The Importance of Core

My wife and I bought a lamp on this Martin Luther King Day weekend. OK, three lamps and a mirror, but who's counting. Wait, this is a health story, I swear.

So, one of the lamps we bought was too big to fit in my car. It was light enough, however, for me to carry. Since I live close to the furniture store--Blueprint in West Hollywood--I thought I'd just carry it home.

As I was carrying the oversized box, I noticed how much I was using my abdominal core to stabilize my body as I walked. It occurred to me--we really do rely on our abdominal muscles for everyday movements. You know, sometimes we know things intellectually, or perhaps even practically but forget, then we do something--like carry a box--and we are reminded of that which we know (have I confused you, yet?)

In my West Hollywood chiropractic office, I give abdominal core exercises to anyone presenting with low back pain. That's because a functional core is essential to long-term low back pain prevention. And interestingly, the fundamental movement I teach my is called an abdominal hollow. Abdominal hollowing is the pulling inward of the core muscles and upward of the diaphragm. It's creating a concavity of the midsection. Hollowing is a movement we do naturally when we carry things, such as I was doing while carrying the box. When people lose this ability to hollow--through deconditioning and such--they are unable to stabilize the body, specifically the low back. As a result, the force is transferred to the lumbar spine especially the disks and guess what?...POP! Herniation.

So keep your core strong: Visit a chiropractor and go to the gym, or drop down and give me twenty crunches. Better do it if you want to save your back and save on delivery charges.

BTW--here's the lamp. What do you think?