Exercises for Low Back Pain, Hip Tension, Overactive Pelvic Floor

RELEASING THE PELVIC FLOOR

If the pelvic floor muscles are tight, it can present as back and hip tightness or soreness.

In order to get it to relax, we need to stretch it in different planes. I recommend you play around with all the exercises in this section. Then, on a daily basis, do the ones that really resonate with you and help your symptoms.

It’s very common to have extremely tight outer hips. It happens if the outer hip muscles take over and doing the work of the core. This may present as: IT band syndrome, TFL syndrome, sciatica, and piriformis syndrome. These exercises will help you!

3 Exercises to Release the Pelvic Floor and Hips

For men and women

Golden nugget: You can hum in a lower tone when you exhale: it helps cue the pelvic floor to settle, relax and lengthen

Exercise 1: Breathing and Pelvic Floor Release: to address pelvic floor and TVA tightness

Use breathing to get the pelvic floor to release and the TVA to release.

Helpful for improving diastasis and low belly pooch.

• • Sit cross legged or side sitting on the floor.
  • Place one hand on the side of your pelvic bowl, wrapping your fingers around to feel the pelvic muscles.
  • Begin by sinking into one hip (put your weight through the sit bone) and lean to open that side.
  • Inhale deeply, directing the breath down into the pelvic floor. Feel the expansion on the side where your hand is placed.
  • Continue inhaling and directing the breath down, allowing the pressure to go deep into the pelvic floor muscles.
  • After a few breaths, move the focus down further, breathing into the pelvic bowl and expanding the pelvic floor.
  • Switch to the other hip and repeat the process, feeling the expansion and breath into the other side of the pelvic floor.
  • Compare both sides to identify any differences in breath and expansion.
  • Tip: Imagine the breath expanding like inflating a long balloon, filling up and opening the pelvic floor.

Exercise 2: Quadruped Hip Shift (to focus on on 1 side of the pelvic floor)

The hip shift allows everything to loosen up and move like it should.

The reciprocal motion from side to side will make your hips feel happy.

Intent: changing the length-tension relationship of the deep hip rotators (especially the obturator internus), will positively influence the tension produced through the pelvic floor.

• Starting Position:
  • Get on your hands and knees.
  • Use a yoga block or a thick text book under 1 knee and put 80% of your weight through that leg.
• Execution:
  • Shift your hips by lifting the knee off the ground on the other leg (toes stay on the ground)
    • Explore two ways of doing this:
    • Lifting with Adductors: (PULLING) Squeeze the adductor of the lifted leg as you shift.
    • Using Glute Medius (PUSHING): Push from the supporting leg's glute medius to assist the shift.
  • Ensure subtlety and avoid scrunching the back. Maintain a long torso and engage the adductors. Don’t lean to the side. Movement should come from the hip.
• Switching Sides:
  • Perform the same exercise on the other side, comparing mobility and sensations.
  • Pay attention to any differences in adductor or glute engagement.
  • Which side did you feel like you could really lift well with the adductor but couldn’t push from the glute or maybe vice versa. Does this correlate to what you feel in your body? Do you have an adductor that’s always tight? Do you have glute med tightness.
• Tips:
  • Focus on a controlled and deliberate shift.
  • Don’t lean to the side.
  • Avoid excessive rotation of the leg; the movement should come from the hip.

Exercise 3: Standing Split-Stance Hinge

This will target the glute med and adductors and really release the hip and pelvic floor area. You’ll move better and feel better.

• Starting Position:
  • Stand in a split stance, 80% of weight on the front foot and 20% on the back foot. Soft bend in both knees.
  • Hold a chair.
• Execution:
  • Hinge at the hips while pulling back with the front leg and pulling forward with the back leg.
  • Engage the lower abs, creating a slight scoop without tucking or arching excessively.
  • Allow the knee to move forward and backward, creating hip external and internal rotation.
  • Push and open through the hip, focusing on full external rotation. (Glute med)
  • Pull and open through the hip, focusing on full internal rotation. (Hip adductor)
  • Don’t cheat by letting your foot or leg rotate and move. You want the pelvis to move around a fixed femur. i.e. you want to move through the hip.
  • Do isometric holds in the end ranges: Breathe deeply, feeling the engagement of glutes and adductors.
• Switching Legs:
  • Shift to the other leg and repeat the exercise, noting any differences in mobility and sensation.
  • Ensure proper engagement of glutes and adductors
• Tips:
  • Pay attention to the pelvic floor, feeling how the dynamic movement influences its sensation and responsiveness. Does it feel like it released? Does it feel less tight

QUICK Routine to Release the Pelvic Floor

Supine Butterfly (Inner thighs)

• Crook lying, Feet together. Nasal inhale and open your knees. Nasal exhale, bringing them together, feeling the activation of your inner thighs & pelvic floor. Do this 5 times. This will make it easier to release the muscles later in the video.
• Supine Butterly Glute Bridges: Hands at sides. Keep the knees apart and perform more activation by engaging your glutes and bridging off the ground. Hold the top position 4s and Pulse 8x and then hold for 4s
• Then relax into the Butterly pose and hold: inhale 4 counts and feel the pelvic floor stretch and melt, exhale for 4 counts and let your hips relax. Repeat for 3 more breath cycles.

Hip Flexor Stretch

• Straighten the right leg on the floor, and pull the left knee toward your chest
• Hold onto your shin or behind your thigh.
• Push your right heel into the floor and feel it stretch the front of the right hip and the left glute.
• Remember to fully exhale. This will help release the psoas muscle.
• Breathe deeply, releasing tension in the pelvic floor.

Figure 4

• Transition into a figure four stretch by placing the ankle on top of the opposite thigh.
• Add a twist by dropping the flat foot toward the floor and pressing outward against the inner thigh. Keep both shoulders on the ground. Use opposite hand to opposite knee to push the thigh outward to open the hip. Breath deeply to release tension in the hips and pelvic floor.
• Repeat other side.

Happy Baby Stretch:

• Hold behind your thighs or grab the outside of your feet, bringing your knees toward your armpits.
• Lift your feet toward the sky, opening and stretching the pelvic floor.
• Hold for 30-60s, rocking back and forth if desired. Deep breathing. This state of relaxation encourages the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, allowing for restoration and repair.

BREATHE, DECOMPRESS, RELAX & STRETCH

Got low back pain and hip tension? Got a hypertonic pelvic floor? Then do these 3 exercises with the intent of releasing your pelvic floor. I also recommend these for prophylaxis. Get into the habit of doing them regularly and whenever needed! You don't have to have a Siamese cat sit on your chest, but listening to her purr and breathe does really relax me

1. 90-90 Nasal Breathing (vagal decompression): 5-10 minutes
2. Low stool groin stretch
3. Lunge Stretch