Did you know that the position of your pelvis can influence how well you can move each leg and create space within your pelvis? Your pelvic position matters!
For many of us, the left half of the pelvis sits more forward, and the right half of the pelvis sits backward. This common orientation typically means that it’s easier for you to find internal rotation at the hip in the right leg because of this backward orientation of this pelvic half, and it’s harder for you to find internal rotation on the left side. Alternatively, on the left side, it’s much easier to find external rotation at the hip in comparison to the right side.
You may find that when you try to find internal rotation at the hip, it’s much easier to do on the right side, while external rotation at the hip is much easier to achieve on the left side.
And this is all due to our pelvic orientation! So, you want to create more space in your pelvis, with either external rotation at the hip or internal rotation at the hip, we need to adjust the pelvic position!
In this blog, we’re going to break down some strategies to adjust your pelvic position so that you can create more space in each pelvic level to support your functional movement throughout your pregnancy and the postpartum period and also to create more space in your pelvis for birth.
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Pelvic Position = Creates More Space in the Pelvis
The pelvis has three pelvic levels that all open with different types of hip positions!
- The top of the pelvis opens more with external rotation at the hip and a posterior pelvic tilt. An anterior pelvic tilt can adjust the pelvic angle and make it easier for your baby to enter the pelvis, but a posterior pelvic tilt increases the pelvic diameter of the inlet.
- The middle of the pelvis opens more with asymmetrical hip movements, so one leg is externally rotated and the other is internally rotated.
- The bottom of the pelvis opens more with internal rotation at the hip.
If you want to make it easier to open each pelvic level, then you need to focus on how your pelvis is positioned! How your pelvis is positioned can make it easier or harder for you to move the hip to create that space. Let’s break this down!
If you are feeling overwhelmed by what to even do during your pregnancy–you know it’s beneficial, but not sure HOW to even workout safely–join our prenatal workout programs! We offer our programs in two main formats:
- Teambuildr App: List of exercises with short demo videos. You work out at your own pace. This program is offered in full-length workouts and mini-length workouts!
- On-Demand Videos: Full-length workout videos that you follow as you workout at the same time
First, if you take a look at this picture, you’ll see that my left leg has a harder time finding internal rotation in comparison to my right leg. This is due to my pelvic position–and this is the common position for many of us, and probably you! The right hip tends to rotate backward into a posterior tilt, which makes internal rotation much easier–this is important for opening the bottom of the pelvis. You can try this now to see which leg you can internally rotate more.
And then for external rotation, you’ll see that my right leg is much higher than my left leg in this position. This is because of my right pelvic position making it harder for me to find external rotation on this hip. The left hip is rotated more forward in an anterior pelvic tilt, which makes it much easier to find external rotation at the hip! This position is important because it helps to create more space in the top half of the pelvis.
Hip Shift: Adjust the Pelvic Position to Increase Movement Capability
Hip shifting is a great strategy to use to adjust your pelvic position! Hip shifting is the deliberate adjustment of your pelvic position. And you can do hip shifting in numerous positions, such as all fours, seated, or even standing. In this blog, we will talk about the seated hip shift.
In a seated position, you will pull the left hip backward (or the hip you had more trouble finding internal rotation) and push the right knee forward. This will shift the hip position into the opposite direction of your common postural tendency. You may also find that placing a small ball or soft object between the knees helps you find this hip shift more easily.
After you have found your hip-shifted position, try to find internal rotation again and see if it is much easier to achieve or if your ability to find internal rotation has increased. It definitely did for me!
Another consideration is that our thoracic position also influences our pelvic position. Adjusting our rib cage position can help to increase movement in our pelvis too. The thoracic tends to rotate towards the internally rotated side, so orientating your upper body towards the side you want to find more internal rotation can help!
External Resistance: Increase Tactile Cues to Improve Movement
Another strategy is to increase tactile cues, or physical touching cues, to improve your movement capability! Since we tend to have a harder time finding external rotation on the right side, and internal rotation on the left side, we can use a long resistance band to incorporate a tactile cue to improve our movement.
Set-Up:
- Left Side: You tend to have a harder time finding internal rotation at the hip on the left side. This means that ABDUCTION tends to be easier to achieve.
- Place the band around the inside of the left knee to increase ADDUCTION emphasis. This will improve your ability to find internal rotation at the hip!
- Right Side: You tend to have a harder time finding external rotation at the hip on the right side. This means that ADDUCTION tends to be easier to achieve on this side.
- Place the band around the outside of the right knee to increase ABDUCTION emphasis. This will improve your ability to find external rotation at the hip.
Watch this breakdown video of a unilaterally banded resistance exercise that we love to incorporate into our workout programs to counter this common postural tendency!
This postural tendency can affect your ability to create more space in your pelvis! Additionally, this common tendency could affect your prenatal comfort, as well, making it harder to stabilize your pelvic girdle. So, it is important that we learn how to adjust our pelvic position!
If you want more guidance on how to approach your workouts throughout your pregnancy, join our prenatal workout programs! Our workout programs guide you week-by-week throughout your pregnancy, with modifications based on our experience working with hundreds of in-person prenatal fitness clients. Explore our programs here!
