When it comes to core conditioning most people are missing the boat in a big way. They are taught to focus on global muscles, not the deep layer musculature.
Most people gravitate to machines to train their core, however for most people that have low back pain this is a recipe for disaster. Why? Because they are not going to the root of the problem, which is dysfunction of their inner unit. What is the inner unit?
The Inner Unit:
The inner unit muscles are a deep set of muscles that help stabilize your entire core and are frequently shut off, or possess inappropriate activation patterns during periods of pain. They include:
-The muscles of the pelvic floor
-The transverse abdominus
-The multifidus
-The diaphragm
These muscles must be isolated to ensure proper activation and sequencing, then integrated with the next group of muscles, called the Outer Unit.
The Outer Unit:
The outer unit is further segmented into 4 systems, but in essence, involves the following muscles:
-The gluteals (all of them)
-The spinal erectors
-The abdominal wall
-The groin muscles
-The hip flexor and quadricep muscles
The real trick to resolving any problem with back pain seems to always come back to the correction of the deep muscular stabilizer systems of the body, then re-integrating them with the larger, more powerful muscles.
If you don’t follow this sequence, your results will be limited to symptom relief for the short term. I have seen this time and again in my studio with clients who have progressed their programs too quickly just to “get strongerâ€.
When I end up seeing them after the many therapists they have seen prior to me, I have to take them back to the beginning anyway. In this situation, unfortunately, they have been taught to OVER activate the larger muscles, and I have to re-train them to focus on the micro-movements that need to be done.
Lesson here: Whats worth doing is worth doing RIGHT the first time! Find someone who specializes in working with re-educating the abdominal wall, someone who is a core conditioning specialist. If you need help with low back pain, give us a call today. You have nothing to lose, except your low back pain. 952-210-2091 Check out our testimonials here.
