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Neutral Pelvis and Abdominal Bracing

Finding a neutral pelvis is an important part of correcting posture and relieving back pain. When the pelvis is in a neutral position, it is situated in a way that supports the rest of the spine and allows the spine to “stack” on top of the pelvis. In order to protect the spine and spinal cord, we can use abdominal bracing to maintain the neutral position of the pelvis and spine.

WHERE IS NEUTRAL?


The pelvis is in a neutral position roughly halfway between both extremes of pelvic tilt. These exercises will help you to find neutral pelvis from a variety of positions.

CAT - COW

  1. Start on your hands and knees. Your knees should be directly underneath your hips and wrists should be directly underneath your shoulders.
  2. Arch your back as tall as you can, rounding through your spine, tucking your tailbone under, and looking for your belly button.
  3. Slowly start to arch your back the other way, pressing your belly button toward the ground and lifting your tailbone and your eyes toward the ceiling.
  4. Rock back and forth between these movements and start to make the movements smaller. See if you can do the movement moving just your pelvis/low back and not your torso.
  5. Find a comfortable resting position roughly halfway between the two arched positions. This is your neutral pelvis.
^ cat-cow

LYING

  1. Start lying on your back with your knees bent at about a 90 degree angle and feet resting on the ground.
  2. Tilt just your pelvis and try and flatten your low back to the ground. 
  3. Again, moving just your pelvis, see if you can create an arch in your low back. Do not lift your hips off the ground.
  4. Rock back and forth between the two positions, slowly making the movement smaller until you find the middle between the two extremes. This is your neutral pelvis.

SITTING

  1. Start sitting upright on a bench, stool, or chair.
  2. Without moving your torso, tuck your tailbone underneath yourself.
  3. Again without moving your torso, rock your pelvis forward and try to create an arch in your low back.
  4. Rock slowly back and forth between the two positions and slowly make the movements smaller until you find a comfortable resting position about halfway between the two extremes. This is your neutral pelvis.
  5. If this is challenging, try sitting on an exercise ball and trying to roll the ball forward and backward using just your pelvic tilt.

STANDING

  1. Stand upright with legs hip width apart and hands on your hips. If needed, you can stand with your back against a wall for proprioception.
  2. Think about your pelvis as a bowl full of water. Without moving your torso, tilt your pelvis forward so that the “water in the bowl” would spill out your front side.
  3. Slowly tilt your pelvis the other direction, tucking your tailbone underneath and imagining the water spilling out the back side of the bowl.
  4. Slowly rock back and forth between the two positions without moving your torso and make the movements smaller until you find a comfortable resting spot in the middle of the two extremes. This is your neutral pelvis.

^ standing

ABDOMINAL BRACING


Many people do not properly engage their core to protect their spine. It is important to use the whole core group of muscles to brace the pelvis and spine, or the spine is left unprotected from injury. The core is not only made up of the rectus abdominus (what most people refer to as the “6-pack” muscles), but also includes transverse abdominus, internal and external obliques, quadratus lumborum, and the pelvic floor muscles. Altogether, the core muscles create a cylinder or corset that protects the spine in all directions.

  1. After finding neutral pelvis, place one hand on your abdomen and one on your back.
  2. Co-contract both muscle groups at the same time.
  3. Breathe into your belly, filling the core cylinder in all directions.
  4. Practice holding this co-contraction when transitioning in and out of a chair, when doing exercises, and when lifting.

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