Back pain? Blame the psoas. Seems as if everybody wants to dive headfirst into their psoas at the first sign of trouble with the lumbopelvic-hip region. Perhaps no other muscle is blamed more for causing problems than the psoas. Yes, it is an important stabilizer of the lumbar spine, but it shouldn't be the only one on which you focus. There is another big player on the scene: the iliacus.
Hospital Secrets
The CBS investigative news program "48 Hours" recently examined the perils of hospitalization. Dan Rather reported on recent hospital incidents that, instead of saving the lives of patients, put them in grave danger. The following quote is the opening statement of his report.
"Good evening. The headlines can make you sick. Across the country case after case of hospitals making mistakes, mistakes that have cost a limb or a life. And what may be most shocking -- these incidents are not rare.
"According to one study, 180,000 people a year die from hospital errors. '48 Hours' has spent the last three months investigating how these mistakes happen, how they're sometimes covered up and how you can protect yourself. What we found is alarming: a system of policing hospitals that doesn't work and may have left countless lives shattered beyond repair."
- Dan Rather
- Source: Is Your Hospital Safe? "48 Hours," September 14, 1995.