Pelvic Neutral: How to NOT Hurt Your Back: What is pelvic neutral and why should you care? Pelvic neutral is the mid-range posture of the low back, in which the low back is neither extremely rounded nor overly arched. Why is this so important? It is a position of stability, where you are most able to access the deepest abdominal muscle. Pelvic neutral allows for freedom of motion with minimal risk of injury. The key to understanding how you hurt your back is not WHAT you did at that moment; it is usually a result of years of poor posture and harmful body mechanics. You need to shift the focus by learning to access pelvic neutral positions to prevent injury, rather than managing an injury after you are already hurt. Tips to Preventing Back Strains: #1. Learn pelvic neutral: the RANGE of positions where the back is neither fully rounded nor fully arched. Pelvic neutral lies somewhere in the happy middle, where there is the least amount of strain on your back. Try watching yourself in the mirror: arch all the way, round all the way and find the middle ground. Now move slightly forward and slightly backward: these postures are STILL within the pelvic neutral range. You should be able to then access your abdominal for exertion while maintaining pelvic neutral. In fact, studies show that the Transversus Abdominis is optimized in this position, and moving out of it means you are no longer stabilizing with your core. #2. Pay attention to the aches and pains. They are little warningsigns that you are doing something harmful to your body. If it hurts when you sit or lift, then you need to learn different ways to sit and lift. Paying attention to the aches means you can prevent them from growing into actual pain and/or injury by addressing the problem early. #3. Learn to soften the knees: if you are standing, any exertion should be coupled with a slight bend in the knees. If your knees are locked back, then you have defaulted to your end-range back position and are no longer in a natural pelvic neutral. A soft knee is often what makes pelvic neutral attainable. The most typical body move that leads to incapacitating back pain usually involves a bend and a twist. Since the bend/twist combination can really strain the disc, the key is learning to function in a way that avoids these motions. With practice, focusing on pelvic neutral can become automatic. Once you establish a stable base, you can learn to maintain that position during all the other functions over the course of the day: sitting, standing, lifting, squatting, and reaching, to name a few. This will help prevent further back injuries. How can Ergonomics Help? Sitting in a Pelvic Neutral Position: Learning a pelvic neutral position for sitting will reduce and/or eliminate back discomfort at the end of the day. For activity-based movements such as lifting, pushing, or pulling, learning to maintain pelvic neutral as you apply effort will reduce discomfort related to these exertions. We teach pelvic neutral in all applications as part of our posture and body mechanics training programs. How can Physical Therapy Help? One-on-one Pelvic Neutral Coaching: After an injury, you often avoid certain positions due to discomfort: this learned behavior then affects function in a way that you may not even realize. Additionally, any post-injury stiffness and/or pain can prevent an achievable pelvic neutral, and often requires treatment to help clear up. If one-on-one coaching sounds like what you need to achieve pelvic neutral, contact us now to set up an appointment. We’ve helped many people learn to live better, with less pain.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 12:30:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015