Champion cyclist, Brandon Dwight, bent over to pick up a sock off the floor, and bam, back pain struck and it didn’t’ go away. Running his own business, Boulder Cycle Sport, took up a lot of his time and taking care of his back took a back seat.
When his back pain didn’t go away, he learned that even though he was in great cardiovascular shape, his inner core wasn’t as strong as it needed to be to protect his back. What he needed was to do specific core exercises that targeted his inner core muscles. Research demonstrates that to alleviate chronic low back pain, it is the deep trunk muscles, or the inner core, that need to be focused on (Lai 2015).
Top 5 Reasons to Do Inner Core Exercises:
- Prevent or heal low back pain
- Reduce excessive wear and tear on your spine and joints
- Help maintain good posture
- Flatten and strengthen your stomach region
- Prevent muscle and ligament damage during activities
Every move you make, your inner core is working to protect your lower back – at least it should be. Your inner core functions as an internal corset, tightening around your lower spine to provide support during movement.This abdominal contraction happens automatically in healthy adults and has been found to not work efficiently in people with low back pain.
“As a 43-year-old bike racer, business owner and father of two it’s easy to strain my back. I don’t have enough time in a day to strength train and stretch as much as I should. A healthy back is the key to generating consistent power on the bike. When something is off, the power is just not there. Telespine has been the ideal solution for me because I can do it when I want and at my own pace. I started doing the program a month or so ago when I realized I was having recurring issues. I stuck to it and on race day I felt great.” -Brandon Dwight
A common error is to do an overabundance of the outer core before re-establishing control of the inner core. If you are doing a plank or a sit up and you notice your stomach muscles pooch up like a loaf of bread, you aren’t using your inner core muscles, your outer core muscles are taking over. Start with this exercise below to target the TrA to recover from acute back pain and restore your inner core. Don’t wait, try it today. Practice contracting your core throughout the day while you are sitting at a desk, in the car, and during exercise.