The “CORE” Refers to all parts of the body, excluding the arms and legs: Pelvic, Trunk and Shoulder girdles.

The Spine

Important Muscles

Core stability is:  The control of the trunk muscles to maintain a ‘strong’ neutral position of the spine and to stabilise the core regions, to ensure efficient and safe movement.

CORE STABILITY  Is the capacity of the core to resist being deformed involuntarily, thus causing deficiency in postural control.

The CORE  Is the crucial link between upper and lower limb movements, providing efficiency in function. Efficiency is important in sporting and everyday activities.

The Core  Especially important in lifting and body extension activities.  E.g. Working with tools in difficult to reach areas; moving awkward shaped furniture.

Conscious of the CORE  Core improvement can be included in everyday activities  e.g. maintaining a neutral position when working on the computer  Getting in and out of a car  Decreasing the lever length  Using your legs to reduce the amount of spinal contribution.

Training the CORE: Specific  Abdominal bracing / abdominal hollowing / bridging: “pulling the belly button in and up while breathing normally”

Specific Training  Swiss ball activities: providing an unstable environment that stress the neutral position of the spine, requiring re-action to address the malalignment.  Need to be aware of quality of exercise technique.  Persisting with poor form can lead to injury!!!!

Functional Training  Once the hold is satisfactory, add peripheral movements

Functional strength  Making strength specific to what we are training for.  “How efficient can I be in actual movements as a result of the strength gained in the execution of that movement” Gambetta, 2000

Exercise Form Look for  Signs of unwanted muscle activity  Posterior pelvic tilt  Excessive hip flexion  Inability to relax abdominal wall  Difficult, inappropriate or no breathing

Exercise Prescription  An over emphasis on core stability at the expense of peripheral stability is a step towards instability  An over emphasis on functional strength at the expense of pure strength gains can be a step towards loss of strength

Holistic Approach  Need to focus on a holistic approach to ensure postural control can be maintained in all the specific dynamics of movement, from Sitting in Class paying attention to the teacher to Olympic lifting ! Holistic