Summary

A companion piece to the psoas video, this episode from Dr. Ales Ulishchenko centres on pelvic alignment as the hub of whole-body health. He argues that a pelvis tilted forward or rotated left/right unevenly loads the joints — driving bunions, metatarsalgia, Morton's neuroma, knee/hip wear, lumbar disc herniations, sciatica, pelvic-floor weakness, and (via tension in the uterine/organ ligaments and reduced blood flow) reproductive and digestive issues. He maps four muscles to four misalignment patterns: iliopsoas (anterior tilt), quadratus lumborum (one hip raised), piriformis (left/right rotation), and gluteus medius (stabiliser that weakens when the others are tight). After a self-check in the mirror (iliac crests level? navel centred?), he gives four corrective techniques — a QL side stretch + side plank, an edge-of-bed iliopsoas stretch, side-lying gluteus medius activation, and a supine figure-4 piriformis stretch. The muscle-by-muscle anatomy is accurate; some downstream disease claims are overstated.

Key points

Fact check

Claim Verdict Notes Source
Iliopsoas tilts the pelvis anteriorly; QL hikes one hip; piriformis rotates the pelvis L/R; gluteus medius stabilises it ✅ Confirmed Accurate functional anatomy — gluteus medius prevents contralateral pelvic drop; piriformis is a hip external rotator on the sacrum; QL elevates the hemipelvis Gluteus Medius – Physiopedia, Piriformis – StatPearls, Kenhub – Piriformis
A misaligned pelvis distributes joint load unevenly, accelerating knee/hip wear ⚠️ Partially Confirmed Plausible biomechanically and widely taught; the magnitude/inevitability of "joint degradation" is overstated relative to evidence Aletha Health – Anterior Pelvic Tilt
Pelvic misalignment causes functional leg-length difference (one leg "long," one "short") ⚠️ Partially Confirmed Functional (apparent) leg-length difference from pelvic tilt/rotation is recognised; distinct from true structural difference Aletha Health
A twisted pelvis causes bunions, Morton's neuroma, metatarsalgia, and transverse flatfoot ⚡ Misleading These foot conditions have established causes (footwear, genetics, foot mechanics); a direct pelvic-twist cause is speculative and not supported Aletha Health
Pelvic twist alters uterine ligament tension, reducing blood flow and harming reproductive organs ❓ Unverified A mechanistic hypothesis presented as fact; no cited clinical evidence that postural pelvic tilt impairs reproductive blood flow
Correcting pelvic alignment can extend joint lifespan "10 to 20 years or more" ❓ Unverified Specific quantified benefit with no supporting study; treat as promotional
Gluteus medius prevents the opposite side of the pelvis dropping in single-leg stance ✅ Confirmed Core function of the muscle in gait and single-leg weight-bearing Gluteus Medius – Physiopedia

Related resources

Type Name URL Notes
🎓 Dr. Ales Ulishchenko's osteopathic/rejuvenation exercise course not given in transcript Paid course promoted via on-screen link
🔗 3D anatomy models (iliopsoas, QL, piriformis, gluteus medius) n/a Used on-screen to illustrate each muscle

Transcript

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Auto-generated transcript — may contain transcription errors.

