Strength Vs Stability - How much do you know about the core muscles?
We've all been to the gym and seen those big guys pumping up their guns in front of the mirror as though their life depended on it. This is all well and good if you want rippling muscles to show off at the beach, but if you want a healthy and balanced body you need to start with stability. Generally when people begin lifting weights at the gym they bypass stability and jump straight to strength. If you want to be strong and muscly then this makes sense. But this lack of stability is what leads to many injuries. Without stability the body tightens up to protect joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles. You can stretch and strengthen til the cows come home but without activating and strengthening the stabilising muscles you will always be prone to injury.
A good example of this is the core. Without core strength the muscles of the pelvis have to tighten up to provide pelvic stability. These muscles can then tighten up limiting pelvic movement. You will then feel tightness in your hamstrings and lower back, maybe even your hip flexors. Instinct says to stretch the muscles out which can provide some relief to the tightness but it just keeps coming back. The reason for this is that the core is still weak and therefore the pelvis is unstable. So stop doing your sit-ups and start doing some core activation exercises. The benefits of this will reduce the likelihood of lower back pain, hip problems, knee injuries and much more.
Core activation - Let's start at the start. If you can't activate your core without moving or without weights then you really shouldn't be adding extra load or weight until you can first activate it.
First the anatomy - You really need to understand the core muscles if you are going to activate them. So scrub up on your latin and lets go....
Transversus Abdominis (TVA) - This muscle is basically like a corset that wraps around from one side of the spine, all the way around the front and then attaches to the other side of the spine. It lives underneath the Rectus Abdominis (six pack) and oblique muscles.
Multifidus - These muscles basically stabilise the spine and are involved in rotational movement of the spine. They stop the vertebrae from slipping forward and keep them aligned. They traverse the whole spine from the lumbar spine right up into the neck (cervical).
There is a lot of controversy as to how to activate and strengthen multifidus.
How to find and activate them?
The hardest part with these muscles is actually activating them. Here are a few different ways you can try:
Lie on your back and place your fingers just off the bony bit at the front of your pelvis. Press in a little so as to get deep enough to feel the TVA. Squeeze out like you are doing a poo and you should feel the TVA contract. When ever you are doing any core exercises you should brace your core by breathing in and squeezing out . This should also be done when doing any heavy weights or lifting things off the ground.
Lie down on your back with your spine in neutral and your knees bent. Try to imagine you are pulling the back of your pelvis together. This will help to activate the lower multifidus.
Exercise for multifidus:
Slow spinal roll downs and then coming up vertebrae by vertebrae bringing your head up last. Repeat 5-10 times. Any lower back pain then stop immediately.
Pelvic Floor muscles - if you have ever been pregnant, done Yoga or Pilates then you will be familiar with the pelvic floor. Even so, I generally find most people are baffled by these muscles and only have a very limited understanding of what they actually do. There are differing views as to what muscles make up the pelvic floor. For the case of simplicity we will say that they are made up of the Levator Ani group of muscles (Pubococcygeus, Ileococcygeus and Puborectalis) and the Coccygeus muscle.
Pubococcygeus (PC) muscle: a hammock like muscle that stretches from the pubic bone to the coccyx (tailbone) which supports the internal organs. This muscle helps control urine flow and sexual function as well as stabilising the spine and pelvic positions.
Ileococcygeus muscle: This muscle connects from the ilium (pelvic bone) to the coccyx.
Puborectalis muscle: this muscle forms a sling from the pubic bone to the rectum and is part of Levator Ani.
Coccygeus muscle: This muscle connects from the sacrospinous ligament and inserts to the ischial spine.
How to strengthen them? 1) Lying comfortably on your back or seated comfortably. Imagine you are stopping the flow of urine. Contract this muscle and then relax. Repeat this 10 times and build up to 30 times. Once you can comfortably do this 30 times build up to holding the muscle contracted for 1 minute. 2) Now do the same but now contract the anal sphincter. Contract and relax up to 30 times. Once you build up to this then try to hold for up to a minute. When you can do these individually try and do them together by contracting both areas at the same time. When you have mastered these exercises you should always incorporate them into any exercise regime, especially core work.. For instance if you are doing a plank pull on the pelvic floor muscles but squeezing the anal sphincter and also stopping the flow of urine by doing exercise 1 and 2.
It is generally said that if you can switch on the transversus abdomens and the pelvic floor then the multifidus will fire as well. The multifidus are by far the hardest muscles to visualise contracting or feel as though they are doing anything.
Common general core exercises
Bridging: Lie on your back with your knees bent arms by your side. Switch on the core muscles and then press down with your heels and lift your buttocks off the floor. Your knees and shoulders should form a straight line. Hold for 5 seconds and then lower back down. Repeat 10 times. Have a 30 second rest and then repeat 2 more sets. Try to keep your pelvis stable and your spine neutral, that is don't over arch or over tuck your pelvis. If you can't do this then it is a sign that you are very weak in your core. Back it off and only raise up as high as you can whilst keeping stable.
Knee fallouts, raises and slides: laying on back, knees bent, spine in a neutral position. Pull up pelvic floor, pull front hip bones together (TA, transversus abdominus), pull back hip bones together (multifidus). Once holding the above contractions, repetitions of the following three exercises should be done without losing control of the pelvis and low back
A: drop one knee out to the side, then alternate (Knee fallouts) B: lift one knee and foot a few inches, then alternate (knee raises) C: slide one heel out until your leg is straight, then alternate (knee slides)
The Plank: lying face down on the floor. Elbows tucked in and hands together at the front forming a triangle. Tuck your toes under and then press down with your elbows coming up onto elbows and toes. Pull on core using the techniques described above. The Transversus Abdominis, Multifidus and Pelvic floor. Hold until you can't hold any longer. You should build up to holding for at least 2 mins. Any signs of back pain you should cease immediately.
As with any exercises if you feel pain or discomfort or feel that you are doing them wrong then get in touch. If you have any comments or questions please feel free to to get in touch: email info@muscletherapyaustralia.com.au, phone 02 9233 5769 or post on muscle therapy australia facebook page
