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I'm trying to correct my anterior pelvic tilt (APT) which is a result of bad sitting posture / prolonged sitting. Because our body adapts to the positions in which we fix our muscles, and one period during which we tend to keep our muscles in some fixed position for an extended period of time is sleep (assuming at least an hour or two, because people do move in their sleep), I wanted to make sure I was addressing my sleeping posture.

For a long time, I have been sleeping on my side, but recently, I saw a video suggesting that sleeping on one's back is helpful for correcting APT. According to the video, when in this position, it is important to place pillows under one's knees to allow the pelvis to posteriorly tilt which will relieve the feeling of tightness in the lower back due to extension of the lumbar spine. This tightness / extension without pillows beneath the knees is a result of shortening of the iliopsoas, which is shortened in people with APT.

I'm confused because if the iliopsoas is shortened, then, to correct the resultant APT, wouldn't we want to stretch the iliopsoas and hip flexors as shown here (and up to 30 seconds before the start of the link)? And since sleeping with a pillow under the knees causes shortening of the iliopsoas, wouldn't this exacerbate the tilt?

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Vivek Subramanian
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  • I'm not sure this is on topic for fitness, as there isn't anything in it about using fitness/exercises to correct for APT. – JohnP May 30 '18 at 20:11

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An anterior pelvic tilt results in an unusually rounded spine, placing a pillow under the knees realigns the pelvis so the back is more flat out towards the bed. This does not mean a large pillow or blanket but one that just makes a difference. If you were talking about posterior pelvic tilt it would be different. In this situation sleeping without something under the knees will make you spine want to arch even further. I also would like to say although I am fairly sure you know this already but changing the sleeping position will not actually fix the issue. Edit: I would like to explain a bit more that the anterior tilt is all about breaking the curvature of the spine and so sleeping in any position that will allow it to arc will need to be modified in order to prevent it. You may also sleep on your stomach and place the pillow under your hips instead. Back to the point of it not fixing the issue, it only teaches your body the right position to be in