Unlocking the Pelvis

Hello everyone,

I have been experiencing back stiffness/lack of rotation for a coupleof years now and think this has to do with all of the soccer I’ve played over the years and how much this has tightened up my muscles, my hips/back especially.

I noticed that my pelvis is “locked” when I try to bring it forward, as in I cannot bring it forward at all. I can move it pretty well side to side and from neutral to back, but I can barely get any movement from netural position to forward position. As you can imagine, this has greatly affected my posture and ability to have all of my muscles work properly with each other.

I was hoping someone could provide a detailed program (stretching/lifts?) to remedy this. I REALLY need to get this fixed - Im in my 20s and if I do not deal with this now, it will plague me for the rest of my life.

I hope someone can help! Please reply or PM me.

Thanks

Im not exactly sure what you mean, but I’m pretty sure Magnificent Mobility would be able to help.

I find that Jack Daniels works well with unlocking the female pelvis, maybe it’ll work for you?

What exactly is it about the football (note the correct use of terminology) that has affected your pelvis? What position do you play?

RRJC: What I mean is that thrusting my pelvis forward, like engaging the lower abs to contract, is very difficult for me from a range of motion point of view.

I am an outside midfielder/forward and my guess is that since there is a lot of power generated in kicking the ball by bringing the leg back, that my muscle development/length somehow caused me to develop this problem. I dont know exactly how, but Ive been playing soccer for over 20 yrs so Im guessing that is the cause.

Any ideas about how I can remedy this? I can take pictures if necessary to clarify my point if needed.

Thanks

RRJC: What I mean is that I have thrusting my pelvis forward in essence to curl my hips forward and engaging my lower abs.

Re: Soccer - I am an outside midfield and my guess is that since there is a lot of power generated in kicking the ball by bringing the leg back, perhaps my muscles over/under developed in certain areas and possibly shortened. This is justa hypothesis but really needed this remedied.

Please write back w/ stretches/action plan to follow.

Thanks

[quote]Soccergod wrote:
RRJC: What I mean is that I have thrusting my pelvis forward in essence to curl my hips forward and engaging my lower abs.

Re: Soccer - I am an outside midfield and my guess is that since there is a lot of power generated in kicking the ball by bringing the leg back, perhaps my muscles over/under developed in certain areas and possibly shortened. This is justa hypothesis but really needed this remedied.

Please write back w/ stretches/action plan to follow.

Thanks[/quote]

Well normally I get paid for customized programs, but I’ll give you the “secret” for free: stretch. Specifically the hip flexors and quads. You need to be spending at least 20 minutes a day.

Soccer,

Try the “Trikonasana” or triangle-pose. It’s a hatha yoga movement that is greatly beneficial for the pelvic region. It may take a few months to notice anything, but it should put you in the right direction.

Hi Timm -

I know this… but I would like help knowing what specific stretches to do and what points I should look for to ensure that I maximize the benefits of them.

Anyone else?

first a little history. I am about 5’6" 240. BF around 18%. I carry a lot or size on my frame. After 16 years of lifting, my body has become very tight. So much so that Squating had become painful. This was a sad day.

My wife started doing hot room yoga - they crank the heat to 100F and spend 90 mins going thorugh poses. I have been doing 2-3 times a week for the past 3 weeks.

Last saturday, I did front squats, back squats, and 20rep breathing squats without pain (a lot of muscle soreness the next day, but no pain).

Some of the authors of T-Nation did a DVD called magnificent mobility, that may be a place to start.

I would recommend the yoga class - just dont get caught staring at other chicks asses with your wife next to you!

Do you mean you can’t posteriorly tilt your pelvis? i.e. you can’t tip the your pelvis so the front of your waistband moves towards the ceiling and the back moves towards the floor?

If that’s the case I would find some exercises which promote posterior tilt and start using them. I think Mike Robertson wrote an article about core/ab training that talked about several good ones.

Try laying on the floor and driving your lower back into the floor, flattening the lumbar curve and tilting back your pelvis.