Sartorius – What happens when the longest muscle in your body gets tight?
Sartorius – What happens when the longest muscle in your body gets tight?
What is the Sartorius Muscle?
While it might sound like the ancient deity of satire, the sartorius is actually the longest muscle in your body. [i]
It starts at your pelvis and crosses the front of your thigh and goes into your shin bone (the tibia). [ii]
Because it crosses both the hip and the knee, it is important for both hip and knee movements. Specifically, it helps with
Lifting our knee in front of you (hip flexion),
Moving our leg away from our centre (hip abduction),
Rotating our leg outward so our knee and foot faces outward (external hip rotation), and
Bending at our knees (knee flexion).[iii]
Photo by fizkes/iStock / Getty Images
What causes tight sartorius muscles?
Like the rest of the hip flexors, lots of sitting can be a major causes of tight sartorius muscles.
As we SIT, our body adapts to that position as the norm. This is the position with our hips in flexion (our knees elevated in front of us).[iv]
Sitting withy our legs part such as while driving with our knees on either side of the steering wheel or sitting cross-legged is particularly bad for the sartorius.[v]
Do I have tight sartorius muscles?
The best way is to do a functional screening and muscle length test with a physiotherapist or personal trainer who is trained to undertake such as assessment.
However, you can do this test at home to get a good indication.
Lie on a flat surface (a massage table works well).
Bring one leg toward your chest
Extend the other with the but on the edge and the leg hanging over the edge.
If you the leg hanging out is rotated outward but not away from the centreline (external rotation without hip abduction), then you might have tight sartorius muscles.
So, I have tight sartorius muscles flexors…what can I do about it?
Mobility
Seated Internal Rotation / Shin Box
Sit down on the floor with your knees bent and your feet on the floor in front of you.
Your thighs should be at a 45 degree angle from the floor and your knees bent at around 90 degrees.
While sitting upright (or leaning back on your hands if you need), roll your legs so both knees move toward the floor (in the same direction).
Roll them both to the other side.
Repeat for about 5-10 times.
NOTE: the video goes into some extra exercises.
Self-Myofascial Release (SMFR) / Self-massage
Sartorius Roll
Place your foam roller across your mat.
Lie on it with your stomach down and the roller at the top of your hip.
Roll up and down from your hip to the inside of your knee.
If you find any trigger points, hold for about 30-45 seconds.
https://youtu.be/1SV4liTchMw
Yoga
Tree Pose (for strengthening)
Stand with your feet together.
Place lift your left leg and place your pointed left toes next to your right foot.
If you feel balanced, rotate the knee outward as far as you can while keeping your hips facing forward.
If you feel balanced, you can lift your left foot so the sole of the left foot is on the inner right calf.
If you feel balanced, you can left this further so the sole of the left foot is on the inner right thing (do NOT place it on the knee area).
Seated Twist (for stretching)
Sit on the ground with your legs in front of you.
Place your left arm behind you and your left leg over the right with your left foot near your right knee.
Place your right arm over the left knee with your palm facing out.
Twist to your left using your right arm to pull your left knee inward.
Hold for about 30 seconds.
Repeat on the other side.
https://www.yogajournal.com.au/2016/03/29/marichis-pose/
Conclusion
Your sartorius is your longest muscle and helps us lift our knees, rotate our leg outward and bend our knees. When we spend a lot of time sitting, this muscle can get very tight which affects ours hips and knees. Here are some mobility exercises, self-massage techniques and yoga poses that can help.
You can also get your FREE 2 week Recharge trial and we’ll go through these techniques with you.
The EVERYDAY can lead tight or weak sartorius muscles
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[i] https://www.verywellfit.com/your-complete-guide-to-the-sartorius-uscle-4163822
[ii] https://www.verywellfit.com/your-complete-guide-to-the-sartorius-uscle-4163822
[iii] https://www.verywellfit.com/your-complete-guide-to-the-sartorius-uscle-4163822
[iv] https://www.healthline.com/health/tight-hips#causes
[v] https://www.kinetic-reveolution.com/sartorius-stretch-for-runners