Myofascial techniques
7
The Posterior Torsion Technique, prone variation. Flex the hip as
high as comfortable to mobilize posterior torsion of the innominate.
Augment the posterior torsion with gentle footward pressure on
the posterior superior iliac spine with your forearm. Wait for the
slight drift of the hipbone that signals release. Image courtesy
Advanced-Trainings.com. Used by permission.
Bring your client's hip into flexion, either
in a prone (Image 7) or supine position. Each
position has advantages; with your client prone,
you can use your forearm on the PSIS to gently
encourage posterior innominate torsion. This
position is easy on the practitioner's body, and
is probably preferred when working with clients
larger than you are. In the supine position,
bring your client's knee toward her chest, with
one hand under the same-side PSIS, applying
caudal traction to that prominence to encourage
posterior innominate torsion. As in the anterior
torsion technique, wait for several breaths until
you feel a slight drifting or yielding of the
innominate in the desired posterior direction;
then, recheck for side-to-side balance.
In both positions, the pull of the hamstrings
in passive hip flexion rolls the innominate into
posterior torsion. If this important motion is
restricted, the SI joint may not reach the closepacked position it needs for fully stable weight
bearing. For this reason, it's usually preferable
to do this technique after freeing up anterior
torsion, so as to leave clients with the stable,
solid feeling the full posterior torsion can bring.
Finish your work by bringing the two
sides of the body together in your client's
awareness. For example, use the bilateral
SI Wedge Technique (Massage & Bodywork,
November/December 2012, "Working with
the Sacroiliac Joints," page 114) to balance the
left and right sides of the sacrum. Or, finish
with some neck work, since its position at the
other end of the spine helps complement the
focused pelvic work you just performed.
Notes
1. For an extended version of this article, including images of Serge
Gracovetsky's ilia-walking subject, go to http://tinyurl.com/luchau-ilia.
2. H.M. Buyruk, "Measurements of Sacroiliac Joint Stiffness
with Colour Doppler Imaging: A Study on Healthy Subjects,"
European Journal of Radiology 21, no. 2 (1995): 117–22.
3. L. Damen et al., "The Prognostic Value of Asymmetric Laxity of the Sacroiliac
Joints in Pregnancy-Related Pelvic Pain," Spine 27, no. 24 (2002): 2,820–4.
Til Luchau is a member of the Advanced-Trainings.com faculty, which
offers distance learning and in-person seminars throughout the United
States and abroad. He is also a Certified Advanced Rolfer and has
taught for the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration for 22 years. Contact
him via info@advanced-trainings.com and Advanced-Trainings.com's
Facebook page.
Watch Til Luchau's technique videos
and read his past Myofascial Techniques
articles in Massage & Bodywork's
ABMPtv.com
"Anterior
Torsion of
the Ilium"
digital edition. The link is available at
www.massageandbodywork.com,
at ABMP.com, and on AdvancedTrainings.com's Facebook page.
www.abmp.com. See what benefits await you. 117
