Why It's Important To Know Your Type Of Posture by Claudia Massa

Understanding your type of posture can help to build awareness during everyday life, can assist to prevent injuries and can be beneficial to know while exercising. There are three different types of posture: neutral, anterior pelvic tilt and a posterior pelvic tilt. Addressing this is most important for those who have an anterior or posterior tilt as these positions result in tightness and weakness of specific muscle groups and can also cause pain during certain everyday and exercise related movements.

Significant benefits will be gained from doing the right type of exercises for yoru body or posture type! Exercises that stretch your tight muscle groups and strengthen your weaker areas will improve your overall performance and just 'feel better'. If these muscle imbalances are addressed and corrected during movement, it can reduce pain, decrease risk of injury such as disk degeneration or herniation, and ensure the correct muscles are being activated in each exercise.

Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Those who have a forward or anterior pelvic tilt will commonly experience tightness through hip flexors and tension through your lower back. You might also find that you have more of a 'bum' and prominent calf muscles. In conjunction with weak gluteal muscles, hamstrings and abdominals if you have an anterior pelvic tilt you may also experience lower back pain after prolonged periods of sitting or standing and aching sensations through the front of your hips.

With this type of posture it is easy to over extend the lumbar spine, thus, over-activating the lower back extensor muscles instead of abdominals. This is particularity a concern during abdominal-specific exercises as it will hinder your ability to develop core strength and can lead to lower back discomfort. Therefore, enhancing abdominal awareness and the activation of a vital deep core muscle known as the Transverse Abdominis, will help to deload lower back during exercise to ensure abdominals are being activated and strengthened appropriately.

What to watch out for:

- Tucking pelvis under is important during exercise to hold a neutral spine position. Eg - reduce the arch through your lower back, will take pressure off your lower back. This will engage your core and assist you during exercises and everyday movements.

- Tension through the neck - During exercises keep your chin slightly tucked in towards your chest, to lengthen through the back of your neck

- Exercises in table top position, can cause discomfort however can be addressed with appropriate streches and the use of specific props that is supplied at any.BODY Studio.

Most reliving spine movement: Spinal flexion: any forward fold style movement.

Posterior Pelvic Tilt:

Backwards / Posterior pelvic tilt will result in tightness through gluteal muscles, hamstrings, abdominals and upper back. You too, may experience lower back pain as this type of posture places extra load through the lumbar spine. This type of posture will commonly cause a forward head shift, thus, resulting in neck tightness and pain. Commonly found in those with a posterior pelvic tilt might be knee pain or knee's being aggravated during exercises due to inactive gluteal muscles supporting their knees and very tight hamstring muscles. Those with a posterior pelvic tilt will also tend to load through their quadriceps (front of your thighs) rather than placing load through their Gluteals (bum muscles). During forward bending exercises (squatting) you might find that you are very rounded through your spine, and not activating your posterior (back chain) muscles correctly.

What to watch out for:

- Lengthening through the spine into a proud posture and moving the pelvis forward slightly is important during exercise to hold a neutral spine position. You will have to work hard to try and find an neutral arch through your back.

- Ensure to maintain a small gap under lower back while laying flat during exercise.

Most reliving spine movement: Spinal extension: any back-bend style movement. Upper back extension: rolling backwards over a foam roller.