Core vs. the other abdominals
In the physiotherapy world, we like to make the distinction between the core and the other abdominal muscles. When we say core, we refer to the group of muscles responsible for providing stability to our back and pelvis. This is what we call STABILIZING muscles. Other muscles, such as our six-pack muscles etc, are there to allow for movement.
Lets dive deeper
The core muscles
The abdominals are comprised of four layers of muscles. To look at the core we are going to look at the deepest layer.
The core is comprised of our diaphragm, pelvic floor muscles, and our transverse abdominis (TA). You can think of this as a cylinder, where the diaphragm makes up the top, the pelvic floor makes up the bottom, and the TAs are the sides. All three structures work together to provide stability to our lumbopelvic region, reducing unnecessary movement and load on the low back, hips, and pelvis.
Another way to visualize the TA muscles is a corset, when the TAs are activated the corset gets tighter, providing more stability.
Cueing the deep core
First take a deep breath in, when you are breathing out, draw your pelvic floor up slightly (read: “Why do we talk about breathing so much?) for a further explanation on breathing properly).
As you are drawing the pelvic floor up imagine your hip bones getting closer to one another. You should also imagine the corset getting a little tighter.
The other abdominal muscles
The other three layers of abdominals, from deepest to the most superficial:
- Internal Obliques
- External Obliques
- Rectus abdominis
These are typically trained using exercises that you would typically see in a gym setting such as crunches, bicycles, chops, etc.
These muscles are what we call MOVERS. Meaning their job is to move the body in a certain direction.
So the deep core is our STABILIZERS and the other abdominals are our MOVERS. Right? Well….. that is not the whole story. Here is where it gets interesting
Abdominal bracing
In order to properly protect our spine and pelvis during exercise, we not only need our deep core to be active, we need all the abdominal muscles to act at the same time.
I know I spent a lot of time going over the difference between the core and abdominal muscles. One being a stabilizer and the others being movers. HOWEVER, for exercises where the load is greater- lifting something heavy, deadlifts, picking up groceries, we need all of our abdominal muscles to function in one unit. This is what we call an abdominal brace.
The problem happens when one group of muscles is more dominant than the others. Typically, the deep core stops functioning and the other abdominal muscles take over. Another scenario is when our Rectus abdominis (our six-pack muscle) takes over every movement. This creates abdominal doming during exercises such as crunches and leg lifts.
Retraining your core
Retraining the core is crucial in the treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction, low back pain, diastasis recti, and many other ailments. Proper core activation and bracing maintains proper intra-abdominal pressure and protects the low back from impact. If you are unable to connect to your inner core or brace properly, find a physiotherapist who can help!