Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or expert and if you have back issues or other injuries, I highly recommend you consult with one. The advice below is simply what I've been able to gather from personal research, so use it at your own risk.
The Problem: Pelvic Tilt
For the last couple months, I have been dealing with pain in my lower back and hips. These injuries developed when I started to squat and deadlift heavy weights, but the cause, in my case, had nothing to do with weight lifting. It took me a long time to figure it out, but I believe I have what is known as anterior pelvic tilt. Here are a couple of great resources that discuss the issue:
1. Hips Don't Lie: Fixing your Force Couples
2. Lordosis: Why it Causes Lower Back Pain
One indicator of anterior pelvic tilt is that, when I look at myself in a mirror from the side, I can see that my belt tilts forward - the back of the belt is a bit higher than the front. When I tighten my abs, the arch in my lower back is reduced, my pelvis rotates up slightly, and my belt line evens out. Anterior pelvic tilt is associated with tight erector spinae, excessive curve of the spine, short hip flexors, as well as weaknesses in several muscles - abs, glutes, and hamstrings. The main cause for me - and probably many others - is sitting for extended periods of time. I exercise daily, but as a software engineer, sitting is part of my job. I also never took the time to stretch, so my flexibility was terrible.
It turns out that this condition makes it impossible for me to maintain a proper and safe position while squatting and deadlifting. When getting into a proper (below-parallel) squat or even the proper deadlift position, I cannot keep a safe ("natural") arch in my lower back. Moreover, from prolonged sitting, I had lost the ability to properly activate my glutes and hamstrings, which meant very quad and lower back dominant squats/deadlifts. This wasn't a problem while the weight was light, but once it got just a bit too heavy, the injuries rolled in. Not only did my lower back get hurt, but weak glutes apparently allow the head of the femur to drift into the hip socket and cause pain in the hips as well.
The Solution: Flexibility, Mobility and Hip, Glute and Posterior Chain Activation
Now that I've finally understood the problem, I am working very hard on strengthening my hamstrings, abs and glutes and increasing my flexibility in the lower back, hip flexors, etc. It will probably take a LONG time to really fix the problem (on the order of months), but I'm seeing gradual improvement all the time. Here is the "routine" I've been doing daily:
Before starting any exercise, spend 10-15 minutes warming your body up using a combination of very light exercise (jumping jacks, short jog, push-ups, sit-ups, etc) and the dynamic stretches listed below. The very light exercise gets your heart pumping and warms the muscles up. The dynamic stretches strengthen your joints and muscles over their full range of motion (ROM), which is essential to developing proper flexibility and mobility. I usually alternate a few dynamic stretches each day, doing one set of each stretch for 10-15 reps. A general good practice is to pick 1-2 dynamic exercises per body part, similar to Greg A's Warmup (linked below). I also focus on the "activation" exercises which teach you to use parts of your body that have become weak or dormant due to pelvic tilt, such as the glutes and hamstrings.
After you're done exercising - or, more specifically, when your body is very warmed up and loose - it is safe to do static and PNF stretches listed below. Do NOT do these when your body is cold, as you are likely to injure yourself. The static and PNF stretches are a great way to actually increase your ROM. Most people know how to do static stretches, but the less-well-known PNF stretches, when done properly, are typically far more effective (read a brief overview of PNF stretching here). I typically do 10-15 minutes of static/PNF stretching per day, alternating the specific exercises from day to day. I do one set of each stretch for 10-15 seconds.
Dynamic Stretches
1. Seven Dynamic Stretches to Improve Your Hip Mobility
2. How to Optimize Posterior Chain Power: Glute Activation
3. Greg A's Warmup Routine
Static and PNF Stretches
1. PNF Stretching Illustrations
2. The Home Stretch
3. The only 6 static stretches you should really do
4. Lower Body Stretch
5. Gymnastics stretches
Miscellaneous
1. Awesome video with Dan John teaching lifting technique
2. Squat Rx #1 - first of a great series of instructional videos on squatting, make sure to also check out Squat Rx #2, #3, #4, etc.
