The term ‘core’ is used by health professionals to communicate about groups of muscles that facilitate the transfer of torque and momentum between the lower and upper extremities for gross motor tasks of exercise, sport and daily living.
Muscles such as rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, erector spinae, lumbar multifidus, quadratus lumborum, iliacus psoas are muscles used to support the spine and pelvis and considered core.
Strengthening the core is a strategy and one of the most frequently used modalities to reduce, prevent and rehabilitate lower back pain in all populations. There is also a synergistic effect when we train our muscular system that we must be aware of – synergism by definition is, “the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.”
A research article in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, describes this synergistic effect when studying the reduction of lower back pain in the general population, “Effect of Upper-Extremity Strengthening Exercises on the Lumbar Strength, Disability and Pain of Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Study.” They conclude that it is important to include neck, shoulder and upper back exercise along with core exercise to more effectively reduce pain rather than core exercises alone.
Getting the entire body Strong, not only keeps one fit but is ‘preventative sports medicine’ and also heightens the rehabilitative process.
Pendulum 3-Way Row
