The top of the pelvis can be felt just below the waist.
The back of the pelvis joins onto a triangular bone (called the sacrum) that sits at the base of the spine. The spine and the pelvis join at the sacrum and therefore the position of the pelvis will change the position of the spine.
At the front, the pelvic bones join to form the pubic bone. The leg bones (femurs) join on to the pelvis at the hip joints and you sit on two bony prominences that are part of the pelvis (you can feel them if you slide your hand under your buttock when you are sitting).
Because the pelvis supports the spine, provides the ‘sitting bones’ and is joined to the thigh bones, it is like a keystone. This means that if the pelvis is in a good position, the rest of the body tends to follow.
Tilting Rotation Elevation Movements of the pelvis
The pelvis can move in three different ways:
As each movement is explained, notice how the position of the body changes when the pelvis is moved.
ROTATION
The pelvis can rotate so that one hip is further forwards than the other.
The pelvis of someone sitting in a wheelchair with the pelvis rotated so that the right hip is further forwards than the left hip. This would make the right knee further forward than the left knee.
ELEVATION
One side of the pelvis can lift up so it is higher than the other. In this position weight is usually resting more on one of the sitting bones.
Spine curves sideways to compensate. Left side of the pelvis is higher than the right. Extra weight on the right sitting bone. Problems with posture in sitting are often caused because the pelvis has fallen out of the neutral position. Having the pelvis in the wrong position can then lead to problems in the legs and also the spine which in turn will affect the position of the head.
