Postural Awareness: The Gluteals and Pelvic Positioning

Postural awareness is an important aspect for any athlete and is encouraged by sporting coaches and strength and conditioning coaches alike. Promoting an ideal position throughout activity encourages fluid, efficient movement, this is especially important for pelvic region. Think of the hips and gluteals as the 'powerhouse' of movement, one of their main capabilities is transferral of momentum created throughout the body, a major requirement for many sporting activities. If you have an imbalance causing an incorrect rotation of the pelvis (in the case of this video an exacerbated anterior tilt), power production and stability is compromised with the potential for injury rising.

An anterior rotation of the pelvis may occur due to a number of reasons, generally developing over time and are often the result of prolonged or repetitive movements (e.g. prolonged seated activity). Other reasons for postural imbalances may include:

• Genetic factors, athlete maturation
• Poor positioning/form during exercise or activity
• Poor knowledge and exercise programming
• Deviations in muscle development

The video below demonstrates very simply the ideal pelvic position (neutral), and provides cues and a simple exercise in order to improve an excessive anterior tilt.

Further activities that may alleviate excessive anterior pelvic rotation may include:

• Stretching of the quadriceps/hip flexor muscles, which are generally shortened due to prolonged sitting
• Re-learning corrective muscular cues including gluteal activation (see previous activation exercise or gluteal function videos)
• Re-learning static and dynamic postural positions

Mitch