Your iliopsoas muscles become overworked and/or compressed from daily activities. These weak muscles can stay in this position for a long time, which causes them to need to work harder to stabilize your pelvis, core, and cause them to tighten.
This tightness places unnatural strain on the pelvic bone, causing tightness, pain and muscle knots as well as a forward tilt of your pelvis.
As if this weren’t enough, the pelvis pulls forward and it lengthens or weakens the hamstrings at the back. This creates an even greater muscle imbalance.
Anterior pelvic tilt testing
You can determine if your anterior pelvic tilt is present by looking for the signs mentioned above and getting a diagnosis from a physician.
If you are just starting to suspect that you might have pelvic misalignment there is an easy test that you can perform at home. This test can be done by you or a friend to determine if there is a tilt in your pelvis.
Remember what I said earlier: Hyperlordosis can be a subtle condition so it is important to seek professional medical advice.
You can do an anterior pelvic tilt at home by following these steps:
1. Take a side-by-side picture or stand in front of a mirror.
2. The anterior superior iliac spinal spine (ASIS), is located at the front of the pelvis.
Find the ASIS by looking at the top of your hip bone, or the iliac crown. Place your hand on top of the hip bone. Follow that downwards until you reach a bony ridge at the front of the hip bone. You can mark this area or have someone hold your hand while you perform the test.
1. The posterior superior iliac spinal (PSIS), is located at the back of the pelvis.
Begin by placing your hand in the low dimples of where your spine meets your sacrum. Move an inch to the side until there is a bony protrusion. This spot should be marked.
1. You can mark the ASIS as well as the PSIS so that you can view their locations, look in the mirror sideways or ask someone to take a photo. This will allow you to compare the PSIS to the ASIS.
An anterior tilt is defined as a PSIS that is higher than 10 degrees. Although it can be difficult to see the exact angle by looking in a mirror alone, if there is an obvious tilt, it will be easily visible.
A doctor or physical therapist will most likely take a precise measurement of your pelvic tilt when you visit them for an examination. This will enable them to assess the severity of the tilt as well as how to address it moving forward.
How to treat anterior pelvic tilt
Anterior pelvic tilt can easily be corrected with a variety of exercises, a training program to balance the pelvis, and a number of other techniques.
Correcting pelvic tilt can be achieved with consistency and a focused training program. It is best to consult a physical therapist to help you understand the severity of the problem and the time it may take to treat it.
When correcting an APT, the best exercises are ones that target the abdominals or glutes.
* Squats
* Glute Bridges
* Band walks
* Dead Bugs
* Planks
* Side Planks
These exercises should be done with a focus on your form. To observe yourself, you can practice them in front a mirror.
To maintain balance, it is important to remember that you can only exercise one side. This is true for abdominal exercises as well. Don’t forget your backside!
It all comes down to balance!
APT is caused by tightened hip flexors. While stretching can help to some extent, it won’t be able to release muscle tension.
You will need to use muscle tension release in order to do this.
It is difficult to release pressure from these muscles due to the position of your hip flexor or iliopsoas muscles. This type of muscle release can be performed by a physical therapist, but it is best to do it more often for the best results.
What’s the solution?
The Hip Hook can be used at home to release the pressure in the hip flexor muscles. You can ease tightness in the iliacus and psoas muscles by using the Hip Hook in just 10 minutes per day.
Although the Hip Hook is not the only solution to anterior pelvic tilt, it can help to realign your pelvis by helping to balance your muscles and prevent the iliopsoas from pulling your pelvis further out of alignment.
