Hardcore Series Part II: Pelvic Placement

There is no better place to start, when learning to properly activate your core, than the pelvis. The pelvis, after all, is our foundation. It is the transition between our legs and our torso and it is [supposed to be] where we derive our stability and strength from to create efficient movements. So, it is logical that we must position our pelvis properly to give the surrounding muscluature the best advantage to do its job properly. 

The picture below demonstrates a neutral spine. You can see the curve of my lower back creates a space between myself and the mat which is letting the beautiful, spring sunshine to peak through. This is my resting position. The red ovals show the orientation of my rib cage and pelvis. You can see how this position elongates my abdominals and shortens my back muscles. If you recall from part 1, our core is three-dimensional and all areas must be able to work together to stabilize us. In this position, there is a tendency to overuse the back and underuse the deep abdominals just because of the position I am starting from.

Now compare this to the picture below. In the Pilates world, we refer to this position as “imprint”. As the name suggests, you are aiming at imprinting each vertebrae of your back into the mat. There is no forceful pressure downward, nor should there be much effort to hold this position, it is simply a subtle tilt of the pelvis and the lower ribs to bring both areas into the same plane. Hopefully you can see how this balances the abdominals and back and centres the force within the core and limits the amount of torque through the spine. Here, my friends, is a much friendlier position to begin from, especially when you are lifting the legs off the mat.  

Another advantage of starting in this position is that you can use it as a reference point when you start to "cheat". For example, if I was to lift my right leg off the mat, it should be relatively easy to maintain this position. However, can I maintain imprint and lift the left leg as well? As you start to challenge your core more by moving the legs (either together or separately), you will start to take notice what movements force you out of an imprint position. Use this information to guide what movements challenge you, but also allow you to keep stability through the pelvis. 

Now, don't let me lead you astray.......it is also totally normal to do core exercises with a neutral spine, and in fact is ideal in many situations (i.e those with disc issues.) It is also common to see people "overdo" the imprint position by forcing their low back into the mat with an aggressive tilt of the pelvis and contraction of the abdominals. However, when done properly, I usually like clients to really understand pelvic placement and how to stabilize themselves properly in imprint before working the core in neutral. 

Below is a basic exercise for you to try to get a better idea of what exactly I am trying to say.......it is taken from STOTT® Pilates and can be found here 

PELVIC PLACEMENT PRINCIPLE EXERCISES

Starting Position for Exercises 1-3: Lying on back, pelvis and spine neutral. Knees bent, feet hip-distance apart on mat. Arms long by sides, palms down.

1.Rocking Pelvis Rock pelvis

  • rock pelvis, alternating arching lower back off floor and pressing back into floor. Neutral placement will be somewhere between these two.


2 Neutral to Imprint

  • INHALE to stay. 
  • EXHALE, contract abs and imprint spine.
  • INHALE and maintain imprinted position 
  • EXHALE and return to neutral. 


3. Leg Lifts

  • INHALE and imprint lower back...
  • EXHALE and lift one foot off mat, maintaining imprint. 
  • INHALE and return foot to mat

Although this exercise can be agonizingly simple, it is a great way for you to start to understand how much you can change an exercise and where you are targeting your efforts just based on the simple position that you start from. 

Go get that pelvis rockin' and stay tuned for Part III....breathing!

MMM

 

Hardcore Series Part I: sore core + ignored core = poor core

Shut the front door. Let the schooling begin, folks.

Oh the sweet, misunderstood core. It must be one of the most used (make that abused) word in the fitness world. We all know that it is important to have a strong core. We all know it's good to exercise the core. But what exactly is the core? How familiar are you with yours?

These are two (obnoxious) statements that I hear very frequently: "I have a high pain tolerance" and "I have a strong core". Usually the people who throw out such bold claims actually demonstrate quite the opposite. Spoiler alert: doing sit-ups does not equal strong core. No matter the injury or dysfunction you may be grappling with, I will guarantee it will (almost) always relate to your core and the way in which you stabilize your body.

I must admit that I was one of those people who thought they had a "strong core". Like many, I thought that because I was active, played sports and worked out that naturally I was strong. However, I was completely humbled in a university seminar where I arrogantly volunteered to allow our professor to use ultrasound to visualize (part of) my core as I attempted to activate it. I squeezed my midsection so hard I thought my eyes were going to pop out. And what happened, you ask? Well friends, it was pathetic. I was indeed doing it all wrong. But why??

To put it simply - I didn't truly understand the real function and purpose of the core and thought of the area as being synonymous with my abdominals. I thought that simply tightening my abs was all it took to engage my core. Anyone else in this boat? Is anyone else in the dark like I was (don't be shy -- I was a physiololgy/kinesiology student at the time and obviously spending too much time at the Peel Pub in Montreal and not enough time in the Anatomy lab!). 

