As a Doctor of Chiropractic my job is to help you live a pain free active lifestyle, so you can do all the things in life that you like to do for as long as you want to do them.
One of the most common things that I see preventing my patients from leading the active life they want is often due to spinal pain, and this is often exacerbated because they may have a weak or de-conditioned core.
Why You Need A Strong Core
The key role of the core is primarily to support and stabilize the entire body, and to prevent injury to the spinal column. The spine is has an amazing structural design with over 130 different joints, and with each joint allowing multiple directions of movement: flexion, extension, lateral flexion, and rotation. The spine as a whole can also do coupled motions, like flexion and rotation, extension and lateral flexion, and many other combinations, yet the spine has a limit as to how far it can move. If the “core” muscles are not strong enough, the body may well push the boundaries of this limited range. If these limits are exceeded by too much motion, it can cause damage to the ligaments, facet joints or the discs between each vertebra.
You may be wondering… “What is the Core?”- The “Core” consists of 4 sets of different abdominal muscles, and includes the muscles of your lower back, your pelvic floor, your hips, and even your diaphragm, your core breathing muscle!
When you put all these muscles together, they form the “core” of your body and the “core” of your movement patterns. In other words, if you bend down, pick up any object and lift it, each of these core muscles becomes involved.
If you have weak or de-conditioned core muscles, you are at risk of injuring yourself, whether it is from swinging a golf club, working in your garden or picking up your children or grandchildren.
Core exercises improve your balance and stability
Core exercises train the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen to work in harmony. This leads to better balance and stability, whether on the playing field or in daily activities. In fact, most sports and other physical activities depend on stable core muscles. Core exercises don’t require specialized equipment or a gym membership. All you really need is a space on the floor and maybe an exercise mat.
Strong core muscles make it easier to do everything from swinging a golf club to getting a glass from the top shelf or bending down to tie your shoes. Weak core muscles leave you susceptible to poor posture, lower back pain and muscle injuries.
Core exercises can help you reach your health and wellness goals
Whether your goal is to run a Marathon, play 18 holes of golf pain free, lift your children, or work in your garden for hours without any pain or difficulty, then you might consider starting a core conditioning program.
Our Motto is: “For Pain Free Active Living”. So continue with your regular Chiropractic treatments and start or continue to keep your core muscles strong.
For those of you that are not sure where to start with this, I will be teaching a Core Conditioning Workshop this month on Thursday June 16, 2016 from 1:15 pm to 2:15 pm.
This workshop is appropriate for all levels- as each basic exercise can be modified for each person. The workshop consists of doing an actual core workout with emphasis on proper form. You do not need any fancy equipment, just come in comfortable clothes that you can move easily in. Just doing a few specific, yet basic exercises, with the proper form on a regular basis can go a long way to helping you reach your health and wellness goals.
To sign up you can call (508) 655-9008 or stop by the front desk- the class is limited to 5, so the first 5 to sign up will be in this month’s workshop.
For any questions on this Blog or this upcoming workshop please feel free to contact me directly at: [email protected]