Beth Kais The “Core” Series
July 15, 2024
IG – bethkais33139
You’ve heard the term a thousand times from different health professionals, doctors, physical therapists, friends, trainers, Pilates and yoga teachers – but what is “the core” really and what does it do?
What is your understanding of what makes up the core and how does it work?
In The Breathing Series I asked the question “How Important is Air?” and answered:
Other than the obvious, that air gives life to our entire being and without it we cease to exist, breath also gives the life in our body meaning, movement and structure. It gives
- Meaning through vibration to express and hear ourselves with our voice
- Movement as our body oscillates on expansion and contraction with each inhalation and exhalation
- Structure through the pressure and tension it creates within us
The “Core” Series focuses on the last bullet point – Structure through the pressure and tension it creates within us.
Simply stated “The core” is
- Is a group of torso muscles that help to stabilize every joint in your body, whether moving or stationary
- Allows the muscles and fascia to optimally work through their appropriate range of motion to complete any movement or task
- Provides the foundation of joint stabilization for and during movement
Some professionals include all the muscles and fascia of the torso in the definition of “the core” and I understand and respect their thought process. There are many levels of muscles, superficial and deep, in the torso and they have very different functions so let’s also separate “the core” into levels as well.
The superficial muscles in “the core” span the shoulders to the pelvis, move the joints to complete tasks, and include (deepest to more superficial)
- Internal Obliques (ribs to pelvis and works with the Transversus Abdominis – torso rotation and side bending)
- External Obliques (ribs to pelvis – torso rotation)
- Rectus Abdominis (ribs to pelvis – torso flexion)
- Pectoralis minor and major (upper arm to ribs – shoulder adduction, internal rotation and protraction)
- Latissimus Dorsi (inside upper arm to low back/thoracolumbar fascia – shoulder extension and internal rotation, torso rotation)
Henry Vandyke Carter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The deepest musculature in “the core” is often referred to as the inner unit. This is comprised of the
- Diaphragm (attaches to the first three vertebrae of the low back/lumbar spine and the lungs)
- Pelvic Floor (spans the entire area beneath the organs in the pelvis)
- Transversus Abdominis/Deep abdominal wall (starts at the lower ribs 7-12 and spans the entire abdomen to the pelvic bone/pubic crest and hip bones/iliac crest, wraps around the waist and connects to the very important low back/thoracolumbar fascia)
- Multifidus/Deep spinal muscle (sits the closest to the vertebrae/spine in the groove from the base of the head/axis to the base of the spine to the sacrum)
Recognizing and Treating Breathing Disorders, Leon Chaitow, ND DO, p. 31. With Permission.
Consider this muscle grouping as the “first line” of defense in posture and joint alignment. If these muscles do not coordinate and function properly the additional, more superficial layers of muscle must compensate for their loss of support. This compensation causes joint misalignment that
- Alters the posture of the body
o Ribs up/flared up on both sides or
o Up on the left and pulled down on the right
- Reduces air intake to expand the ribcage on inhalation
o Ribs up - air only into the upper lungs
o Up on the left and pulled down on the right – air into the top left and back right lungs
- Reduces diaphragm contraction, abdominal tension and pressure on
o Lifted up on both sides – diaphragm lifted up in front
o Lifted up on the left and pulled down on the right – diaphragm lifted up on the left and restricted down on the right
- Reduces abdominal muscle contraction on exhalation
o Muscles pulled long on both sides or
o Long on the left side and tight/pulled down tight on the right side
- Decreases stability
o Loss of pressurization and abdominal muscle contraction
- Decreases range of motion
o Muscles tighten to try to stabilize the joints altering the position of the joint
- Reduces power and performance
- Increases the risk of injury
The diaphragm, pelvic floor, deep abdominal wall (transversus) and deep side spine (multifidus) muscles are the foundation of the “Core” that stabilize the ribcage and pelvis alignment for posture and movement. Without this pressurization performance becomes compromised.