It may sound surprising, but when you herniate a disc, your body can actually forget how to engage the deep core muscles that help to support your spine. With a traumatic back injury such as a disc herniation, the signals that your brain sends to your muscles may be disrupted. While patients at River Ridge Chiropractic are going through treatments such as Spinal Decompression, I encourage them to work on learning to re-engage these deep core muscles. This process is a long-term endeavor that generally falls into three stages:
Stage 1: Independent core contraction – In this stage, you learn how to identify and contract your core muscles. Your deep core muscles are not what we typically think of as “abs,” so this stage is very important.
Stage 2: Integrated focused core exercises – During this stage, you work on specific core exercises that are designed to stress your core in various positions. These types of exercises are usually broken down into beginner, intermediate, and advanced exercises. Initially, the emphasis is on using proper form, while the advanced exercises are intended to test your core strength.
Stage 3: Incorporate into functional activities – In this stage, you will be incorporating what you’ve learned in the first two stages into your everyday activity. At this point, you should be able to activate your deep core muscles without thinking about it as much.
While you’re undergoing a treatment such as Spinal Decompression, your main focus will be on the first stage. Remember, this a very basic overview on deep core stability. As your chiropractor, I’ll be able to advise you further on complimentary exercise regimens as we develop your treatment plan.
