The American Heritage ® Dictionary defines the core as: The muscles in the trunk of the human body, including those of the abdomen and chest, that stabilize the spine, pelvis, and shoulders.
Our client, in her 30’s came to our office after 3 c-sections. She very weak muscles that were very dysfunctional and did not work in their proper order. Because of this, she was suffering from upper back pain, incontinence and a small disastasis recti.
Rehab means to restore to a condition of good health and the ability to work. Core Rehab means finding, learning to engage, strengthening and then incorporating your deepest layers of muscles including your transverse abdominals and pelvic floor, into your daily life and exercise routines so that your entire core works together and is strong.
Core Rehab is an integrated, functional program that is designed for your life, not just an exercise routine. The core muscles are primarily postural muscles intended to be strong and active all day long in everything that you do. So, every movement we teach you is then incorporated into what you do all day long – how you pick up your children, lift a load of laundry, grab something out of a high cabinet, get out of bed, etc. all become a part of core rehabilitation.
Isn’t the goal of core rehab getting 6-pack abs? Unfortunately, when we think of core we often think only of 6-pack abs, but those are the outermost abdominal muscles, the rectus abdominis, which when activated while doing crunches pull the ribs and the pelvis closer together and curve the back. When we say core, we mean the deepest layers that work in unison with other muscle groups that lie deep within our body working together to hold us upright. You can have really strong six or eight-pack abs and actually have no underlying core strength.
After several weeks you can see by her progress picture, our client has already lost ½” around her waist and 2” around her belly in addition to going from a 2.5 at the umbilicus down to a 1.5 as she begins her healing. She continues to strengthen all the muscles in the core. We teach you how to get to those underlying muscle groups to truly make you strong from within.
True Core rehabilitation is what we do. We look at the whole body and plan a program to get your core in optimal working order so that it can support you throughout your life. It isn’t just about how you look, but about the total health of your whole body, and the foundation is a strong core, not just part of it.