People often talk about certain exercises or movements being good for the core, or “a great core workout” but what really is the core and does it really matter?

Without a doubt, the core is central to our overall fitness. Our core—the lower part of the torso, including the lumbar and the spine—is the physical starting point of much of our movement. When we reach for something on a table, lean to get out of bed or move to step out of a car, the core is the part of the body that tenses first. The core keeps us upright when we run, jump, leap and for many other activities. As such, this part of the body is a cornerstone from which we build strength in many parts of the body. It’s also a key component of proper posture (see our last story article on posture here).

In essence, when we speak of the core, we are referring to our diaphragm, abdomen, lower back and pelvis. Muscles in this region include the erector spinae, rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques and the transversus abdominus.

While these muscles would have been well developed in our ancestors, these days our life routines call for much less strenuous and demanding work. As such, most people today are sorely in need of core exercise.

The importance of the core has been known for millennia. If you’ve ever practiced yoga, pilates or martial arts, you’ll be familiar with the emphasis put on working the core.

These and other practitioners all perceive the core as…well, the core of our power and our energy. They place emphasis on the core not only through physical exercise but also through meditation and breathing exercises.

At Rice Family Chiropractic, we couldn’t agree more. This is why we place such emphasis on your complete health and not just one or two aspects of it. If you breathe well (for example, with full and effortless breaths) it is a sign of good core strength. On the other hand, if you suffer from back pain, it may be a sign that your core strength needs improvement.

In fact, the more you use your body, the more your alignment and core strength become important. If you dance, run or play sports, proper alignment is essential to help prevent injury. When a muscle required for an activity isn’t strong enough to support the movement involved, the body uses other muscles nearby to complete the activity—with increased risk of injury.

For those of us who aren’t athletes, core strength is still important to our health and physical wellbeing. Our daily activities include many movements that quickly call on our core strength—running to a fallen child, quickly leaning to catch something dropped, tripping as we walk… these all require us to suddenly engage in strenuous activity. And without a physically fit core, we are ill prepared to deal with each of these, which increases the likelihood of injury.

As a chiropractor, our goal is to help patients in need of treatment; however, the ultimate goal of chiropractic care is for each of our patients to achieve the best spinal health possible. To make this happen, we encourage regular exercise of the core muscles and a holistic approach to health. Whether you practice tai chi or skip rope, you know you’ll be improving your health, feeling better and preventing the chance of injury.

As always, we hope you’ll call or visit us if you have any questions about this or other aspects of your spinal health.