Consider the pelvic tilt.
Rarely has so small a movement that might do so much for so many been so underused–and so misunderstood.
“Pelvic tilt,” for starters, can refer to two things: an exercise and an aspect of posture. In both cases it often comes up as an essential element in back health, with repercussions throughout the body, for everyone from golfers to weight lifters to dancers to nurses.
The usual thinking behind the need for pelvic tilts is that the muscles of the abdomen, lower back, hip and/or buttocks have become weak, causing us to slip into stressful positions, such as standing with a swayed back.
“Tuck” is one way to describe a posterior pelvic tilt, in which the abs contract and the back flattens. A neutral pelvis is a stance with the low back’s natural curve, and an anterior tilt leans in the direction of a swayed back. There’s also lateral (from side to side) tilt.
