The pelvic tilt is a beginner exercise for low back pain. Lying on your back with knees bent and feet flat, you tighten your belly and flatten your lower back against the floor. You hold for five seconds and repeat ten times.
This is one of the home exercises in our physician-directed physiotherapy program. Only do it if it is marked on the home exercise sheet your physician gave you. Unless your sheet says otherwise, do your checked exercises twice a day, every day.
How do you do the pelvic tilt?
- Get set: Lie on your back on a firm surface. Bend your knees and set your feet flat.
- Move: Tighten your stomach muscles and gently press the small of your back down into the floor.
- Repeat: Hold for five seconds. Repeat ten times.
Why does the pelvic tilt help low back pain?
Your belly muscles are the front wall of support for the lower spine. The pelvic tilt teaches them to switch on and hold the back steady. It is gentle enough that most people with back pain can start with it, including many people recovering from a back procedure once their physician clears them.
How does it fit with your pain procedures?
After a back procedure, such as an epidural steroid injection, a facet or sacroiliac injection, or radiofrequency ablation, your physician tells you when to restart. The weeks of lower pain that follow are the best time to build strength, so the relief has support underneath it.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Pushing through your feet or lifting your hips off the floor.
- Holding your breath. Let the air out slowly while the back flattens.
- Squeezing so hard that it hurts.
When should you stop and call us?
Feeling a light stretch, some effort, or mild soreness the next morning is expected. Stop the exercise and call (314) 481-5000 if you notice:
- Pain that is sharp or stabbing
- Pain that climbs two or more points above your usual level and stays up for over an hour
- Numbness, tingling or weakness that is new
- Dizziness or any change in your eyesight
Chest pain, trouble breathing or fainting is an emergency: call 911.
Why keep an exercise log?
Mark one check each time you finish your exercises, and write down one pain number a day. Bring the log to each visit. Your technician tallies the days and has you show one exercise, so any form problem gets caught early.
What to remember
- The belly does the work, not the legs.
- Breathe out as the back flattens.
- Five seconds, ten times.
Show us you have it: Show your technician one pelvic tilt and tell us which muscles you feel working. If any part is unclear, ask, and we will walk through it again at your next visit.
Other low back exercises in the program
- Knee to Chest Stretch for Low Back Pain
- Cat-Cow Stretch for Low Back Pain
- Bridge Exercise for Low Back Pain
Related reading: back pain we treat, what exercise does for back pain that keeps coming back, walking with spinal stenosis.