Are you strengthening your core the right way?
These are some thoughts I sent out to my email audience several weeks ago and I thought I would put them here. If you want content like this with better images and visualization just message me from the Contact Page.
Before I became a physical therapist, I used to think strengthening the core meant doing crunches and sit-ups! What I learned from school and through my residency training, was that the core is made up of so much more than just the muscles on the front of the stomach.
On the side of the trunk are the internal and external obliques. These muscles are responsible for trunk rotation and stability when lifting a weight on one side of the body.
On the back are the multifidus and erector spinae muscles that keep the spine from bending forward and are seriously engaged widen picking up a heavy weight.
From the bottom, the pelvic floor muscles are responsible for hip control and to increase pressure within the abdominal cavity.
Lastly, from the top, the diaphragm completes the core by stabilizing the spine and the ribs.
The most important thing to know, is that every side is needed to provide adequate stabilization to the spine. This is especially true in high achieving athletes who push their bodies to the limit every day. Without every core muscle adequately strengthened, the spine will not be supported and the result will be reduced athletic performance and increased risk for injury.
I will put links here to some of the exercises we give our athletes to help strengthen the entire core.
https://youtube.com/shorts/37iKe08TQMk?si=cjsl2Gw3Z6lS7AqK
https://youtube.com/shorts/QNc7Lmdwz9Q?si=IfC6N1lojLLfOJwC
