Treating the Low Back and Pelvic Girdle
The pelvis is the largest and densest bony structure in our bodies. It anchors more muscles than any other part of the skeleton (including several of the largest most powerful muscles in the body), and from the pelvis these muscles reach from below the knees to the top of the thorax. It is truly the central core of our skeletal and muscular organization, designed to respond equally to tremendous forces of leverage passing through its structure and to exceedingly subtle adjustments in our postures and movements.
The pelvis is also of profound energetic importance to our organisms, our minds and our spirits. It is the physical locus of our two lower chakras: The primary life force that sustains us, and the source of divine eros that connects us in fundamental ways to ourselves, to one another, and to the world. A sturdy and resilient pelvis is the foundation for a sturdy and resilient life.
The central sacrum–the “sacred bone”–forms both the bridge between our two legs below and the foundation of the spinal column above. The strength and suppleness of the muscles that anchor and move the pelvis reverberate powerfully throughout the rest of our bodies.
The muscular patterns and skeletal alignment of the low back are key to the alignment and resilience of the sacrum and pelvis. In our era of so much sitting, these patterns and alignments present us with an array of problems that can result in restricted movement and painful symptoms. As we sit for such long hours, the psoas and hamstrings are chronically shortened, the lumbar curve is typically flattened, and the abdominal wall support of the low back is compromised.
In addition to the effects of long hours of sitting, the low back is also one of the most frequent sites of spinal injury, compressed discs and pressures on the sciatic nerve that effect our legs and our balance.