Do you have back pain from a twisted pelvis?
Have you noticed that your hips aren't even or one shoulder is higher than the other?
Or maybe you've been to a chiropractor and they tell you that one leg is longer? After getting adjusted it "magically" comes back to normal, but the problem keeps coming back.
If any of these situations sound familiar to you, watch this video to learn how to fix a twisted or rotated pelvis with just one exercise. Plus, learn what to do to keep it from coming back in the future.
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The Most Common Cause of a Twisted or Rotated Pelvis
Before we go through solutions for a twisted pelvis, we first have to explore what causes a twisted pelvis in the first place.
There are many causes of a twisted pelvis, but in this post, I'm just going to cover the most common one.
Many people don't realize that the human body naturally has some asymmetry to it.
We have one heart, one liver, one spleen, one gall bladder, and two lungs that have different numbers of lobes (the right has three lobes and the left has two).
So our bodies are not naturally symmetrical.
But one big factor is that your liver and diaphragm are larger on the right than the left.
This asymmetry causes you to tip over to the right just slightly because that side is heavier.
Additionally, because many people are right-handed, they tend to have more muscle mass on that side.
Twisted and Rotated Pelvis As a Compensation
When you're tipped over toward the right, that puts more weight on your right leg. This in turn makes the right side of the pelvis higher than the left
To compensate, your pelvis twists to the right, and your body counter rotates to the left. This results in relative left hip external rotation and right hip internal rotation.
Since the left shoulder is higher than the right, your neck sidebends toward the left.
This type of twisted and rotated pelvis isn't necessarily abnormal posture.
It's normal to be that way to some extent.
So if you don't have any problems and you're a little asymmetrical, that's okay.
However, if this asymmetry gets exaggerated, it can start to cause symptoms.
And those symptoms can present as a variety of different problems including but not limited to:
- back pain
- neck pain
- shoulder pain
- hip pain
Lower Back Pain From A Rotated Pelvis
Probably the most common time when people tend to notice postural dysfunctions though is when they have lower back pain.
If your pelvis is rotated towards the right, your trunk is rotated towards the left and side-bent towards the right, that causes some muscle imbalances.
Muscle Imbalances From A Rotated Pelvis
Your quadratus lumborum on the right side becomes short and stiff, and your left psoas also becomes short and stiff.
The quadratus lumborum runs between your pelvis and the lowest rib, your 12th rib.
Its role normally is to side bend the trunk and also to stabilize the 12th rib as you breathe in.
The psoas attaches to the front side of your lumbar vertebrae and then runs down through the pelvis to your hip.
Its role is to flex and slightly externally rotate the hip.
How To Fix A Twisted or Rotated Pelvis
To undo this pattern, you'll basically just do the opposite of the pattern.
If you're starting in a position of right pelvic rotation, left trunk rotation, right trunk side bending, stretch in just the opposite motions:
- left pelvic rotation
- right trunk rotation
- left trunk side bending
(If you happen to have the reverse pattern, just switch the lefts and rights below.)
Start by rotating your pelvis to the left.
Step back with your left leg into hip extension. This puts the psoas on slight stretch.
Next, rotate your pelvis to the left side.
Then rotate your trunk to the right. Make sure to keep the pelvis rotated to the left.
Raise your right arm up over your head and sidebend your trunk toward the left. This stretches the quadratus lumborum.
Since the quadratus lumborum stabilizing the 12th rib as you breathe in, next take a deep breath. Focus on filling the right ribcage with air as you reach up toward the ceiling with your right arm.
Take five deep breaths in this position
So that's the exercise to help fix a twisted or rotated pelvis.
But, how do you keep the problems from coming back in the future?
Your Daily Habits Can Cause A Twisted or Rotated Pelvis
The things you do in your everyday life are what usually cause postural dysfuntions such as a rotated pelvis to start in the first place.
And these same things are what makes the problem come back after seeing a chiropractor, massage therapist, physical therapist, etc.
Getting manipulated, massaged, stretched, etc. fixes the short-term problem, but it doesn't fix the underlying root cause.
Some examples might include:
- habitually standing with your weight out over one leg
- always crossing one leg over the other when sitting
- your sleeping position at night
- consistently leaning on one arm of the couch when reading or watching TV
Once you understand the causes and trigger of your pain, you can reverse engineer them to get rid of the problem for good.
Need Help For A Twisted or Rotated Pelvis?
If you're in the St. Louis area and need help to relieve pain from a twisted or rotated pelvis, we'd be happy to help you in the office.
We use a variety of hands-on manual therapy techniques including spinal manipulation, myofascial release, and trigger point therapy, and dry needling to help relieve pain from a rotated pelvis.
Plus, we'll help you figure out what you can do to keep the problem from coming back in the future.
Just tap the button below to request an appointment with one of our orthopedic manual physical therapists.