What is core stability and why is it important?
First off knowing what is not core stability might answer the previous question better. Just because you are strong does not mean that you have core stability and vice versa, just because you are weak does not mean that you do not have core stability. Just having a six pack or being really ripped may still have concerns with instability in the back and core. This instability would mean that things are either moving too much or not moving the way they are supposed to move. Why this is so important with any musculoskeletal injury is that you lose your proprioception or spatial awareness. For example, with an ankle sprain you will walk different and that builds compensation patterns and then those patterns can cause other problems down the road. These patterns can cause various types of instability or compensation around the area of injury and then that spatial awareness decreases. Another example of a weak or inefficient core would be that injury when you step off a curb that you did not know what there and get that jolt. Even if you are strong, if those muscle do not fire quick enough to hold your back steady there will be a shift in the bones and can cause pain and injury. This would explain more of the efficiency factor and trying to make the muscle fire better and faster and not just be strong.
Now addressing what a strong or efficient core should be doing. There are layers of back and core muscles and the ones that you feel with your hands typically are not the ones about which we are talking. The inner layer of muscles that hold the spine together and each vertebra together are some of the muscles being discussed when talking about core stability. These littler muscles stabilize the spine and help it from moving to much as you move in different motions. Being big and strong may not always mean that you know how to use these little muscles to hold you together.
The big exercise group that I would recommend to almost everyone to strengthen the core would be asymmetrical loading. This mean you would be doing your exercise with load on one side and not with the other side. For example, doing bicep curls with weight in only one hand and nothing in the other hand. This will mean that my core will have to counterbalance that one weight and will be getting a workout during my bicep curl. This anti movement activity is vital to train because it teaches your core to be able to counter act all the of the motions you are doing without overly moving and causing pain and injury. This can be applied to anything such squats, lunges, overhead press, etc. because you will have to counter the weight and you will be getting two workouts in one. I like being efficient. Again, for low back injuries, most of the time it is because the spine and vertebra moved too much, and this is trying to teach your body how to hold itself together as you move. All this is important because if we can have a strong torso or core to move our limbs around, we become more efficient and can produce more power in whatever activity we are trying to accomplish.
This is not meant to be an all-encompassing video on core stability. The takeaway would be that movement is good, but not too much and in certain places. Having good core stability will stop a lot of problems now and down the road if you are able to move well and efficiently.
Tahoe’s Premiere Sports Chiropractor
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