The Psoas: The Deep Muscle That Influences Sport Performance & Sexual Health
A simple guide for athletes, partners, and anyone interested in a healthier, more responsive body.
The psoas is one of the most misunderstood muscles in the human body. It sits deep beneath the abdominal wall, connecting the spine to the pelvis and the legs. Most people never think about it. Many have never heard of it. And yet this powerful muscle plays a surprising role in the way you move, breathe, feel, and experience pleasure.
Whether I am working with endurance athletes, men experiencing arousal or ejaculation issues, or women dealing with pelvic discomfort, the pattern is consistent: when the psoas is chronically tight, the whole pelvic system becomes braced.
Strength alone is never enough. What we need is mobility, release, and integration.
In this article, I want to break down what the psoas does, how it affects sport and sex for both men and women, and why releasing it is a foundational part of body intelligence.
What the Psoas Does
The psoas major originates along the lumbar spine and travels down through the pelvis to attach to the femur. It is the only muscle in the body that connects the upper body to the lower body. This gives it a unique role in core stability, hip function, and the nervous system's response.
The psoas:
Helps lift the knee and flex the hip
Coordinates with the diaphragm to stabilize the spine
Influences posture and pelvic alignment
Interacts with the fascia and musculature of the pelvic floor
Responds to stress, fear, and chronic bracing patterns
Because of its relationship with both the diaphragm and the pelvic floor, the psoas plays a role in breathing patterns, core activation, sexual arousal, and emotional state.
A tight psoas often indicates a body that is “on guard.”
A released psoas often accompanies a body that feels safer, more open, and more receptive.
How a Tight Psoas Impacts Sport Performance
Reduced power and inefficient stride
When the psoas is shortened, you lose hip extension. This limits the glutes' ability to fire properly, reducing propulsion and efficiency. Runners feel this as heaviness or a shortened stride. Cyclists may feel hip pinching or low-back fatigue.
Restricted breathing and reduced rotational power
Because the psoas connects to the diaphragm via fascial tissue, tension in one can affect the other. A tight psoas often produces shallow breathing and early fatigue. Athletes who rely on rotational strength—golf, tennis, skiing, running—will also feel reduced range and power.
Mobility and breath are not optional accessories to strength training. They are performance enhancers.
How the Psoas Affects Sexual Health
This is the part most people never hear about.
The psoas lives in the center of the body’s sexual, emotional, and pelvic landscape. When it becomes tight or hyperactive, it can affect arousal, pleasure, and sexual function for all genders.
For Men
A tight psoas often co-exists with tension in the pelvic floor. This can create a bracing pattern that makes it difficult for the body to modulate arousal. Many men who experience rapid ejaculation or difficulty with control have a core and pelvic system that is simply too tight.
When the deep core grips, the body cannot relax into the parasympathetic state required for sustained arousal.
Relaxation supports control.
Tension speeds everything up.
There is also emerging research showing that psoas muscle health itself may be associated with erectile function. One study found that lower psoas muscle volume correlated with higher rates of erectile dysfunction in men with localized prostate cancer (Kashiwagi et al., 2019, Andrologia).
For Women
A tight psoas impacts the pelvis by:
restricting blood flow
increasing pelvic floor tension
pulling the pelvis forward into an anterior tilt
limiting hip mobility
All of these affect comfort, lubrication, and the ability to access deeper arousal. Many women who struggle to relax during sex or who experience pelvic or hip discomfort benefit significantly from restoring ease and mobility in this area.
A chronically braced deep core can make the body read sexual cues as threat, not intimacy.
Research in women with pelvic floor dysfunction shows that stronger and more balanced hip muscles are associated with healthier sexual function (Hwang et al., 2021). While this does not isolate the psoas directly, it highlights the deep connection between hip mobility, pelvic floor coordination, and sexual wellbeing.
Want to Try Psoas Release at Home?
I recorded a brief video demonstration that can help you explore gentle psoas release and mobility:
These are not medical prescriptions, but accessible starting points for restoring mobility and reducing tension.
The Bottom Line
The psoas is more than a hip flexor.
It is a structural, emotional, and sexual bridge between your spine, your breath, and your pelvis.
When it is tight, your whole system tightens.
When it releases, your body becomes more powerful, more responsive, and more at ease.
Whether your goals are performance, deeper sexual connection, reduced anxiety, or greater body awareness, your psoas deserves your attention.
If you would like guided exercises, a personalized assessment, or support with sexual performance, pelvic health, or body intelligence, you can connect with me directly for 1:1 coaching, Pilates or join one of my upcoming workshops.
Your body is built for connection and pleasure. Sometimes it just needs room to breathe.
