Low Back Pain, Tight Hips? Here's why you feel like this after birth

Low Back Pain, Tight Hips?

Here’s WHY you may feel this way after birth? ⁠

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With Pregnancy your belly expands and core weakens to allow expansion . Normally, your core plays a key role in keeping your spine stable. ⁠Now other muscles will start working overtime to protect the spine.⁠
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Back muscles tighten to compensate for the weak core; including the psoas.⁠ The psoas is usually a hip flexor, but while it’s doing the job of stabilizing your spine it can’t move your leg effectively, so other hip muscles begin to take over the job of the psoas.⁠
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The Tensor Fascia Latae (or TFL) on the outside of your hip, ends up doing a lot of extra lifting to get your leg in front of you and it becomes overworked⁠. As the TFL works overtime, it inhibits/ shuts the glutes off, causing them to become even weaker.⁠
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Weakness in the glutes results in muscles deep inside the pelvis, like the deep hip rotators(e.g. piriformis) and pelvic floor muscles tightening up to try to create the stability that the glutes usually create!⁠
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Overactive outer hips and deep hip muscles, and weak glutes mean the pelvis isn’t properly stabilized from below!⁠ So you may feel this as tight hips, low back and knee pain. ⁠ When the Deep hip rotator become tight they all inhibit your hip from full extending and thus continuing to weaken the glutes since they are not being used through their full range of motion. 
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What can help? ⁠
 

• Rolling the TFL⁠
• Releasing the piriformis⁠ ( deep hip rotator)
• Stretching Hip flexors⁠
• 90/90 breathing⁠ to activate the deep core and relax the hip flexors
• Windshield wipers,90/90 (like in the reel, you can also do this from seated)
• Hip lifts⁠ to strengthen the glutes

Check out the video for a complete explanation of each exercise.

I hope this helps you have some happy hips!

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