Iliacus pain? Do these 4 exercises for instant relief.

Published April 18, 2025

It’s not quite the psoas that is giving you trouble, but a sneaky muscle right next to it – the iliacus.

Before you dive too deep into a Google and YouTube research hole, can you promise me something? Please do not lay on some plastic apparatus to “release” this muscle.

But what should you do instead? Well dear hipster, that’s what I will teach you in this article. I will show you how to work with your body, not against it.

What is the Iliacus Muscle?

The Iliacus is part of the hip flexor muscle group and is located in your pelvic region. Other muscles include the psoas and sartorius.

Nature doesn’t isolate the iliacus and neither should you. This is why all the exercises in this article focus on the hip flexors generally.

An Iliacus Stretch to Open your Hip Flexors

The kneeling hip flexor stretch is one you’ve probably seen before. I want you to start the stretch with a strong glute contraction.

Once you start feeling strong in the kneeling position, experiment with the same cues in a lunge.

Strengthening the Iliacus

For engaging the iliacus, I like the All-4s because it is a way to get the full-body involved while you work on hip flexor engagement.