Low back pain is one of the most common complaints bringing people to doctors office in Boulder. It is estimated that 90 billion dollars a year is spent on the diagnosis and management of back pain in the US! Low back pain accounts for some of the greatest incidence levels of used sick days in the corporate world, approximately 10-20 billion dollars in productivity is lost to lower back pain each year! Those especially bound to their desk during the work week often fall victim to these debilitating aches and pains. Even the most active of individuals may be susceptible to injury and back pain, especially if they find themselves relying solely on crunches to ‘strengthen their core’.
Crunches are outdated, and in most cases, can actually make you more vulnerable to low back injuries, such as disc bulges and herniations. This is due to the increased pressure put on your lumbar discs during the crunch motion. We know that there is a finite number of times that you can squeeze the disc in a poor manor before the disc begins to bulge or rupture. While this is a condition we can treat in our boulder chiropractic and physical therapy office with good success, it’s better to avoid disc injuries all together. In this article we are going to teach you a better core exercise routine that increases muscle strength and activation while minimizing the risk for injury. But first, let’s take a minute to review our anatomy.
There is more to a strong core than the chiseled abs, and cut obliques. Even if you can proudly show off that toned tummy, it doesn’t mean you are safe from injury. In fact, there are approximately 16 muscle groups when we look at both the left and the right side, which help to make up the primary support system of your torso. This means that if you are relying on crunches to keep you strong and pain free, you’re missing many pieces of the puzzle. We need to build a core routine that addresses more than just your “abs” in order to provide a strong, healthy, and resilient core.
Imagine your “core “ as a rectangle box, with your spine and organs primarily making up the contents. The front of your core is made up of 5 muscles, starting with your transverse abdominis, or your “deep core”. The psoas (hip flexor) muscles also penetrates deep into the core, connecting your femur to the lumbar spine. Also included in the anterior core are your internal and external obliques (which arguably can also be included in your lateral core), leaving us with our rectus abdominis (aka our “abs”).
The lateral core (side of the box) consists largely of our quadratus lumborum, or QLs for short. As previously described, internal and external oblique’s could also fit into this subsystem.
The posterior core (back of the box) muscles primarily consists of the multifidi and erector spinae which connect to the spine/vertebral segments directly.
Lastly, the diaphragm and pelvic floor muscles help to establish the top and bottom of the box respectively.
Remember the days of group assignments where the work was supposed to be divided up equally, with everyone contributing in order to the get the job completed? Now can you imagine how you would feel if everyone else went on vacation, expecting you to pick up the slack and still complete the task at hand? You’d probably be irritated, upset, and resistant to the change made by your teammates. This is how the body become injured- when we rely too much on one core muscle to protect us from pain.
All of these muscles surrounding our torso must work in conjunction with one another, allowing force to be absorbed equally through the active muscular tissues. This also prevents us from having to rely on the boney structures, joints, and ligaments of the spine to absorb all of the forces that occur during our daily activities, which may cause arthritis and degenerative joint disease.
A better core strength routine
Our core musculature is designed to create dynamic stability as you move and force is imposed on your body during activity. In order to create a better more functional core exercise routine we need to break down our options for stimulating the core based on purpose. Core exercises can be put generally into 4 categories:
Anti-Flexion exercises - These help to activate and strengthen the muscles that control force that pushes your body in a folding forward motion. Most commonly, a plank or a crunch falls into this category.
Anti-Extension exercises - These help to control force that pushes your body into a bending backwards motion. Examples are a plank or a deadbug exercise.
Anti- Lateral Flexion exercises - These help to control force that pushes your body to the side. Examples are a side plank or suitcase carry exercises.
Anti-rotation exercises - These help to control force that pushes your body in a rotational direction. Examples are a Pallov press or a chop/lift exercise.
To build a well rounded functional core strength routine you will need to have exercises from each of these categories. The plan can be more specialized or individualized to meet the demands of your sport or common activity by selecting exercises that mimic the demands of that sport/activity.
In our Boulder office, our physical therapist can put you through a thorough functional evaluation and identify your specific strength deficits. We then will define the demands of your specific activities (skiing, hiking, running, triathlon, rock climbing, or simply long hours at the desk). This will allow us to build you the perfect functional core strength exercise routine for your body.
For more insight on injury prevention, and recommended exercises tailored to your movement requirements and activity goals, come visit us at Boulder Sports Chiropractic and get evaluated.
Looking to spice up your stability/mobility program?- check out our youtube channel or Instagram for exercises that you can complete at home!
At Boulder Sports Chiropractic we use functional movement screening or muscle testing to find out exactly what is needed to get you back to 100% as quickly as possible. We tailor your treatment plan specifically to you using tools like Dry Needling, Active Release Technique (ART), Graston Technique, and Physical Therapy to fix the source of the pain, not just the symptoms.
Call us today for an appointment at 303-444-5105.