Care for the Core

Hi friends!
I will be discussing about the exercises that would be helpful for just anyone. The core of our body can be compared with a cube and each of its six sides signifies the muscles supporting the core. I would go stepwise to tell how to strengthen each side of the core. These exercises not only helps in preventing back pain but are also helpful for people suffering from back pain. these are very mild, precise and simple exercises and there is no need of any vigorous body movements. Remember one thing always
'slower you do the exercise the more effective they are'.

1. The Upper side of the cube- The diaphragm or the 'breathing in' muscle. This muscle helps us inhale. Weakness of this muscle occurs in rare cases. Mostly in people who have respiratory problems like asthma, bronchitis etc. The strengthening of these muscles need nothing but breathing exercises there are instruments 'inspiratory muscle trainer' that can be used. This instrument helps in just increasing the resistance of the breathing. This can be easily simulated by pinching your nose with your hand and breathe through your mouth, with a very small opening by pouting your lips.

2. The front side of the cube- The abdominals. This includes the TA muscle and is not strengthened by abdominal crunches as believed by many. Have this excellent video that explains exactly which muscle one needs to activate for improving the stabilization of the core. Once the contraction is learnt, this exercise can be done in sitting, standing, while you are doing any of your daily activities, the only thing that needs to be taken care of is that the back is straight, that is, the posture should not be a bad slouching one while one does this exercise.

3. The bottom side- The pelvic floor muscles. The strengthening of pelvic floor muscles is also helpful in the management of incontinence, uterine prolapse, and for women after delivery. These exercises are also known as Kegel's exercises and can be perfomed by men n women of all ages. The video above explains really well where the muscles are located and how to contract these muscles. Once the contraction is learnt for these muscles through practice as explained in the video, one can do these exercises any time n anywhere n there wont be any need to palpate for the contraction as one would have learnt it how it feels when it is contracted.

4. The Back side- The back muscles. The muscle that we need to strengthen in the back specifically is the 'Multifidus'.. the bird-dog exercise is one of the good and easy exercise one can do to strengthen this muscle which is an important part of  'The Core'. There are various other exercises for this muscle which specifically is taught under the supervision of a physiotherapist. Remember to brace the abdominal muscles ( which has been taught in one of the previous videos) before doing this exercise.

5. The two sides of the cube- The obliques and the other side muscles of your body. These exercises also help reduce the fat around the sides of the body ( also known as 'love handles'). The video explains three  ways one can do exercises for the sides of  the body.

So that is it for now! These exercise along with bringing stability to the core also tone up the body and brings the body in good shape! Happy exercising!