Pelvic pain is unfortunately fairly common in women, especially pregnant or recently pregnant women. But pelvic pain does not discriminate. Men and non-pregnant women can also suffer from pain in the pelvis or sacroiliac (S.I.) joint. There are many possible causes for pelvic pain, but S.I. pain in the non pregnant population is often due to a misalignment of the pelvic joint. This can be caused by muscle imbalances, ligamentous laxity (such as during pregnancy), improper positioning and movement patterns, acute injury or ligamentous sprains. Luckily, there is an easy exercise progression you can do at home to try and “reset” your pelvic alignment. Doing these exercises may help decrease your pelvic pain.
A misalignment of the pelvis is one of the most common musculoskeletal causes of sacroiliac joint (S.I. joint) discomfort. It can be experienced at the front or back of the pelvic joints. Pelvic pain can be very painful and disruptive changing how you walk and move, which can affect more muscles and joints up and down the “chain”. So it is very important to correct a pelvic misalignment to decrease pelvic pain and to prevent further injury.
Exercises to Help Reset Your Pelvis & Decrease Pelvic Pain
These exercises below use your muscles to help pull your pelvis into a proper alignment. Most involve performing an isometric contraction which means squeezing your muscles without your body parts actually moving. Start with the first exercise and move through each one in the following order.
1. Isometric Hip Adduction: 
Place your hands on the outside of your knees. Press your knees outwards into your hands. Hold for a count of 6. Repeat 6 times.
2.Isometric Hip Abduction (pillow): 
Place a pillow between your knees when sitting or laying down with your knees bent. Squeeze your knees into the pillow. Hold for a count of 6 seconds. Repeat 6 times.
3. Isometric Hip Abduction (fist):
Place a small ball or your fist between your knees. Again perform in a seated or laying down position. Squeeze the ball (or your fist). Hold for a count of 6. Repeat 6 times. You may hear or feel an audible “pop” or click with this exercise. This is a good thing because it means your bones are going back into alignment.
Stretches to Decrease Pelvic Pain
Stretching some of the muscles around your pelvis can also be helpful for reducing pain. Some of the commonly tight muscles are your hip adductors (the muscles on the inside of your thighs). Try these two stretches below for a good adductor stretch:
1. Butterfly stretch:
Seated place your feet together with your knees flaring out. Hold 30 seconds and perform at least twice
2. Laying down butterfly stretch:
Same as above but lay down and perform it. Hold 30 seconds at least twice.
What next for pelvic pain?
The above exercises will aid in realigning your pelvis if you are suffering from misalignment and pelvic pain. There is also a muscle energy technique (MET) that can be used to aid in pulling your pelvis into a proper position but you would need to be appropriately evaluated by a physical therapist to determine the way in which your pelvis is rotated.
But ideally, these exercises will help to decrease your pelvic pain. However, the most important thing you can do to prevent pelvic pain or keep your pelvis from become misaligned again is to strengthen your pelvic stabilizers.
If you are looking for more higher intensity exercise moves to strengthen your inner thigh muscles to aid in pelvic stabilization be sure to try these 8 Moves For Your Inner Thighs.
Activity modification and an S.I. belt can also aid in decreasing pelvic pain if you are suffering from pelvic instability. You can read much more on causes and treatment for pelvic pain on my post What causes pelvic pain.
If you have pelvic pain that doesn’t go away or you are pregnant you should always consult with the appropriate medical professionals. But give these exercises a try if you feel like your pelvis just needs a pause, a breath, and a reset.
–Monica
