Anterior Pelvic Tilt

oaky
oaky Posts: 141
edited September 2013 in Training, fitness and health
I’m in the process of tweaking my position on a new bike and have been reading recently about tilting the pelvis forward to loosen up the lower back and get longer/lower - it’s also cropped up in a couple of topics on here.

Some of the ways it’s described online are a little confusing - particularly as, off the bike, it’s considered a bad posture. However I’m pretty sure I understand it.

My problem though, is now that I’ve been thinking about it so much I’ve lost all ability to determine whether it’s something I was unconsciously doing already. And therefore, now that I’m consciously doing it, I have no idea if I’m exaggerating the position.

So, my question is, if you’re riding in this position, to what extent? And what does it feel like to you?

For me - now being very conscious of it - it feels like my backside is jutting right out and my lower back is so loose that my lower spine is almost pressing through to my saddle.

It's perfectly comfortable. But can anyone tell me if this is correct or completely incorrect?

Comments

  • nick1c
    nick1c Posts: 48
    It depends on your reference point. Think about in in relation to the spine, not the ground - when you lean forward on the bike your pelvis should come as well i.e. relatively neutral to the spine, but anterior to the ground. If your spine is neutral to the ground on the bike it is posterior to the spine & setting you up of both low back & neck problems. It is unlikely that you will have an anterior tilt relative to the spine on the bike, but if you do it is not good either.
  • RDW
    RDW Posts: 1,900
    oaky wrote:
    My problem though, is now that I’ve been thinking about it so much I’ve lost all ability to determine whether it’s something I was unconsciously doing already. And therefore, now that I’m consciously doing it, I have no idea if I’m exaggerating the position.

    Be careful - overthinking this can have some very strange effects, sometimes leading to extremely silly ideas like this:

    https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bi ... are-of-it/
  • oaky
    oaky Posts: 141
    Nick - thanks. Reading it that way I reckon it's something I was doing anyway and now that I'm overthinking it I'm on the verge of possibly pushing it too far.

    RDW - WTF? I read through (bits) of that expecting it to be some kind of a spoof. I still can't decide if it is or not.
  • StillGoing
    StillGoing Posts: 5,211
    I have a rotated pelvis as a condition which results in one leg being shorter than the other as the effected side tilts up and the good side tilts down. After years of misdiagnoses of knee problems, hip problems and small lower back all on the same side, it has finally come down to a damaged ligament in the right ankle. I've just had the first of three jabs of Dextrose and Glycerin into the ligament, which straightened the hips immediately. The effects of the first and probably the second injection will be temporary, but the third should result in a permanent remedy. The rotated pelvis means you can't effectively engage the glutes reducing your performance.

    The treatment is called Prolotherapy and has been used on top sports athletes from the world of football, golf, cycling, rugby etc. I have private medical insurance to cover the treatment as it is still classed as alternative medicine, after all, it is taking potential work away from surgeons who earn their money by cutting you open. The effect of stabilising and rebuilding the ligament in the ankle, forces the hips back into alignment easing the stresses in the hip, back and knee.

    So be careful what you wish for.
    I ride a bike. Doesn't make me green or a tree hugger. I drive a car too.

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