I’ve made the discovery that my core is not as strong as it should be. What is your core, or your core muscle group made of? We mostly think of our core as our abdominal muscles,  consisting of the obliques (these allow you to rotate or twist your body), the rectus abdominis (these allow you to bend forward & are the ‘six-pack’ of the muscle group), and the transverse abdominis (stabilize your pelvis). The backside of your body (also part of your core) contains the erector spinal muscles that help you stand up straight after you bend over and the multifidus that supports your spine.

These important muscle groups when weakened can cause stress in other muscle groups. Remember, if one muscle doesn’t work correctly or isn’t strong, it will cause the other muscles in that group to compensate. This happens also with your core.

Think of your core as your trunk, the strongest part of your body and the trunk muscles lay the groundwork for how the rest of your body works. In the next few columns, we’ll talk more about each individual muscle works and how massage can help you manage your core.

It makes sense if your core isn’t strong, then you’ll pull other muscle groups in to help. An example is low back pain. In my experience, this could be core related, as well as a problem with hamstrings or tight glutes. Our next column though will concentrate on a weak core.

Next week, core musculature.