The main cause of an anterior pelvic tilt is a lack of exercise and excessive sitting. Therefore, it is imperative to exercise anterior pelvic tilt to save yourself from muscle imbalances or lower back pain. Let's learn about what it is and how it affects your body.
What is Anterior Pelvic Tilt?
APT is a change in the posture which occurs when you rotate the front of the pelvis, which causes the pelvis’ back to rise. It is a condition in which the front of the pelvis tilts forward and the back rises.
The pelvis inside your body helps you maintain the right posture. Also, it helps you in doing regular tasks such as walking, running, lifting weights, etc.
What Muscles Are Weak with Anterior Pelvic Tilt?
Anterior pelvic tilt can cause pain in many of your lower body parts. It can affect your pelvis and thighs as the muscles in the front will become tighter. On the other hand, the muscles in your back will become weak.
This can cause serious pain in your lower back, hip, or knee area and can affect your hip and knee rotation as well. So, if you feel you are suffering from anterior pelvic tilt, there is a posture that you need to maintain when sitting down.
To summarize, the main muscles involved in anterior pelvic tilt are:
- - Gluteus Muscles
- - Hamstrings
- - Abdominal Muscles
Best Way to Sit with Anterior Pelvic Tilt
It is vital to sit in a certain manner so that the muscles in the anterior pelvic tilt can come back to the neutral position. Therefore, here are a few things that you need to do when you are sitting down:
-
1) Find a comfortable chair to sit on to maintain a proper posture
-
2) Squeeze your buttocks so that it helps you sit straight on your ischial tuberosity (pointy butt bones)
-
3) Try to engage your core to maintain your abdominal muscles
Can Anterior Pelvic Tilt be fixed?
Yes, you can fix the anterior pelvic tilt. However, calculating the timeline can be a difficult task. It depends a lot on your lifestyle, and if it is genetic, there is a slight chance that you can make any permanent changes.
Nevertheless, if you change the way you sit and focus on doing key exercises, your recovery may not take too long. If you take proper care and exercise anterior pelvic tilt, you can easily fix this issue that millions of Americans suffer from in no time.
Can Anterior Pelvic Tilt cause Sciatica?
Pelvic Tilt is a major reason for sciatic discomfort that most people often overlook. So, yes, anterior pelvic tilt can cause sciatica. Thankfully, this can be rectified with exercises.
Instead of concentrating solely on stretching, try including posture training into your daily routine, with a concentration on a neutral pelvis.
How to Test for Anterior Pelvic Tilt?
Testing is a crucial part of ensuring that you have an anterior pelvic tilt. With the help of testing, you can know the best exercise that can help you fix the issue.
One of the common and simple methods to test for anterior pelvic tilt is by doing a Thomas test. The main steps of the Thomas test are:
-
1) Lay down on a desk with your knees slightly bent and your lower legs dangling over the side.
-
2.) Then you need to bend one of your legs and bring it closer to the chest as if you are hugging it
-
3.) If your resting thigh elevating off the table, then there is a possibility that you have an anterior pelvic tilt
7 Safe Exercises to Fix Anterior Pelvic Tilt
Let's move on to the most important thing when it comes to anterior pelvic tilt, which is exercising. There are many exercises, such as the anterior pelvic tilt squats can help you in bringing your pelvic tilt back in the right position.
Below are the seven best exercises that you can do at your home or at the gym:
1. Squats
One of the best exercises that you can do is the anterior pelvic tilt squats. It is a simple exercise that you can do 12 to 15 times to see effective results.
First, you need to stand straight and then lower your body to push the buttocks down. Also, make sure that the thighs are parallel to the floor and then get back again.
2. Leg raises
Leg raises are a basic workout that can help you tighten your core, allowing you to stand up straighter. In order to strengthen your core, you can also do crunches as they can be a good replacement for leg raises.
Simply lie down with your legs straight on the floor. Then raise them up without lifting your back as high as you can. After lifting them, bring them back down. You can do this exercise as long as you can want without putting too much stress.
3. Plank
Planks are also one of the best exercises for strengthening your core. The exercise is simple and usually takes a min or two but can be really effective for your abdomen and muscles involved in anterior pelvic tilt.
Extend your legs and place your weight on your arms and shoulders. Make sure to tuck in and squeeze the abdominals and buttocks and stay in that position for a minute or two.
4. Hip Thrusts
Another exercise that you can do is hip thrusts. You need to keep your shoulders under your head on a surface that has a pivot point so that you can easily let your hips move up and down. Maintain the motion steadily by squeezing the gluteus at the top.
5. Reverse Plank
This exercise consists of doing the plank but in the opposite direction. You need to face your entire body facing upwards, leaving all the weight on your shoulders.
6. Posterior Pelvic Tilt
The exercise consists of moving your abdomen to enhance pelvic mobility. You need to lie on the floor, with your knees straight. After that, you need to raise your pelvis up and down while keeping the back flat. It is better to do this exercise 10 to 12 times.
7. Bridge
If you want to enhance your gluteus and abdominal strength, then you should try out this exercise. You need to lie on your back with your knees bent. Then, you need to thrust up your hip in the air while keeping the rest of the body on the ground.
Ideally, you should do three reps with 12 to 15 sets in it.
Anterior Pelvic Tilt Exercises to Avoid
The worst exercise that you can do is an anti posterior pelvic tilt. This is where you put your hands back on your hips and lean back. Through it may relieve some of the pain in the short run, it may not be the best for the long run.
Apart from this, there are a few other exercises that you need to refrain from. Find out about the exercise that you need to avoid in this video.
The Bottom line
Anterior pelvic tilt can bring a lot of pain, which can impact your quality of life. By doing proper exercises and maintaining a proper posture while sitting down, you can get rid of this issue in no time.