Posterior pelvic tilt is by far a less common postural imbalance than its opposite, excessive anterior pelvic tilt. Correcting it can be quite a challenge since the reasons for this imbalance are many. The first step to correcting posterior pelvic tilt is to identify the muscles that are involved in sustaining the imbalance.
There are two muscles that are frequently facilitated or tight:
1. Gluteals
The main function of the gluteal muscles includes hip extension and posteriorly tilt the pelvis.
2. Hamstrings
This muscle group assists the gluteals in performing hip extension, and they also bend the knee.
The two muscle groups that are frequently weak or inhibited:
1. Hip Flexors
This muscle group includes the psoas and also one of the quadricep muscles called the rectus femoris.
2. Lumbar Spine Extensors
There are quite a few muscles involved here, but in particular, the lumbar erectors, the quadratus lumborum, and multifidi.
The abdominal muscles may contribute to posterior pelvic movement through their ability to flex the spine, however, in most cases, this muscle group is weak, but there can be a variety of scenarios, particularly when back pain is present.
The focus of correcting these imbalances should first always be to lengthen the tight, facilitated muscles through modalities such as stretching or massage techniques, and strengthening the weak, inhibited muscles through proper strength and endurance training.
The order of correction methods is vital, and if not followed, challenges can result and make it much more challenging in attempting the correction of posterior pelvic tilt.