Does your body have good core stability and a good stable base from which you can move? Or is your exercise regimen mostly focused on looking better -- and not about building your core strength? Are you working those abs based on what you see other students doing? Or do your workouts include good core stability?
Many of you may have heard of core stabilization, but do you know what it means and what comprises the inner core muscles?
Creating this stable base is all about the abdominals, particularly the transversus abdominis (the inner-most layer of the 4 abdominal muscles). The inner core muscles include the transversus abdominis, the deep pelvic floor muscles and the deep back muscles. It is through timely, coordinated activation of these inner core muscles that you create properly aligned postures and a good stable base from which to move. Failure to maintain this base adequately throughout your daily activities or when exercising can lead to many musculo-skeletal pain syndromes, such as lower back pain, pelvic girdle/hip pain, neck and upper back pain.
Training the inner core does take some work, but once you have the proper instructions and learn how to activate it correctly, you will be surprised how little muscle effort it takes to establish and maintain proper core stability. Training the outer core (obliques, rectus abdominis, lats and erector spinae muscles) is easy to learn and generally over-trained. The outer core is where most people focus their efforts (i.e. sit ups, crunches, leg lifts). However, you still may not have a strong inner core and may end up in poor postures or develop pain and injuries.
Finding the inner core muscles and learning how to activate them without bringing in the outer core muscles is the challenge. Awareness of the inner core muscles is key to success in any core stabilization program. The exercises that are used to train these muscles are different from the outer core training exercises and will take daily practice to achieve proper stability. In physical therapy, we teach these exercises to the majority of our patients as well as teaching them how to use their new stable core with all their daily activities. Most of our patients are surprised about how much better they feel once they develop good core stability, learn how to transfer it into good posture and body mechanics, and use it effectively while exercising.
If you are having back pain with your daily activities or while exercising, then core stabilization work may be what you need. If a physician refers you for treatment, the University Health Services (UHS) physical therapy staff can teach you the appropriate exercises. Once the inner core is trained, you can go back to training the outer core muscles on top of your good stable base. If you are unable to obtain a physician referral for physical therapy or if you can't find someone who knows how to train that inner core, contact the UHS Physical Therapy Department at 865-7381.
To read more about core stabilization, go online and visit www.OPTP.com, click on newsletter, and then click on the article titled "Core Stability." You can also do a keyword search for "core stabilization" from the OPTP home page, and you will find videos, books and equipment. This will help you get started. Good luck!
