Pelvic adjustment to treat pain, correct posture
By Lee Sung-hun
There are quite a number of patients who ask for a pelvic adjustment. Most of them have experienced pain in the back or pelvic region and have taken x-rays, which showed that they have an asymmetrical pelvis. Some just feel a loss of balance between the left and right side of their body and seek help from a clinic. As an integral part of the central bone structure, if the balance (or symmetry) in the pelvis is shifted, it can cause not only pain in the pelvic region as well as back and legs but also significant shifts in body shapes. As such, the pelvic region becomes a focal point in treating pain and posture correction.
Most people know the pelvis as the region around the hips. Anatomically, it is the basin shaped bony structure that consists of the innominate bone, sacrum and coccyx. From the top, it is connected to the spine, and spans to the legs at the bottom. It transfers the weight from the spine to the legs, and plays an essential role in walking. The basin shape of the bones provides space for internal organs while protecting them from external forces and shocks.
The lumbar vertebrae and pelvis are tightly connected by a number of strands of tendons, and they move as if they were a single entity. The movement of the pelvis puts strain on the lumbar vertebrae in different ways, meaning that depending on the position of the pelvis, the lumbar spine can be put under severe stress causing pain. Many patients seeking medical advice due to muscular pains in the pelvic region also experience problems in the back area as well. For patients with chronic back pain or a herniated lumbar disc, quite often better results can be obtained when the pelvic structure and its problems are examined at the same time.
You can self-diagnose a tilted pelvis in the following cases. The difference in the lengths between left and right legs is visually noticeable. When wearing pants, one side constantly drags on the floor. When wearing a skirt, it rotates in one direction all the time. Looking in a mirror, you can notice that the ribs or pelvic bones on one side jut out significantly more than the other. When seated, you favor one side of the hips more than the other. Such are typical signs that tell you that your pelvis is tilted.
Causes of a tilted pelvis can be tracked back to unbalanced postures such as sitting with legs crossed or leaning on one leg while standing up. In such cases, Chuna-chiropractic can be used to adjust the pelvis along with acupuncture to relax the muscles in the pelvic region to achieve a significant improvement. Paying attention to maintaining a good balanced posture can ensure that patients retain the restored state. However, for patients with pelvic tilt due to scoliosis, the tilt in the spine can cause the pelvis to tilt again even if the tilted pelvis is adjusted as scoliosis itself is a difficult-to-treat condition.
The issues mentioned above are associated with a lateral tilt of the pelvis that results in a left and right imbalance. However, there are issues that can be caused by the pelvis that tilts forward (anterior pelvic tilt) or backwards (posterior pelvic shift). Anterior pelvic tilt puts the body in a pain-prone position, and causes the lower abdomen and buttocks to protrude. Such pelvic tilt can cause the femur bones to rotate medially, making the thighs look thicker and pushing the flesh next to the pelvis outwards resulting in a saddle bag shape. Also it can cause bow-leggedness (genu-varum) because the knees are turned inwards. Genu-varum changes the natural angle of the knee joints and increases the weight load on them, making the joints prone to arthritis that may require long-term treatment.
In case of the anterior pelvic tilt, posture correction can result in quite a dramatic improvement aesthetically. Once corrected, patients can see that their abdomen has become flatter, legs straighter and thinner. Many female patients who are concerned with their saddle bag shaped thighs can also see improvement through adjustment treatment.
Some patients may also notice that once the anterior pelvic tilt is properly adjusted, they have grown by a centimeter or more. This is because with the pelvis tilted forward, the lumbar vertebrae are curved and pressed, which extends to a natural state after posture adjustment.
The human body is intricately connected from the top to the bottom, and issues in one area can affect all other parts of it. As such, pelvic tilt can affect the spine and legs that are directly connected and it can even affect the neck, shoulders and feet. Paying closer attention to your pelvis certainly helps to bring overall balance to your body.
The writer practices Korean Oriental Medicine at UN Oriental Medical Clinic in Hannam-dong, Seoul. He can be reached at sung_hun@naver.com.