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Your Core

Your core sits at the centre of where all movement happens and plays a vital role in protecting your spine and keeping stability. The name core is a collective term for the muscles in your trunk including rectus abdominis – in the front of your trunk (or 6 pack as some people know it), erector spinae – muscles in your back, obliques – side muscles, and transverse abdominals – deepest core muscle that protects and wraps around your organs, multifidus deep back muscles that run down your whole spine, pelvic floor muscles that sit at the base of your core, and your diaphragm muscles which help you fill and empty your lungs

Your core being in the middle of the body is connected to both your lower and upper body. Giving your core the big job of coordinating and gathering support from your surrounding muscles to help stabilise your hips and spine. Your core transfers power between your limbs, into your upper and lower body through your movements. It is your powerhouse. The stronger your core is (remember this means your back too) the more powerful, dynamic and explosive your movements will be while protecting your spine and helping to keep you injury free.

The reason I put all this info in here is to explain the importance of understanding how everything in your body is interconnected. Understanding this will change the way you workout and can have a huge impact on your life. So often I have seen back,leg, shoulder, and neck injuries which have severely impacted people’s lives. However the good thing is there are steps we can take to alleviate this or prevent it happening in the first place. What we need to understand is most of our jobs and everyday tasks involve a certain movement pattern, i.e sitting or bending forward for long periods of time, causing our bodies to adjust to the more common posture used. When we do this we cause tightening in hips, calves, hamstrings, shoulders, chest and weakening in the glutes, and core. What happens at this point is the foundation for your hips change, pulling it into a position which then has a chain reaction putting stress on other joints, ligaments and muscles pulling your body out of balance. What people don’t realise is this doesn’t just affect muscles aches and pains, it also has a huge impact on your organs and emotional wellbeing. Think of it this way your organs feed your body with the right nutrients, oxygen and blood to ensure everything is in balance and each organ gets what it needs for optimum health. If your pelvis and spine changes location then the organs that are protected by these structures will change too. This compresses nerves and organs, which in turn reduces their effectiveness and overtime causes serious health conditions and affects your mental health. Fitness goes well beyond just looking good, it’s way more important than that! Physical health and a balanced body can help your mind, body and soul to allow you to get the most out of your life, to work harder and longer but also to enjoy life and all that it has to offer. 

 

So when we talk about a neutral pelvis, it is talking about ensuring the foundation of your body is in a position that can best perform each movement to prevent injury. There are a range of reasons you may have a pelvic tilt and it can sometimes be helpful going to a GOOD physician that doesn’t just look at the acute problem but actually looks into what is the root of your issues. For example if you have a back injury this may actually stem from weak glutes and tight calves and hamstrings pulling your pelvis out which then changes what muscles are recruited for each movement. However if you are spending equal time working through all parts of your body including dynamic stretches and slow controlled movements you are making a great start! This is a very basic explanation of the whole topic however hopefully when you read through you may gather some more understanding of what is happening in your body and how to alleviate strain and stress. This is why slow movements are so important, when you are doing a movement pattern your body will do it in the easiest way it can, saving as much energy as possible. This means that we often need to retrain our movement patterns and have to actively think about the muscles we need to be using in order for you to be able to change this incorrect pattern. This takes time and focus, but I can promise you it’s worth it. You deserve this, give yourself the time and space you need to make the adjustments your body is craving.

Anterior Pelvic Tilt

Anterior pelvic tilt is caused by short and tight hip flexors and lumber spine lower back- (These muscles most commonly shorten/tighten as a result of sitting for long periods of time). The other factor is lengthening and loosening of the glutes,and abs – again the most common cause is due to sitting. This leads to your pelvis tilting forward creating curvature in your lower spine, and upper back.

Pelvic posterior tilt

Pelvis tilting backwards creates the buttwink in a squat that you may hear being used, this is why the core is so important in all movements you do as it holds good posture and supports all your surrounding muscles. A weak core combined with tight muscles causing your hips to rotate backwards ends up putting extra weight on your back and alignment which stems into other leading postural issues and injuries. 

