A postural concern that can have a negative impact on lower
back pain and hip mobility is lower crossed syndrome. This term was first defined by Janda, a
physiotherapist and medical doctor, in 1979.
It refers to the position of the pelvis while standing and is more
commonly thought of as “swayback posture.”
The easiest way to tell if you have lower crossed syndrome is to look at
the back of your belt and compare its position to the front of the belt. The back of the belt should be even or
slightly higher than the front of the belt, with no more than a 10 degree
slope. If the back of your belt is
greater than that, your pelvis is in an anterior tilt. This causes the muscles in the front of the
pelvis to be in a shortened position, making them tight, and the muscles in the
back of the pelvis to be in a lengthened, or weakened position. Basically, the butt muscles are weak, the low
back muscles are overactive, causing discomfort, the hamstrings are overactive
and appear tight, the hip flexors are overactive, and the abdominals are weak. This can cause trouble in the form of injury
or pain, either above or below the hip joint, usually appearing in the low back
or knee. Below are some exercises that
can be performed to address lower crossed syndrome. Similar to the corrective exercises for upper
crossed syndrome, these can be performed in a circuit fashion, performing 1-3
circuits, depending on what time allows.
Warm-up:
Cat/Cow
Begin on all fours, with your knees under you hips and your
feet hip distance apart. As you inhale,
draw the belly button in, round the back, and drop your chip towards your
chest. Exhale, take the back into a
slight arch, lengthening the front of the neck and looking up at the sky. Repeat 10 times.
Squat preparation:
Remaining in the same starting position, brace your belly as
though someone were about to punch you.
Keep the back of the neck long and the chin slightly tucked. Without changing your low back position, sit
back towards your heels. Do not arch or
round your lower back. Return to
center. If you feel your back
round/arch, change the range of motion so the back remains neutral. Repeat 10 times.
Quadraped:
Staying in a quadraped position, slide your shoulders away
from your ears and press your hands firmly into the floor. Gently engage the abdominals. Extend your right leg straight back, without
rotating your spine. If you are able to
do this easily, extend your left arm at the same time. Do not add the arm if you feel your spine
rotating when you extend the leg. Pause for a count of 2, return to the
starting position and switch sides.
Perform 10/side.
Circuit:
Prisoner
squats:
Stand up
tall, with your feet hip distance apart.
Toes either point straight ahead or turn out slightly. Take your hands behind your head and gently
engage the abdominals. Squat back, like
you are sitting in a chair. There should
be weight evenly across all parts of your feet.
Your heels should not come off the ground and the knees should not come
over the toes. Squat as low as you can,
without arching or rounding the back.
Extend strongly through your hips, imagining the fronts of your thighs
growing long as you come up. Repeat 15
times.
Frontal
plane stabilization with tubing:
Stand
sideways to the tubing. Hold on to the
handle with both hands. Your feet should
be shoulder width apart with knees slightly soft. Press firmly into the ground with your
feet. Your weight should be even across
both feet. Start with the hands at the
center of your chest, elbows bent.
Engage gently through the abdomen.
Extend your arms straight out.
Don’t let your back arch or round, or your body rotate. Hold for a count of 5. Bend the elbows, bring the tubing back into
the chest. Repeat 10-15 times. Switch sides.
Bottoms up
lunge:
Begin in a
half kneeling position, with your right knee back and your left leg
forward. Dorsiflex the right foot so the
right toes press into the ground, not the top of the foot. Press your left foot firmly into the
floor. Think about extending the front
of your right thigh and lifting out of the right gluteus to engage the glute
muscles. Straightening your right knee,
lift your right leg off the ground.
Lower the right knee back down with control. Repeat 10-15 times and switch sides.
Anterior reach:
Stand on your left leg, lifting the crown of the head up to
the sky and lengthening the front of the left thigh. Think about extending out of the left
hip. Gently engage your abdominals. Keeping your body straight and your hips
even, extend forward at the hips, reaching your arms over head. Return to center. Do not rotate the body and come forward as
far as you can while keeping the hips even and the spine neutral or until the
body is parallel with the floor. Try not
to touch the right foot to the floor.
Repeat 10-15 times and switch sides.
Bridge:
Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the
floor and hip distance apart. The feet
should be about 12 inches from your hips.
Press firmly and evenly into your feet while gently engaging your
abdomen. Extend your hips up, attempting
to make a straight line from your feet, to your knees, to your hips. Rather than squeezing your glutes, think
about extending out of the hips. Pause
for a count of 2 and lower down. Repeat
10-15 times.
For questions, or for more advanced movements, please
contact me at pilottij@gmail.com/www.bewellpt.com.
