Use These 7 Stretches To Fix An Anterior Pelvic Tilt

How To Fix An Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Many people suffer from bad middle body posture or what is known as an anterior pelvic tilt. This type of posture issue is often characterized by very tight lower back muscles and a stomach that juts out (hence the term anterior) over the waistline.

Having an anterior pelvic tilt can make you look overweight and can also impact other parts of your body in negative ways. Since your lower body is not designed to be tilted forward all the time, it is highly likely that you will develop lower back issues if you do not take steps to prevent and correct this posture imbalance.

I myself have also suffered from this condition in the past. Luckily, through my research I found that it is easily correctable. What follows is a short explanation the causes of an anterior pelvic tilt, and a quick guide on what you can do to correct it.

What Causes An Anterior Pelvic Tilt?

There are a few things that can cause the pelvis to develop an interior pelvic tilt. But as it turns out, it can sometimes boil down to “laziness”.

Basically, our bodies will almost always go the easiest route to get things done. Take standing for instance, typically when you stand you keep your knees slightly bent and use your thigh (Rectus Femoris) and gluteus muscles to stand in one place. This is the ideal way to stand to ensure proper pelvic leveling.

But often times during long periods of standing these muscles quickly become fatigued. Additionally, it is very easy to rest on your joints simply by locking your knees, since this requires almost no muscle contraction.

So what winds up happening is that people rests their weight on their hip joints and knees instead of using their muscles to hold them themselves up right. While this may be a very easy way to stand, it often times causes your pelvis to pitch forward into a slight tilt.

If you do a lot of standing and rest upon your joints instead of using your muscles, eventually your TFL (tensor fasciae latae) and thigh muscle (rectus femorris) will tighten up as the body becomes used to this new position. This habitual muscle contraction will become permanent, and the pelvis will develop an interior tilt. This also means that the spine will increase its lordotic curve (inward curve of the lower back). And the increased amount of curvature will begin to put stress on your lower vertebrae and will impact your ligaments, nerves, and muscles.

Sitting incorrectly can also cause an anterior pelvic tilt. If you find yourself leaning forward when you’re at your desk on the computer, you should be aware that this can also cause a pelvic tilt. This type of posture makes your pelvis arch forward, which will also cause your lower back to become more curved.

Other muscles can also contract due to this type of posture, which put you at risk for back injuries.

Sometimes even genetics can play a role in your overall posture. Some people may have a more curved lower back which can result in a more mobile pelvis. Often times these people suffer from weakened thigh muscles, and they can develop and anterior pelvic tilt.

Lastly, pregnancy can sometimes cause a pelvic tilt. Often times the weight of a developing baby can pull the stomach and pelvis forward, and this will obviously cause the spine to curve in order to compensate for the increased stress.

Exercises to Fix An Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Here are some exercises that I have come across that can help correct an anterior pelvic tilt.

  • Guide
  • Video

Lower Back Extensions

​Start by placing a foam roller underneath your lower back. Lean back and keep your core tense. Make sure that your upper body is very rigid and straight. Bend your knees and roll your lower back up and down over the foam roller. Ensure that the pelvis is oriented straight and not too far apart or too far down while you’re doing this. This should help stretch out your tissues and fascia. Do of these for around 30 seconds each.

Pectis Femorris Stretch

This is similar to the lower back extension, except we start by facing the floor. Place the foam roller under left or right thigh and roll your leg back and forth on top of it.

You can also bend your knee while you’re doing this to help your muscle get a little bit more of a stretch.

Once you feel comfortable doing this facing down, try turning to your side and place in the foam roller under your hip. You can roll back and forth while you extend your arm to find out the point at which your muscles are most contorted.

Hip Flexor

Start in a kneeling position with 1 foot placed out in front of you. Start by tensing your abs and gluteus. Lean forward slightly, and raise your arm up into the air. You should feel the muscles in your thighs begin to stretch.

If this is too easy for you, you can increase the intensity of the stretch by bending your body away from your prone knee.

A good rule of thumb is to do about two sets of 45 seconds per leg.

Child’s Pose

There are not too many stretches for the lower back; however this famous yoga exercise does a pretty good job of extending the spine.

Start by kneeling down and place your palms on the ground in front of you as if you are going to do a push-up. Slowly extend your hands/arms forward all while keeping your knees stationary. Try to put as much distance as you can between your hands in your lower back.

Doing this exercise will stretch out your spine and help to relieve muscle tension.

Posterior Pelvic Tilt

Start this exercise by propping yourself up on your elbows and your toes with your legs extended out diagonally. Ensure that your shoulders are level with you hips. Focus on tensing your gluteus muscles, flexing in your abdomen, and extending your lower back down towards the floor in a curving motion.

The idea behind this is that by rotating your pelvis in the opposite direction you can reverse your anterior pelvic tilt.

Hamstring Curl

For this exercise you’ll need an exercise ball.

Start by placing your heels on top of the ball with your legs fully extended. Raise your hips up off the ground. Extend your arms out all the way, making a big T.

Pull your heels in and focus on keeping your body raised and your hips off the ground. You should feel a stretching in your glutes and your hamstrings.

You can also do this with a hip circle, which is a smaller sized resistance band that is especially geared towards hip exercises. Doing this exercise with a hip circle is advisable, as you will see a greater benefit from it.

Pelvic Roles

Start out by lying on your back and placing your hands on either side of your pelvis. Flex your ab muscles and pull your stomach in as much as possible while rotating your hips upward and back down.

Do about 5 sets of 20 repetitions.

Conclusion

If you notice your suffering from poor mid body posture, it is wise to take action as quickly as possible, so you can avoid causing the rest of your body injuries. Using the preventative measures in this guide coupled with exercise and stretching will go a long way towards fixing an anterior pelvic tilt.

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