The Importance Of The Pelvis

Your pelvis is the foundation for your entire spine and is an amazing piece of natural engineering!

Did you know that it moves in 3 planes which allows you to have smooth and efficient movement?

The bones that make up your pelvis are the 2 ilium (the bones you touch if you were to put your hands on your hips) and the sacrum at the back which ends in the coccyx at the bottom (your tailbone). There are 2 sacroiliac joints at either side where the ilium and sacrum connect (the top of these are the dimples you may have at the bottom of your lower back).

There are a few different ways the pelvis may be positioned that can cause us problems.

1. ANTERIOR PELVIC TILT

This is when your pelvis is rotated forward and downward. You may feel like your lower back has an increased curve or that your tummy looks like it’s popping out at the front.

Unfortunately this position does cause the lumbar spine (your lower back) to increase its curve which in turn may cause lower back pain. You may also experience tightness across your lower back and in your hamstrings or feel like you have weaker gluteal muscles and poor core strength.

2. POSTERIOR PELVIC TILT

This is when the pelvis rotates upwards and backwards - the front lifts up and the back drops. You may feel like your lower back is really straight and that your shoulders are rounded with your head to far forward.

Think the classic poor posture position!

Your lumbar spine does indeed straighten so you lose the natural curve if your pelvis is in this position.

You may experience stiffness throughout your lower back all the way up to the bottom of your ribcage or pain into your buttocks, hips or groin area. You may also experience lower back pain when doing anything that causes impact in your lumbar spine (think running and jumping) because it doesn’t have the natural curve to help with absorbing the impact.

3. LATERAL PELVIC TILT

This is when your pelvis tilts to one side so one hip sits higher than the other. You may feel like you stand with more weight on one leg because of the uneven distribution of your body weight and this position can result in a leg length difference!

You may experience pain more on one side than the other due to more pressure being placed on one side of the pelvis, lower or even mid back. You may even notice you have problems with a hip or knee on one side without having experienced any other injury to that joint.

Our goal is to have a neutral pelvis which is no more that a 6-7 degree anterior tilt (the shape of the bones mean we can’t have a perfectly neutral 0 degree pelvis).

So how do you find your neutral pelvis?

1. Sitting upright with good posture (imagine putting your shoulder blades down into your back pockets) and your feet flat on the floor.

2. With your hands on your hips simply rock your pelvis forward so you feel your lower back arch

3. Next tuck in your tailbone so you feel your lower back straighten.

4. The neutral pelvis is the position between these two movements.

If you practise this will become second nature. The great thing about a neutral pelvis is that it allows us to absorb the forces of everyday activities because our lower back is in the natural curve it’s meant to have.

Now I simply can’t talk about the pelvis without mentioning the pelvic floor (aka your core)!

This is a group of muscles located in your pelvis between your coccyx and pubic bone. I like to think of the pelvic floor as your internal scaffolding that supports your lower back because they work with the deeper abdominal muscles, the muscles in your back and the diaphragm to support your spine!

You may be well aware of your pelvic floor but if you aren’t… So how do you find it?

Sit comfortably and squeeze the muscles around your bottom like you are trying to stop passing wind, do it a couple of times to make sure you have the right muscle group (your buttocks should stay relaxed while you contract your pelvic floor muscles) and tah dah… You’ve found your pelvic floor.

Like all muscles these can be strengthened so work up to holding them for 5-10 seconds for 10 reps relaxing them fully between each contraction and make sure you keep breathing!

If you feel that your pelvis needs some love, book an appointment with us today!