Core Strength Made Simple: Expert Physical Therapy Tips
Is back pain making standing tall more difficult? Have you noticed you don’t feel as balanced as you once used to? What’s the connection? These are both signs that may indicate core muscle weakness. At Elliott Physical Therapy, our physical therapists can help you figure out if your core is affecting your condition and, if so, how to get it strong again!
Your core muscles help you do a lot — from sitting to standing to getting up and down from chairs. A strong core allows smooth, coordinated actions, thus impacting almost every activity you do every day. If your core muscles are weak, they may affect your function and possibly your pain levels.
It’s important to note that core muscles are not just important for physical fitness but are also essential to the overall quality of life. Our physical therapists understand the importance of core strength and will assess you to determine if it’s affecting your daily activities. With our expert guidance, you’ll learn how to engage your muscles in how they were designed to move!
Contact us today to set up an appointment or learn more about how our team can help you strengthen your core!
What Is the “Core”?
When most people think of core muscles, they immediately think of the abdominals. However, the core muscles comprise the lower back, hip, pelvis, pelvic floor, and even the diaphragm muscle.
Significant weakness in the core will often lead to compensations and straining of different body areas, most commonly the back and neck muscles. As a result, this leads to undesirable consequences, such as fatigue or pain.
The muscles that make up your core are designed to help stabilize your body, ensure your balance, and support movements in all directions. If any of these 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 down to picking up an object 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 in all sports and recreational pursuits. It can also help reduce the risk of injuries and may 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.
Exercise of the Month
Bird Dog
(Core, Lower Back, Glutes)
Start on your hands and knees on a mat or table. Brace your abdominals and keep your back flat. Slowly raise one arm straight out in front of you while simultaneously raising your opposite leg back behind you until both limbs are straight and parallel with the ground. Lower them back down and repeat with your other limbs. 3 Sets, 10 Reps.
Building Core Strength with Expert Guidance
Physical therapy is a great starting point for building your core strength. Our licensed therapists will conduct a detailed evaluation to identify the underlying muscle weaknesses and strategies to strengthen them.
Whether you feel pain in your back, neck, shoulders, or legs, we will thoroughly analyze your movement patterns and strength, pinpointing the exact cause of the pain. From there, we will create an individualized treatment plan for you based on your specific needs to strengthen your core 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, ensuring your body reacts appropriately. When functioning properly, our body 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 progressing to multi-joint free-weight exercises for comprehensive core muscle training. You can anticipate continuous feedback and guidance for fine-tuning your movements to ensure optimal spinal stabilization through a strong core.
Sources: https://bmcmusculoskeletdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12891-021-04858-6, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6407754/, https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2012/02000/effect_of_core_strength_on_the_measure_of_power_in.8.aspx, https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5142/6/2/37, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2022.915259/full
Book Your Appointment at Elliott Physical Therapy Today!
Our physical therapy team will assess your condition to identify how your core affects your function. We’ll educate you on how your core affects your physical activity and contributes to the pain you may be experiencing. Our individualized exercise programs can reduce your pain and improve your overall quality of life!
Jingle All the Way 5K – Event Highlights
Last weekend, our Elliott Physical Therapy team joined the festive Jingle All the Way 5K in Boston, and what an incredible turnout it was! With over 2,000 runners and a completely sold-out race, the energy was high from start to finish. We were thrilled to have members from our Southie and Hanover locations taking part and bringing great energy to the day.
We were stationed right beside the ranking announcement area, giving participants the perfect spot to snap photos with their official race time and name. It was a fun, busy, community-filled day, and we’re excited to share a few of our favorite moments with you below!
Everyday Habits That Secretly Strengthen Your Core
When most people think of core exercises, they picture crunches or planks, but your core is actually working all day long, even outside the gym. Simple daily habits can have a significant impact on core strength, stability, and overall movement.
Lift the right way. Whether you’re carrying groceries, picking up a child, or moving a box, lifting with proper form protects your back and strengthens your core. Bend at your knees, keep your chest up, and engage your abdominal muscles as you lift. Over time, these small adjustments train your core to stabilize your spine and distribute weight evenly, helping prevent strain and injury.
Focus on your breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing, or deep belly breathing, does more than calm your mind; it actively engages your deep core muscles. When you breathe deeply, your diaphragm and pelvic floor work together, improving core coordination and stability during everyday movements.
Engage your core during movement. Even routine activities like standing up from a chair, walking, or climbing stairs can be an opportunity to strengthen your core. By consciously tightening your abdominal muscles during these motions, you create a habit of supporting your spine in all kinds of activities.
These everyday habits may seem small, but consistently incorporating them into your daily routine can strengthen your core, protect your back, and improve overall function. At Elliott Physical Therapy, our experts can guide you in building a resilient, functional core so you can move with confidence and ease every day.
Our team had a wonderful time supporting the South Boston Catholic Academy at their annual Jingle Bell Run 5K! It was amazing to see so many families and community members come together for a fun and festive event while raising funds for a great cause. We especially loved seeing Maddy & Laura from South Boston enjoying the day!
Happy Holidays from Elliott Physical Therapy!
All of us at Elliott Physical Therapy want to take a moment to thank you for trusting us with your care. We hope this season brings you joy, laughter, and plenty of time spent with loved ones.
Remember to take care of yourself amidst the holiday hustle – stay active, stretch often, and listen to your body. Whether you’re wrapping gifts, decorating, or enjoying festive meals, small mindful movements can make a big difference in keeping you feeling your best.
From our family to yours, we wish you a safe, healthy, and Happy Holiday. We look forward to helping you move better and feel stronger in the year ahead!
—The Team at Elliott Physical Therapy
Holiday Mocktail Mimosa
Ingredients
- orange slice and sugar for the sugared rim
- 1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 oz cold sweetened cranberry juice
- 2 oz cold sparkling apple cider (I used Martinelli’s)
- pinch of ground cinnamon
- fresh cranberries, cinnamon stick, and rosemary sprig for garnish (optional)
Steps
- Sugar the rim of a champagne glass by wetting the rim with a slice of orange and dipping into a some white sugar.
- Add the orange juice, cranberry juice, and sparkling apple cider to your glass. Top with a pinch of cinnamon and all the garnishes. Enjoy!
