I want to talk to you today about core muscles and how they can improve your ability to move and function well when they are strong.
Exercise in general does not necessarily include work to strengthen core muscles. However, when your core is weak, you are more susceptible to muscle injury, joint immobility, and impaired bodily functions. We don’t want any of that happening.
What are the core muscles? You may just think, “Oh, it’s my abs.” It is, but there’s more to it. Your core muscles can include anything from your shoulders to your back and your hips. It’s not just your stomach muscles. It is the whole middle area of muscles. Keep that in mind when talking about core strength.
What do these core muscles do? They enable you to perform everyday tasks such as standing and reaching. They help you with balance, posture and feeling good. It’s a more complex area than people probably think.
Useful Exercises to Strengthen Your Core
I’ll give you a few examples of exercises for core muscles.
- Stability ball is a great one. Get a big round ball that you can sit on. Do different exercises on that.
- Side dips is another one (bending from the waist to the left and the right). You can do that standing or sitting. You can also do it by sitting on a stability ball.
- Chair sit-ups.
Notice I am mentioning things that are not floor exercises, which have become a very common go-to exercise for many people. At Rebound, we try to keep you in a more active, normal position for day-to-day function and activities. While you’re out in the real world, you can duplicate the same motions of your strengthening exercises. In life, you’re not going to be sitting on the floor all the time.
Benefits of Strengthening Your Core
When you have strengthened your core, that greater strength reduces and prevents pain, gives you better balance and stability, and protects your internal organs.
That’s what we’re going for when we help you strengthen core muscles, and that’s how they affect your ability to function.
But that is just the tip of the iceberg. You can learn so much more, you can do so much more with this area. So please do not hesitate to reach out to Rebound Physical Therapy and all of the educated professionals, therapists and trainers that we have at our clinics.
Call us today at (785) 367-3082 to learn more and let us help you get back in action.