If you don't want to end up with a bunion on your big toe or have your knee or hip joint start to deteriorate, if you really want to avoid herniated discs in your lower back area, if you want to prevent issues with your reproductive, digestive, or urinary systems, or asymmetry in your face and posture, then this video is for you because I'll explain some non-obvious things, why this happens, and how you can slow down this process. And I'll provide a set of exercises to help right now if you're already having problems. So, before we get started, please subscribe and let's dive in. As a doctor, I'm surprised how few people know this even though it's actually quite obvious. The thing is, if we look at it, the very center of our body is the pelvis. Depending specifically on the position of the pelvis, it directly impacts every single anatomical structure located below it, as well as every structure located above the pelvis. It's unique. Just listen for a moment before I give you the exercises. The fact is, if the pelvis tilts forward, or if it rotates to the right or to the left, this ultimately leads to the load on your joints being distributed in an uneven manner. As a result, individuals will often find themselves standing on one leg, shifting their body weight because it feels more comfortable. And why does it feel more comfortable? Well, it's because your pelvis is in an incorrect position. That's exactly why a bunion can start growing on your big toe. That's why your right knee or your left knee might start to hurt. Or why the hip joint on one side might deteriorate more quickly. It's all because when the pelvis is in the wrong position, and when it's significantly twisted, then the physical load on one of your legs increases quite a bit, and the joints there begins to wear out much faster. First, I want you to just walk over to a nearby mirror. Then carefully place your fingers on your iliac crests, which are located right on the very top of your hip bones, and see, are they at the same level or are they different? Look, is your belly button centered or is it shifted to the right or left? Look, is your pelvis facing straight ahead or is it shifted and facing right or left? Or it could be a combo where it tilts forward and rotates this way, like a diagonal twist. This means it's out of balance. What does that lead to? It leads to the load on your joints being uneven. As a result, wear and tear on the knee and hip joints increases. The forefoot becomes overloaded, which leads to what's called metatarsalgia. Morton's neuroma develops. Transverse flatfoot occurs. And bunions form. This also causes herniated discs in the lumbar region, sciatica, sciatic nerve syndrome, and frequent inflammation of the sciatic nerve. This also leads to weakness in the pelvic floor muscles. This leads to congestion and stagnation. It can even cause issues with the reproductive system. Here's the pelvis, the pelvic cavity. The cervix in the middle with the uterus and ovaries is held by ligaments. These ligaments are attached to the pelvic bones. If the pelvis is twisted, then on one side, left or right, consequently, the position of the uterus can change. And considering that blood flow to the reproductive system, to the uterus, goes through arteries within these ligaments, then naturally, tension in these ligaments leads to a lack of normal blood flow. These mechanical problems can already affect the physiology of female organs, and this applies to men, too, because wherever there's hypoxia, a lack of oxygen, a chronic inflammatory process is always triggered. That sluggish process that kills our body, kills our health, kills our beauty, youth, and the body begins to age prematurely. And seemingly, all of this is linked to a misaligned pelvis. So, what exactly can we do about this? Indeed, of course, there are deep osteopathic techniques that allow working with internal organs, with fascia, and deep ligaments. And if you want to try it right now, simply click the link down below. I've prepared the most effective and powerful exercises for my course just for you. You can start doing them right now and see truly remarkable and life-changing transformations in physical health and your entire body, as well as in the natural rejuvenation of your face. So, here I prepared 3D anatomy for you. Look, this is the first muscle. It's the iliopsoas muscle. When this muscle tenses up, it causes the pelvis, along with this psoas muscle, the pelvis starts to go into an anterior tilt. And the most interesting thing is that on the left and right, these muscles can be tensed differently, as a result of which the pelvis will tilt forward more on one side, either the right or the left. There are also quadratus muscles here. These small muscles, seemingly transverse, but they're on one and the other side, and they can lead to this, where the pelvis starts to rise on one side. As if the space between the ribs and the pelvis is shrinking. This is tension in these quadratus lumborum muscles. Because of this, in particular, the lower back can also hurt, both from the iliopsoas and from these. So, you need to work with these muscles. If the pelvis is in a misaligned position, it always leads to the legs becoming different lengths. So, it turns out one leg is long and the other is short. This muscle also plays a big, important role. The thing is that this muscle it When the iliopsoas and quadratus tenses up, this muscle becomes weak. Weak, and consequently, it contributes to the tilt. Another very important muscle is the piriformis muscle. There it is, see? These muscles, they balance the pelvis so that the pelvis