If you’ve been icing, stretching, or getting “just the low back” worked on and the pain keeps coming back, the missing piece is usually upstream and downstream of the lumbar spine. The low back is a hub. Every major muscle group that attaches into the pelvis, femur, and lower spine can tug that hub out of position. Until those attachments are treated, the lumbar muscles keep firing as if they’re the only problem.That’s what our Hip Mobilization Treatment is built for. Jenna Bigley, LMT, and Michael Strautman, LMT, work the chain that actually loads the low back: quads, hamstrings, glutes, lateral rotators, hip flexors, the quadratus lumborum (QL), and the lower spinal muscles. The session is not a generic hip stretch. It is targeted manual work plus movement so those tissues can lengthen and the pelvis can sit more evenly under the spine.Hip Mobilization Treatment — 45 minutes/$100, 60 minutes/$135
Book here: https://square.site/book/420CK1EDZ6HJN/massagefix-bowling-green-ky
Why every attachment matters
Quadriceps. The quads don’t stop at the knee. Rectus femoris crosses the hip and pulls on the pelvis when it’s short or fibrotic. That anterior pull can flatten the lumbar curve or force the back to “hold on” all day. We work the full length of the quads, including the upper attachments that sit under clothing most people never remove for a typical massage.Hamstrings. Tight hamstrings posteriorly tilt the pelvis and load the lumbar discs and sacroiliac joints. We treat the muscle bellies and the attachments near the sit bones. If you only stretch hamstrings and never release the origin, the low back keeps compensating.Glutes. Glute max, medius, and minimus stabilize the pelvis every time you walk, stand, or get out of a chair. When they’re locked or inhibited, the QL and lumbar erectors take the job. Deep glute work is not optional when dealing with stubborn low back pain.Lateral rotators (including piriformis). This deep group rotates the femur and sits right over the sciatic pathway. Restriction here often shows up as “back pain,” hip pinch, or a tight band across the buttock. We treat these muscles with care and precision so that the femur can sit centered in the socket rather than dragging the pelvis along.Hip flexors (iliopsoas and related anterior hip). Sitting shortens this group. A tight psoas is a direct mechanical pull on the lumbar vertebrae. We address the accessible hip-flexor tissue and combine it with graduated stretching so the lumbar spine is no longer being yanked forward.Quadratus lumborum (QL). The QL is the “hike the hip” muscle. It attaches from the iliac crest to the 12th rib and lumbar transverse processes. When one side is short, the low back feels jammed, especially when standing, bending to the side, or getting out of a car. Direct QL work plus hip mobility is often the difference between temporary relief and lasting change.Lower spinal muscles (multifidi, erectors, and related lumbar tissue). These muscles are the last line of defense. If we only rub them, they tighten again by Tuesday. We still treat them — they deserve it — but only after the hip and pelvic attachments that keep overloading them have been addressed.
What we actually do in the room
Jenna and Michael combine several tools, chosen for your tissue that day:
- Manual massage to assess and soften the layers you can feel and the ones you can’t.
- Muscle scraping / IASTM to work adhesions and restricted fascia along those muscle lines. See how IASTM is applied in this demonstration: https://youtu.be/65e-mp3Xjh0.
- Graduated stretching and assisted range of motion so the tissue isn’t just “loose on the table” — it has to move in the positions you use in real life.
- Deep forearm work when a broad, dense tool is a better fit than fingertips for large hip and thigh tissue.
- Deep-heating liniments, when appropriate, to warm tissue before or after denser work, so the session can go further without shocking the nervous system.
You may feel therapeutic tenderness afterward. That’s expected when restricted tissue is treated. Most people do best with a short series rather than a one-and-done visit, then maintenance once the hips are moving better.About clothing and draping. The therapist will work over underwear if that is what you choose. That choice does restrict the work. Underwear covers the glutes, sacrum, and the upper attachments of the quads and hamstrings — the tissue that has to be treated well if low back pain is going to change. Working over fabric significantly reduces effectiveness. Our draping is above reproach. Clients tell us they were super comfortable and never felt exposed. You remain covered; only the area being treated is undraped.
Who this session is for
Desk workers whose hip flexors never get a full day off. Lifters and runners whose hamstrings and glutes are always “on.” Anyone who has been told they have “just a tight back” after imaging was clear. People who feel better after a standard massage for a day, only for the same low-back pattern to return.This is not a diagnosis, and it does not replace medical care. If you have red-flag symptoms (unexplained weight loss, fever, progressive weakness, bowel/bladder changes, or pain after trauma), see your physician first. For mechanical stiffness and muscle-driven low back pain, treating the whole hip-spine chain is how we get traction.
Book with Jenna or Michael
Hip Mobilization Treatment
45 minutes · $100 60 minutes · $135Book now:https://square.site/book/420CK1EDZ6HJN/massagefix-bowling-green-kyMore services and details: https://massagefix.net/ and Sports Massage / Hip MobilizationDescribe what you do all day, where it hurts, and what hasn’t worked. Jenna and Michael will start at the attachments that are actually driving the low back — not just the spot that shouts the loudest.