Modified Curl-up to Strengthen Your Low Back Muscles
The Multifidus muscle is one of the smallest yet most “powerful” muscles that stabelizes the spine. The Multifidus muscle is actually a series of muscles that are attached to the spinal column. These series of muscles are further divided into two groups, which include the superficial muscle group and the deep muscle group.
A small 2006 posture study published in the European Spine Journal, found that in people with back pain, the multifidus muscles are working at there max well before the spine is fully vertical. But the study subjects who weren’t experiencing any back pain, the multifidus muscles were able to continue contracting until the trunk was full upright.
The multifidus muscles help to take pressure off the vertebral discs so that our body weight can be well distributed along the spine. Additionally, the superficial muscle group keeps our spine straight while the deep muscle group contributes significantly to the stability of our spine. These two groups of multifidus muscles are recruited during many actions in our daily living. Actions such as bending backward, bending sideways, and even turning our body to the sides (rotation of the lumbar spine). Multiple studies have shown that the multifidus muscles get activated before any action is carried out so to protect our spine from injury. For instance when you are about to carry an item or before moving your arm, the mutifidus muscles will start contracting prior to the actual movement of the body and the arm so as to prepare the spine for the movement and prevent it from getting hurt.
By strengthening the posterior abdominals (multifidus muscle) you may break free of the cumulative injury cycle, reducing the risk of acute and chronic low back pain. Watch the video below to see Dr Shepard perform a recommended way of strengthening the low back muscles for long term low back stability.
To learn more about the sciatic nerve please visit this link to a previous blog post written by Dr. Shepard Click Here –> https://bnchiro.com/620/why-need-emphasize-low-back-not-abdominals-when-training-runners/