

The PSO-RITE is not an overly large tool so traveling with it would be relatively easy if one wanted to do so. It does not come with any sort of travel or carrying case, however it’s less than a foot long and less than half a foot high so it would fit relatively easy into any gym bag or carry-on. Additionally, with it’s unique design, it could potentially double as a tablet or laptop stand while on the road!

What’s pso-wrong about the PSO-RITE?

When reading through reviews left by those who have purchased the PSO-RITE, there’s not a lot of criticism about the product. Some things that people did mention was it’s high price tag and the rubber feet on the bottom of the tool. The tool comes with six black rubber feet to help prevent it from sliding, however is seems that these feet leave marks on any floor or wall that the tool is used against. Something to keep in mind before you use it on your white walls!

Why is the PSO-RITE designed with two peaks?

The PSO-RITE is designed to mimic the way a massage therapist would use their body to massage a client. When targeting the psoas, a therapist would use both hands to apply pressure to each side of your body at the same time. Specifically, the peaks of the PSO-RITE are designed to mimic the thickness of the hand. The sides of the peaks mimic the forearm and the corners mimic the elbow. The stable structure gives you the freedom no matter the size of your body to target any part of the body that has muscle tension.

Pso-Mini

The Pso-Mini design mimics two fingers or the thumb. You can use this all over your body. It is small enough that you can easily travel with it in your purse or backpack to help you stay healthy anywhere you might need it.

Pso-Key

The Pso-Key design mimics the tip of your finger. This helps with getting into those tiny muscle fiber in your jaw, hands, elbows, forearms, knees and feet.

These different designs help you target all areas of your body, making it the most versatile self massage tool on the market. There is no excuse to not have a massage tool on hand at all times.

Where can you buy the PSO-RITE?

You can buy the PSO-RITE, and it’s smaller variations, from a variety of different online retailers including directly from the company and from Amazon. You can also purchase the product in their retail location located in Santa Monica. If you’d like 10% off your purchase, my readers get a special discount when they use discount code BMT10.

It feels Pso good!