Perils of Over Tucking the Pelvis

Written on November 17, 2024 - 11:58 am | by admin

Sometimes in Pilates we do exercises where we intentionally tuck our pelvis under. We do exercises that bend us back, roll us over, and twist us - just to be sure our spines are as flexible as possible. And sometimes a lengthening of the spine along the mat will create a slight tilt of the pelvis that we want in some exercises. But we do need be clear about pelvic alignment, and when the pelvis might be over tucked, because over tucking the pelvis is a big problem.

In general, tucking promotes bad posture, creates inefficient movement patterns, and increases the risk of back pain and injury. OVER tucking the pelvis makes us work a whole bunch of muscles in ways we don’t really want, while simultaneously neglecting the very muscles we do want to work, like the abs. Not only that, but it can flat out get in the way of being able to do certain exercises at all!

I’ve recently published an article - along with right and wrong photos - about over tucking the pelvis. In it, I prevailed upon Susie Haggas of Happy Cat Pilates to demonstrate some very bad positions just so we could analyze the issue. We used a reclined position as an example. Actually, we used the Pilates roll up as an example because over tucking makes trying to roll up miserable. But some of us tuck when we stand, walk, or sit too. I’m hoping you will be able to translate what you get from this article into being more aware of tucking in general.

Read: Neutral vs Overly Tucked Pelvic Alignment in Exercise.

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