A Better Way to Core

For years, it's been common for therapists, chiropractors, trainers etc. to introduce patients to lumbar "stabilization" (or "core") exercises for back pain. Typically, those exercises are performed lying down, or on hands and knees, or maybe transitioning between lying and sitting poses.

But over the past several months, many of my patients have noticed that I introduce them to many back exercises in standing postures. Why? Short answer: because your back muscles have to be trained to stabilize your spine while weight-bearing, i.e. upright. After all, you perform most of your life activities in upright postures. 

The issue is this: learning and practicing those exercises lying down, however diligently, doesn't automatically mean that your low back is going to be "stabilized" when you get up, leave the mat and go about your business. Human motor learning tends not to work that way. More often, it's just as likely that you'll instead continue to move and use your back muscles the same way you always did. So all that stabilization only really happens when you're on the mat. Or, you might sort of be able to transfer the stabilization skills to a standing activity; but most likely, what was a "correct" or appropriate stabilization protocol when you're lying down might not be appropriate anymore once you're, say, washing the dishes. How disappointing. 

So to maximize the benefits of these exercises, I try to make them as relevant as possible to how your body behaves when you're washing dishes, picking up a bag of dog food, or whatever other "tasks" you need to be doing, pain-free. 

If you've been to see me, you know it's more challenging to exercise that way. It demands a lot of skill learning. Often one exercise gets combined with another exercise – to form a whole new exercise! But I've been seeing my patients benefit from this highly functional type of treatment. So I'm committed to introducing this work – the MOTOR Method™ – to more and more people. In upcoming posts, I'll talk more about the details and principles.