This is caused from a tightening in your piriformis/hips, bicep femoris/front thigh, magnus adductor/inner thigh, rectus abdominis/abs, external obliques – sides of your core, Ql- spine muscle that connect from your hips to your ribs and an underactive lengthened glute max, glute med, butt muscles, Tva deep core muscles that wrap right around your core, multifidus – muscles that run along either side of your spine from your hips to the top to the top of your spine. It can also be caused if you are hunched over at your desk or even while standing creating tight abs pulling your hips up at the front and the back of your pelvis tipping down.

Lateral Pelvic Tilt

Can occur if one leg is longer than the other or from sclerosis. Also from standing and sitting posture, when you’re standing try and pay attention to your hips and if you may be sticking one hip out further than the other to create a bench to hold children. Also if you are standing you may notice that one knee bends while the other leg is straight, popping your hip out to the side creating tightening in one side of the hips and your lower back on the opposite side. However this causes a kink in the chain and causes imbalances if not corrected.

It can be helpful to see a GOOD physician if you have any type of pelvic tilt to test what muscles are tight and what are loose or if it’s a structural problem such as one leg longer than the other. 

This may take a while to correct however the more conscious you are of the position your body is in and adjusting it within its range of motion and capability this will take you a long way over time. Without taking these steps and consideration for good posture if you rush, you are only re training your body bad habits and setting yourself up for injury.

Erectus Abdominis

or commonly known as your 6 pack/abs, facilitates the front and back tilt of the pelvis and the curvature of the lower spine.

Internal Oblique

A wide muscle that attaches from the side of your hips up to your ribcage helping to bend and flex your trunk, aids in breathing, and rib depression which maintains intra abdominal pressure used for actions such as going to the toilet and childbirth.

Erector Spinae

These muscles run vertically down your spine, and help keep you upright while also assisting with trunk movement – side to side rotation, posture – specifically with straightening your back and hip stability. This muscle group includes the iliocostalis lumborum, longissimus, and spinalis.

TVA / Transverse Abdominis

is the deepest of the 6 abdominal muscles. It wraps right around your trunk extending between the ribs and the pelvis. This is a vital muscle and can be activated by relaxing your stomach down towards the ground, keeping your spine in neutral. Then as you exhale, draw your belly button up towards your spine and away from the floor. Keep this engaged while breathing through your exercise. This is a vital movement as your Tva works like a support belt and will help protect your back and posture through your movements.

Multifidus

This muscle is a series of small triangular muscles that spans the whole length of your vertebral column on each side of your spine. The multifidus is a core stabiliser muscle and has an important role in keeping spinal stability through your movements e.g both sides contract with back extension and flexion, and when only one side is contracted this aids in side bending and rotation. Weak multifidus muscle can also contribute to lower back pain.

Diaphragm Muscles

This is a dome shaped muscle that sits below your heart and lungs helping you breath, inhale and exhale. Your diaphragm separates your chest from your abdominal cavity (belly). Your diaphragm helps create space between your chest and belly by breathing.

Your Psoas

This muscle deserves a special mention! Some people know it as the ‘true core’ It lies deep against your posterior abdominal wall and runs through the pelvis attaching from the inside and top of your thigh/femur up along your spine until just below your rib cage. When tight it pulls your spine forward and down creating what some people call a sway back, which contributes to posture issues, flexibility, leg pain, hip pain, pelvic pain, bladder pain, imbalance, lower back pain, and even affects surrounding organs creating digestive issues, contributes to PMS symptoms and can impact mental health. 

The Psoas has also been referred to by Liz Koch who is an international teacher and author with 43 years of experience working with and specialising in the psoas as ‘the muscle of the soul’, when we are in fight or flight this can cause tension in your psoas and create a chain of health issues. ” She also describes that the”psoas ” literally embodies our deepest urge for survival, and more profoundly, our elemental desire to flourish.”.

This is also why breathing is so important! If we are breathing properly this sends oxygen to our brains and lets the body know we are not in danger. If you forget to breathe or just take very shallow breaths you are restricting the body of oxygen and your body goes into fight or flight, also subsequently causing tension within your muscles such as psoas. A little bit of stress is okay, but if we stay in this state too often our bodies and minds greatly suffer and show through a range of health issues.

Core Exercises