My linkedin account is a buzz
about a post written on the Evidence
Based Practice Group stating
that Core Muscle training shows little affect on lower back pain.
The author of the comment
references a paper called the myth of core stability: The Myth of Core
Stability.www.cpdo.net/myth_of_core_stability.doc
There seems to
be a lot of misconception by the author surrounding this topic
Myth #1: Core muscles are only found the in
the abdomen: Core muscles are
deep 1 joint muscles whose primary function is to stabilize a joint to
allow its moving muscles to work.Think about the relationship between the
supraspinatus and the shoulder. If the supraspinatusis torn the shoulder cannot
flex, yet our kinesiology books do not list the supraspinatus as a flexor
of the shoulder.
Myth #2: The abdominal
core consists only of the Transversus Abdominus (TA):
The author references only the TA when refuting this topic. The
abdominal core also consists of fibers of the multifidus, psoas,
pelvic floor, obliques, and likely more to be discovered.
Myth 3: Patients should go around bracing
their core in a constant state of contraction.
The core should
function automatically prior to motion. The following is a true story
and an example of how the Abdominal core is supposed to function. I
was walking down Park Avenue with my rollerblades in one hand and a
cup of coffee in another. There was construction being done on a building on the
corner of 35th street. There was scaffolding and noise. At the
very same time a younger male was walking toward Park Ave up 35th
street and neither of us saw the other person coming. We
collided and he went flying off of me, my coffee didn't even spill.
He turned to me
and asked "Why did you push me?"
I replied:
"How could I have pushed you?, my hands are full and I didn't even see you
coming".
I went on
to explain that I was a PT and it was my abdominal core bracing that
caused him to ricochet off of me. It was a great comeback as he had no
reply and ended our confrontation.
The take home being that the Core
should fire automatically in a person and if it is not firing it needs to
be facilitated and trained to do so rather than consciously be
taught.
