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Understanding your core to meet your movement potential

Many of us think we know what our core muscles are and where they are located. But they are more than a six pack of abs — or lack thereof 😀. Your core essentially goes from the bottom of your ribs down to your hips on all sides.

To understand your core and why it plays such an important part in your overall health and movement potential, let’s think about your core like a house. A house’s primary function is to provide shelter and protection and include three basic elements — walls, roof, and floor.

Your core consists of four different areas:

  1. The diaphragm muscle is along the bottom of your rib cage
  2. The abdominal area muscles are in your tummy 
  3. The lumbar spine muscles is in your back going from your head down to your pelvis
  4. Pelvic floor muscles attach at the bottom of your pelvis.

 

Pelvic_Floor_and_Core_Diagram

They work together to provide a foundation for your core. If they are uniform and strong, we can pick up a 50 lb bag of dog food, do kettlebell swings, or take off running without pain or discomfort. But if part of the core’s foundation is weak, then the other parts compensate and do more work than they should. This is often why we have low back or hip pain. Maybe you have leakage when you sneeze or jump. Or perhaps you feel overall weak. Weakness in your core starts to affect your life and prevents you from moving the way you want to. 

Thinking back to our house illustration, the abdominal and lumbar area muscles act as the walls for the house. The abdomen helps provide stability to your overall trunk, helping maintain posture, and regulating the internal pressure on your organs. The lumbar spine muscles counteracts the abdominal muscles to provide stability for your spine.

The diaphragm muscle is the roof in our illustration. It’s located below the ribcage and separates the thoracic (lungs and heart) cavity from the abdominal (stomach, intestines, etc.) cavity. When we take a deep breath, the diaphragm contracts to expand the lower ribcage and increase pulmonary pressure. This movement is how we get oxygen into our lungs.

The pelvic floor muscles are exactly where you might imagine them in our example — the floor. It has three major functions: organ support, sphincter control, and sexual function. The pelvic floor consists of two major muscles called the levator ani (resists downward pressure from organs) and coccygeus (adds structure and support). These muscles attach to bones and joints in your pelvis.

When your house is strong, it can withstand traumatic events, weather, and other physical damage. The same happens with the core. If your core is strong, you are able to move without the pain or discomfort in your lower back, hips, and you’ll even reduce the urgency to get to the restroom. When your core is weak, you’ll experience pain, discomfort, and dysfunction in your pelvic area.

Here are some other issues you might have with a weak core:

  • Stress incontinence
  • Fecal incontinence
  • Diastasis recti - particularly after pregnancy
  • Joint pain at the hip, low back, thoracic (upper) spine, and knees

Your core is key to living the life you want. Unfortunately, our bodies are great at compensating and hiding deficiencies, and we don’t realize it until an injury occurs, pain starts to linger, or something embarrassing happens.

If you have questions about this topic or feel like you want to learn more about strengthening your core, reach out and schedule a discovery call with Dr. Samantha. She has a passion for helping people reach their full movement potential.

 

Dr. Samantha Elrod
Post by Dr. Samantha Elrod
Feb 21, 2024 5:00:00 AM