- Anatomy of The Spine
- Back Pain in Children
- Caring for your Spine
- Emerging Spinecare Trends
- Evaluation of Spinal Disorders
- Exercise and The Spine
- Intervention - Spinal Disorders
- Intervertebral Disc
- Non Surgical Options
- Nutrition and Spinecare
- Options for Spine Treatments
- Pregnancy and Back Pain
- Prevalence of Spine Disorders
- Sleep and the Spine
- Spinecare Introduction
- Spinehealth and Disease
- Surgical Interventions
- Treatment with Medications
- Understanding Back Pain
Spinecare Topics
Exercise and The Spine
Core Stability and Training
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Core Stability and Training
Core Exercises
Regular performance of core exercises helps strengthen the core muscles. It does not take specialized equipment or an expensive gym membership to train your core muscle groups. Any exercise that uses the trunk of your body without support will incorporate all of the core muscle groups to some degree. Examples of common exercises that strengthen core muscles include squats, push-ups and abdominal crunches. The use of low tech devices such as exercise balls, balance platforms, and balance boards places a greater demand on coordinated function of the core muscles in order to maintain balance and to adequately perform the exercise. The use of an unstable base also forces greater integration of other balance regulating systems such as vision, the inner ear, and proprioception from the musculoskeletal tissues of the spine and extremities. There are a variety of different core exercises.
Very simple core exercises which can be performed anywhere include:
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Bridge. Lie on your back on a firm surface with your knees bent. Keep your back in a neutral position. Do not arch the back or flatten it to the floor. There should be a slight curve. Now tighten your abdominal muscles. Raise your hips off the floor until your hips are aligned with your knees and shoulders. Hold for three deep breaths. Return to the start position and repeat. Move slowly and controlled.
*
Quadruped. Start by placing your hands and knees on the floor. Place your hands directly below your shoulders, and align your head and neck with your back. Tighten your abdominal muscles. Raise your right arm off the floor and reach forward. Hold for three deep breaths. Lower your right arm and repeat with your left arm. Now raise your right leg off of the floor. Tighten your core muscles to create balance. Hold for three deep breaths. Lower your right leg and repeat with your left leg. In order to hold each extremity out and steady you must have a stable core. This simple exercise trains the core muscles.
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Pelvic Tilts. Lie on your back on a firm surface. Keep your low back in a neutral position. Tighten your abdominal mussel while relaxing your gluteal (buttock) muscles and try to flatten your low back against the floor. Hold this position for three deep breaths and release. Repeat this sequence for about three minutes.
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Segmental rotation. Lie on your back on a firm surface with your knees bent and your back in a neutral position. Tighten your abdominal muscles. While keeping your shoulders on the floor, allow your knees to fall slowly to the left. Let them go as far as they can with comfort. You should feel a stretching sensation, but no pain. Hold this position for three deep breaths. Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise to the right.
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Sitting March. Sit on a seat with your feet flat on the floor. Place your low back into a neutral position using the abdominal, back and gluteal muscles. Without moving the torso, lift one foot off of the floor at a time. To perform this controlled movement you must use the core muscles to stabilize the low back and pelvis. This exercise will not break you into a sweat but it is an exercise of control.
Regular performance of core exercises helps strengthen the core muscles. It does not take specialized equipment or an expensive gym membership to train your core muscle groups. Any exercise that uses the trunk of your body without support will incorporate all of the core muscle groups to some degree. Examples of common exercises that strengthen core muscles include squats, push-ups and abdominal crunches. The use of low tech devices such as exercise balls, balance platforms, and balance boards places a greater demand on coordinated function of the core muscles in order to maintain balance and to adequately perform the exercise. The use of an unstable base also forces greater integration of other balance regulating systems such as vision, the inner ear, and proprioception from the musculoskeletal tissues of the spine and extremities. There are a variety of different core exercises.
Very simple core exercises which can be performed anywhere include:
*
Bridge. Lie on your back on a firm surface with your knees bent. Keep your back in a neutral position. Do not arch the back or flatten it to the floor. There should be a slight curve. Now tighten your abdominal muscles. Raise your hips off the floor until your hips are aligned with your knees and shoulders. Hold for three deep breaths. Return to the start position and repeat. Move slowly and controlled.
*
Quadruped. Start by placing your hands and knees on the floor. Place your hands directly below your shoulders, and align your head and neck with your back. Tighten your abdominal muscles. Raise your right arm off the floor and reach forward. Hold for three deep breaths. Lower your right arm and repeat with your left arm. Now raise your right leg off of the floor. Tighten your core muscles to create balance. Hold for three deep breaths. Lower your right leg and repeat with your left leg. In order to hold each extremity out and steady you must have a stable core. This simple exercise trains the core muscles.
*
Pelvic Tilts. Lie on your back on a firm surface. Keep your low back in a neutral position. Tighten your abdominal mussel while relaxing your gluteal (buttock) muscles and try to flatten your low back against the floor. Hold this position for three deep breaths and release. Repeat this sequence for about three minutes.
*
Segmental rotation. Lie on your back on a firm surface with your knees bent and your back in a neutral position. Tighten your abdominal muscles. While keeping your shoulders on the floor, allow your knees to fall slowly to the left. Let them go as far as they can with comfort. You should feel a stretching sensation, but no pain. Hold this position for three deep breaths. Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise to the right.
*
Sitting March. Sit on a seat with your feet flat on the floor. Place your low back into a neutral position using the abdominal, back and gluteal muscles. Without moving the torso, lift one foot off of the floor at a time. To perform this controlled movement you must use the core muscles to stabilize the low back and pelvis. This exercise will not break you into a sweat but it is an exercise of control.
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