For those that need a little education on the matter at hand, I will keep this lesson short and sweet. There is plenty of places you can learn in great detail about your core, but here are the basics: 

  • Much like discovering that the world is round and not flat was a game-changer, so is understanding that the core is 3-dimensional and wraps around your mid-section like a custom-fit corset
  • The core-proper incorporates your deepest abdominals (Transversus Abdominus), your deepest back muscles (Multifidus), your pelvic floor and your diaphragm 
  • It takes activation of these 4 muscle groups in concert to achieve proper core activation and stabilization of your spine
  • The main functional purpose of your core is to offload the joints of your spine and pelvis so that as you skip and jump and glide through life, you are not putting undue stress on the more fragile elements of your skeleton. It also gives your body a stable base to allow your limbs to move efficiently and effectively
  • Your body is a very sophisticated system and has been programmed to engage your core in anticipation of movement. However, with a weak/dysfuntional/injured core, this mechanism is disabled and you are more vulnerable to injury

Here she is, folks: 

Image adapted from www.burrelleducation.com

In my humble opinion, treating any injury - no matter the area or severity, proper engagement of the core is the first step. It is the foundation to any movement and we all know how important a stable foundation is (especially if you live in an old, crooked Toronto home like I do ;). I cannot begin to explain how enlightening it can be to finally understand how to properly stabilize yourself and how much more profound your strengthening will be. 

Let this information percolate in your brain and stay tuned for the next part of this series as I breakdown each area of the core and give some tips on how to properly awaken each of these muscle groups. In the meantime, let me give you a little piece of homework. Take a long, deep breath. While doing so, look at the diagram above and picture these muscles in your own body. Try to connect with the idea of them encapsulating your mid-section from every direction (recall: the earth is not flat -- nor is the core!). Just that subtle awareness should have made you sit/stand a little taller and lifted you up off your tired skeleton. Keep this image in your mind's eye and come back to that awareness throughout your day while you wait with baited breath for the next instalment in the Hardcore Series......

MMM

 

 

To stretch or not to stretch?

Ahhh....that is the question. Much debate has been placed on stretching in both the running/fitness world and rehab world. Does it really do anything? Will it lessen the risk of injury or make it greater? Well I hate to say it folks, but the evidence is all over the map. Well running season is upon us (well, for those of us that have been buried in snow for the past 4 months), so how timely it is to evaluate our routines. 

Static stretching (the type of stretching we all tend to envision -- where you stay in one position for a prolonged period of time, stretching a particular muscle group) has commonly been used as a warm-up. There is little, if any, evidence that stretching before or after activity prevents injury or subsequent muscle soreness. Not only has it been demonstrated that static stretching had no effect on subsequent performance, static stretching has also been shown to lead to a decrease in force production, power performance, running speed, reaction and movement time, and strength endurance. 

Ballistic stretching (stretching a muscle, then "bounce" in and out of the stretch) has been shown to be detrimental to subsequent performance. 

Dynamic stretching (exaggerating the physiological range of motion required for the functional movement) does not seem to elicit the performance reduction effects of static and ballistic stretching and has been shown to improve subsequent running performance. Given these outcomes, the use of static and ballistic stretching in warm-up needs to be questioned. Based on current evidence, dynamic stretching would be the preferred option for stretching during a warm-up.*

So, that's the gist of where the research is at now. Evidence is great, but I trust anecdotal experience much more. Luckily in this case, we all agree. As an athlete and physiotherapist, I find dynamic stretching to be a great way to "loosen up" before a run or activity and I commonly prescribe it to patients/clients that have muscle imbalances, still joints and sport-specific injuries that need attention. 

Below you can see a video I made showing a simple dynamic warm-up I like to do before a run. For some reason, I wasn't wise enough to film this before the run and thus had to do it after a solid 14km. That will explain the lack of pep and the excess of sweat :)

So, what's the consensus? Perhaps you healthy, injury-free lucky ducks can skip the stretch and hit the ground running (literally). However, I would recommend a little dynamic stretch for 5-10 minutes - if nothing else you will feel a little looser, give yourself a chance to find your playlist and give the spectators at the park something to talk about :)

MMM

* evidence from above gathered from the following sources:

  • Page, P. Current concepts in muscle stretching for exercise and rehabilitation. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2012 Feb: 7(1): 109-119 (link here)

  • Baechle & Earle. Essentials of strength and conditioning - 3rd Edition. NSCA (2008). (link here)