What Is the “Core”?

When most people think of core muscles, they immediately think of the abdominals. However, the core muscles consist of the lower back, pelvis, pelvic floor, and even the diaphragm muscle.  

Weakness in the core will often lead to compensations and straining of different body areas, most commonly the back and neck. As a result, this leads to undesirable consequences, such as poor posture, fatigue, or pain.

The muscles that make up your core are designed to help stabilize your body, support your posture, ensure your balance, and support movements in all directions. If any of the core muscles are weak, injured, or used inappropriately, your trunk becomes unstable, making it difficult for your body to function correctly. 

The core assists in almost every movement, from bending over to standing up straight. It also plays a significant role in breathing, lifting a heavy object, twisting your body, or even just walking. Core strength is also essential in sports performances, allowing the body to balance and control movements while running, jumping, and sustaining contact. A strong core enhances power, speed, coordination, and agility with all sports and recreational pursuits. It may also help reduce the risk of injuries and help to prevent chronic lower back pain. A strong core is vital to your overall health, functional movement, and athletic performance. Proper core training helps maintain spine health, ensures optimal performance in your daily life, and can help prevent various injuries.

Building Core Strength with Expert Guidance

Physical therapy is a great starting point for building core strength. Our evaluation and clinical skills set us apart from all other physical therapy clinics. Our McKenzie-trained therapists will conduct a detailed evaluation to identify the underlying muscle weaknesses and develop strategies for strengthening them. 

Whether you feel pain, weakness, or loss of mobility in your back, neck, shoulders, or legs, we will thoroughly analyze your posture, movement patterns, and strength, pinpointing the source of your symptoms. From there, we will create an individualized treatment plan for you based on your specific needs to strengthen your core, improve your posture, and alleviate pain. 

Core stability is about both muscular strength and proper sensory input. This sensory input informs the central nervous system about your body’s movements and positions to facilitate specific actions and ensure your body reacts appropriately. When functioning properly, our bodies can perform the most basic tasks and advanced athletic activities.  

Our therapists will design a program to teach you how to use your core muscles properly. We will create a strength program focusing on core-specific exercises and educate you about your condition and how your specific treatment plan will work to resolve your limitations. You can anticipate continuous feedback and guidance for fine-tuning your movements to ensure optimal spinal stabilization through a strong core.