faces forward. If it tenses on the right, then my pelvis turns to the left, or vice versa. If the pelvis faces either the right or the left side, it's the piriformis muscles. If the pelvis is tilted forward, it's the iliopsoas muscles. If the pelvis is raised on one side, it's the quadratus lumborum muscle. Basically, if we bring these muscles into balance so that it's normal on the left and right, then you can impact your health. And first of all, your joints won't break down as quickly. This will extend their lifespan by 10 to 20 years, or maybe even more. So, we're moving on to performing the exercises. The first exercise will be working with the quadratus lumborum muscle. Just to start, determine which side your pelvis is raised on, or vice versa. If the shoulder is lowered on this side, maybe on this side this muscle is also tense. Or, for example, if you try to lean to this side, for example, to the left, right? And you feel it pulling more here than, for example, on this side. That means you need to focus on this side. But, basically, I'll give you a routine that will strengthen and balance the work of this muscle on both the right and left. We need to stretch this muscle first, and then tone it. And here's a great set for you. This is necessary so that we align the pelvis. Try doing it with me. For this, you just need to lie on your side. Then the bottom leg is straightened, right? The top leg, you bend it at the knee joint, bring it in like this. Next, you try to stretch your arm out like this. For what? See, here my pelvis is lying down, and here I have a nice stretch going on. And so, you find a position such that your entire side is stretched out. If this shoulder is lower, that is, you start to stretch this quadratus muscle. Have a stretch, and then, once you've done this stretch, start reaching even further with your head and just stretch. Take a deep breath and a slow exhale. Pull the exhale and feel how the muscle and fascia stretch here. Move the arm. That is, constantly find tension and help with the head. And now we combine this with a side plank. When you do a side plank, you lean on your elbow, right? This lumbar muscle tenses up right then and we tone it. Hold it like this for 10 to 15 seconds. And after that, again place the leg, place the arm and start doing the stretch. That is, we alternately stretch it, as it were, and then we tense it. That is, we need to return it to normal tone. This muscle might be weakened. On another side, it might be hypertonic. Just do it on both. Sides equally on one side, then the same thing. Now, perform the same movement on the other side. Straighten one leg out in front of you. Feel for that deep tension and slowly work through it. After you have finished stretching, so, we're going to do a side plank, right? And hold it. It allows us to balance the pelvis, relax these muscles and strengthen them on one side and the other. It's important for getting the pelvis back into the correct position. So, if you really have a pelvic issue or problems with your knees or hip joints, you need to do these techniques. And after you've worked through both the right and left sides properly, stretch the muscle and held the plank for 10 seconds. As long as you can, 5 seconds, 10, 15 seconds. Then stretch again and just do that three times on one side and then definitely on the other side. And most importantly, pay attention to ensure that the sensations of tension and tone are the same for you on both the right and left sides. After that, we move on to correcting the anterior tilt so that the pelvis doesn't tip forward. And here we're working with the second muscle, the iliopsoas muscle. And here is this muscle. See, it attaches from the inside. This is the iliacus muscle. The psoas, it attaches to the spine and the iliacus attaches to the iliac fossa. It's located deep inside the pelvic area and it continues through the inguinal ligament and attaches to the femur. And when this muscle tightens, it kind of pulls the pelvis down and forward. And there might even be some soreness right there inside under the bone. There are a few different ways you can stretch it. I'll show you one of the easiest ways to do it. First, you can lie down right on the very edge of the bed so that your leg can hang down. So, for example, I want to stretch this muscle on this side in order to properly align the pelvis area. So, I lie down. I pull well, my knee toward me and then I start. I let the leg go and it turns out if this muscle is very tight, then your leg will either hang or it won't be able to lower completely. Place it on the edge so that the glute can lower completely. I'm pulling, you see my leg and so, accordingly, I feel how my So, I'm holding this knee and this leg. I'm just even trying to let it stretch out. And so, the leg just hangs and gradually, little by little, the stretching of this muscle happens. Just breathe and this muscle will start to relax. You can even rock it a little like this, right? There, I rocked it and this muscle is starting to stretch. If this is easy for you, there's another technique. It's not for everyone, of course. You can try placing a pillow right under your lower back. But you can bend your knees and just lie down. Like this, right? When accordingly, the lower back gradually gets as close as possible to the bed or the floor, these muscles, they run right here. They start to stretch. I just place my hands and relax. Of course, it's hard for many. So, you can place a pillow here. You can use one pillow, two, or even three. And here we're stretching the quadriceps and the iliopsoas muscles to help the pelvis