The Problem: Pelvic Tilt
For the last couple months, I have been dealing with pain in my lower back and hips. These injuries developed when I started to squat and deadlift heavy weights, but the cause, in my case, had nothing to do with weight lifting. It took me a long time to figure it out, but I believe I have what is known as anterior pelvic tilt. Here are a couple of great resources that discuss the issue:
1. Hips Don't Lie: Fixing your Force Couples
2. Lordosis: Why it Causes Lower Back Pain
One indicator of anterior pelvic tilt is that, when I look at myself in a mirror from the side, I can see that my belt tilts forward - the back of the belt is a bit higher than the front. When I tighten my abs, the arch in my lower back is reduced, my pelvis rotates up slightly, and my belt line evens out. Anterior pelvic tilt is associated with tight erector spinae, excessive curve of the spine, short hip flexors, as well as weaknesses in several muscles - abs, glutes, and hamstrings. The main cause for me - and probably many others - is sitting for extended periods of time. I exercise daily, but as a software engineer, sitting is part of my job. I also never took the time to stretch, so my flexibility was terrible.
It turns out that this condition makes it impossible for me to maintain a proper and safe position while squatting and deadlifting. When getting into a proper (below-parallel) squat or even the proper deadlift position, I cannot keep a safe ("natural") arch in my lower back. Moreover, from prolonged sitting, I had lost the ability to properly activate my glutes and hamstrings, which meant very quad and lower back dominant squats/deadlifts. This wasn't a problem while the weight was light, but once it got just a bit too heavy, the injuries rolled in. Not only did my lower back get hurt, but weak glutes apparently allow the head of the femur to drift into the hip socket and cause pain in the hips as well.
The Solution: Flexibility, Mobility and Hip, Glute and Posterior Chain Activation
Now that I've finally understood the problem, I am working very hard on strengthening my hamstrings, abs and glutes and increasing my flexibility in the lower back, hip flexors, etc. It will probably take a LONG time to really fix the problem (on the order of months), but I'm seeing gradual improvement all the time. Here is the "routine" I've been doing daily:
Before starting any exercise, spend 10-15 minutes warming your body up using a combination of very light exercise (jumping jacks, short jog, push-ups, sit-ups, etc) and the dynamic stretches listed below. The very light exercise gets your heart pumping and warms the muscles up. The dynamic stretches strengthen your joints and muscles over their full range of motion (ROM), which is essential to developing proper flexibility and mobility. I usually alternate a few dynamic stretches each day, doing one set of each stretch for 10-15 reps. A general good practice is to pick 1-2 dynamic exercises per body part, similar to Greg A's Warmup (linked below). I also focus on the "activation" exercises which teach you to use parts of your body that have become weak or dormant due to pelvic tilt, such as the glutes and hamstrings.
After you're done exercising - or, more specifically, when your body is very warmed up and loose - it is safe to do static and PNF stretches listed below. Do NOT do these when your body is cold, as you are likely to injure yourself. The static and PNF stretches are a great way to actually increase your ROM. Most people know how to do static stretches, but the less-well-known PNF stretches, when done properly, are typically far more effective (read a brief overview of PNF stretching here). I typically do 10-15 minutes of static/PNF stretching per day, alternating the specific exercises from day to day. I do one set of each stretch for 10-15 seconds.
Dynamic Stretches
1. Seven Dynamic Stretches to Improve Your Hip Mobility
2. How to Optimize Posterior Chain Power: Glute Activation
3. Greg A's Warmup Routine
Static and PNF Stretches
1. PNF Stretching Illustrations
2. The Home Stretch
3. The only 6 static stretches you should really do
4. Lower Body Stretch
5. Gymnastics stretches
Miscellaneous
1. Awesome video with Dan John teaching lifting technique
2. Squat Rx #1 - first of a great series of instructional videos on squatting, make sure to also check out Squat Rx #2, #3, #4, etc.
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