When most people think about lower back pain, they often focus on the lower back itself. But sometimes, the real story begins lower—with the hips and pelvis. Your glute muscles are powerful stabilizers of the pelvis. They help control how your pelvis moves when you walk, climb stairs, squat, bend, and lift. When the hips aren’t doing their share of the work, the lower back may compensate by taking on more load and movement than it was designed to handle. Flexibility and strength in the glutes & hips are HUGE KEYS to the lower back feeling better! AND there’s another important piece of this puzzle: the pelvic floor.
The pelvic floor is part of your body’s deep “core” system. It works together with the diaphragm, abdominal muscles, and deep spinal muscles to help create stability and manage pressure inside the abdomen. That means pelvic floor function isn’t just about bladder control or childbirth. It can also be part of how your body stabilizes the pelvis and spine during everyday movement.
But more tension isn’t necessarily more strength. A pelvic floor that is weak may need strengthening, while one that is chronically tight may need to learn how to relax and coordinate properly. Healthy movement requires coordination—not simply making one muscle stronger. So if you’re dealing with recurring lower back issues, don’t just ask, “What’s wrong with my back?”
The better question: Are my hips strong & flexible? Is my pelvis moving well? Is my core functioning as a coordinated system? And is my pelvic floor able to both contract AND relax? Sometimes the path toward a stronger lower back begins with building a stronger, better-functioning foundation.