return to its position. This is a technique that you can perform. If this is too difficult and you can't do it, stick to the first option. It's absolutely effective and it works. We've done two techniques. So, we're already correcting the anterior tilt to align the pelvis into the right position. And now we're moving on to the third technique. The third technique should be done after you've relaxed the iliopsoas muscle. Next, we'll work on the gluteus medius because this muscle stabilizes the pelvis and prevents it from tilting. So, while we relax the iliopsoas, we need to train the gluteus medius right here. In fact, there are the gluteus minimus, medius, and maximus muscles, and they all function differently. To activate the gluteus medius, there are two great techniques I'll show you. You can do them while lying on your side. Lie down and simply start moving your leg and knee outward like this. This way, you begin to train the gluteus medius muscle. Feel how deep inside, underneath the gluteus maximus. So, this technique specifically acts as a pelvic stabilizer. Just do 15 repetitions on one side, okay? I'll speed up a bit, but you can continue on your own for a little longer. Then we do the exact same thing on this side. Lie down and let's begin. I'm just starting to rotate my leg backward. You can also do, if you want, this kind of lateral abduction. This also trains the gluteus medius muscle. Just do it like this for each side. Combined with relaxing the iliopsoas, this will help stabilize the position of the pelvis. And before we move on to the next technique to correct pelvic rotation to the left or right, notice how your pelvis feels. You'll feel a sense of warmth or heat. This indicates that the muscles have been fully activated. It means vital blood and healing energy are flowing into this area. This process will help rejuvenate and restore your internal organs as well as your joints. Now, the fourth technique is designed to balance the function of the piriformis muscles. The piriformis muscle is located between the sacrum and the hip. Yes, that's where it attaches. When this muscle tightens, the pelvis starts to rotate left and right. So, we need to make absolutely sure that it's perfectly and equally relaxed on both sides. Because it's often in a state of hypertonicity on one side or the other. And you'll be able to observe it clearly. How can we address this issue? We'll use this highly effective position. Lie down. And then you need to place one leg over the other. So, you see, perform a rotation, an external rotation. The thing is, when this piriformis muscle tenses up, it starts to contract and consequently, the hip moves in this direction. See? So, we need to relax it. To do this, place your foot right here on your thigh, and then lie back and pull your thigh in. So, look, I'm sliding my hand between my legs, right, and grabbing my knee. And now I'm lying here trying to pull this knee toward me. Toward myself, that is, the left knee toward me, and I feel a stretch right here. This way, I'm relaxing the piriformis muscle. I just start pulling it toward myself. I can check the tissue tension on one side and then on the other, right? See which side, for example, feels tighter. The specific area that's feeling much tighter is where I really focus my attention more and stretch it out. I just start pulling my knee toward me and feeling a nice stretch here. And just like that, for 1 to 2 minutes, we keep stretching that piriformis muscle that has more tension. This way, we'll balance the tension on both sides and the pelvis will become more symmetrical, so it won't twist to one side. Work on the piriformis muscle, stretching it out. So, those are the four key techniques you should do to bring your pelvis into the correct position. To recap, working with quadratus lumborum muscles because tension in them will pull the pelvis upward. Working with the iliopsoas muscle and the gluteus medius muscles to stabilize the correct position of the pelvis, so that it doesn't twist or rotate forward. And we need to work on the piriformis muscles to eliminate pelvic rotation to the right or left, so it doesn't face sideways. If you perform these techniques, then what will happen? What will happen is that your muscle tone will be distributed evenly across both sides of your body. Posture misalignments will start to fade. You'll stop leaning on one leg and the load on your knee, hip, and foot joints will be more balanced, which means no more overloading, pain, inflammation, or joint degradation. What will happen to the internal organs? Well, when the pelvis is correctly aligned, the tension in all internal ligaments, the ligaments of the uterus, rectum, and bladder, also balances out and the organs begin to align in a neutral, proper position, whereas they're often shifted left or right due to twisting. And this affects essential blood flow because the majority of the fluid travels through the ligaments as delicate blood vessels, arteries, and veins pass through them, which significantly assists in helping to eliminate congestion. Since congestion is caused by these twists and the tension in the internal ligaments and fascia, when you balance the pelvis, everything starts to align. Just do this set of exercises. Look in the mirror, and you might already notice certain changes that your pelvis has become more level. If you do this regularly, you'll be much healthier. And by the way, it'll also make your face look better. Any asymmetry will start to go away, too. Well, this has been Dr. Alan. Subscribe to my channel so you don't miss any of the next interesting episodes.