What Is The Core?

By now we have all heard of the concept of The Core. Yes it was a blockbuster movie about a journey to the centre of the earth, but to us Physiotherapists, it's more about certain muscles in our body that are very important. It's talked about frequently during your Pilates sessions, or during your Yoga sessions. And although they may use different words and phrases like generate your force from within or from the centre the concept is the same.

So what is this elusive core and what's all the big fuss about? Why is it more and more professional athletes from Olympic level swimmers to professional basketball players have jumped on the band wagon? Can it really help prevent back pain? Can it really improve your sporting performance or even improve your posture?! Absolutely.

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Firstly it's important to understand the role of your muscles. There are the PRIME MOVERS (or fast twitch muscles) and then there are your STABILIZERS (slow twitch muscles). These slow twitch stabilizers are what makes up The Core.

What Is The Core?

Let's talk about the PRIME MOVERS first:
These are muscles that are responsible for MOVING your body and joints around. Whether you are walking, running, lifting something off the floor, these muscles contract to move your joints and body parts around. The muscles like your quadriceps, your pectoralis, your hamstrings, your biceps and triceps, are perfect examples of these prime movers. They tend to big large muscles, located superficially near the skin. They are designed for quick short bursts of activity and fatigue fast. Can you also notice how they all tend to anchor from the pelvis or from the centre of the body?

The other group of muscles are the STABILIZERS (core):
These are the unsung heroes. Because they are smaller and deeper within the body, they often go unnoticed and neglected. Their job is not so much to move your body around, their job is to tighten and hold your joints together. In essence, they hold everything together. In fact research shows that before you move (eg. run, jump, sit, stand) these muscles are the ones that activate first (not the Prime Movers). They activate about 60 milliseconds before the Prime Movers, as your body anticipates the movement and recruits these muscle to help provide a stronger base for everything else to work off. These stabilizers are designed for long periods of sustained contractions, and are highly fatigue resistant.

So when you do resistance training and train your Prime Movers (your big muscles), don't forget to train your Stabilizers. In fact an imbalance in strength between the Prime Movers and Stabilizers can lead to pain and injury! The benefits from training these muscles range from preventing and reducing back pain (if you already have it), to improving your speed, agility and strength on the sporting field!

To activate them you simply have to visualize your MT and TA pulling your pelvis in together! It's that easy! You should feel your LOWER abdominal region (near your belt line) tighten up both in the front and the back. You might even see your tummy get pulled in abit giving you a more slim figure (at least temporarily)! There should be no change in your breathing pattern or depth, and you shouldn't be tightening your backside muscles either. A helpful hint to facilitate the MT and TA tightening is to sit or stand on straight.

Slouching actually make it hard for these muscles to contract. Also remember that these are slow twitch muscles, so there is no need to try to tighten these muscle too hard. About 20% of your maximal effort is all it takes. The trick is to hold the contraction while you breath, while you walk, even while you talk! It takes abit of practice and you might not feel the benefit for a few days or even weeks, but you are bound to feel a difference eventually. Please consult your Physiotherapist for further advice.

What Is The Core?

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