Why Spine Stability is important?
By: Dr. Daniel Klerer D.C.
This is the first blog in our Core Series, which will focus on Core exercises, stability and mobility.
What is spinal stability?
- The basic necessary actions to protect nervous structures and prevent the early structural deterioration of spinal components.
- Vertebras in each motion segment perform movements and at the same time bony and soft tissue restraints maintain spine stability.
- Bones, discs, ligaments, muscles contribute to stability by playing a structural role
- Damage to any spinal structure (muscles, ligaments, discs, bones) gives rise to different degrees of instability
What is instability?
- Increase in movements within a segment of the spine that is associated with the occurrence of back or nerve pain.
- For example, too much movement through our L4-5 disc may cause disc or joint related injury.
* https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0720048X1200455X
Lets look at how guy wires of a ship keep the important structure stable:
This image shows us exactly how important the muscles (big and small) are that support our spine in order to stabilize it from all angles. At the front we have the rectus abdominis, at the back the erector spinae, the sides are the obliques and internally there is the multifidus. If we put a blanket and wrapped it around the ship it would represent the transverse abdominis.
The image helps us understand how important a strong core, with the right muscles turned on, can help keep our spine be stable. If one wire on the ship breaks; we can expect more movement throughout the entire structure. It will also put strain on other structures around it to compensate, leading to even more complications, and potentially a complete destruction of the ship!
Whether you have spinal instability already (disc injury, chronic low back pain) or you are looking to maximize your stability, getting a core strengthening program put together for you is the right decision. If done correctly, this can help give you spinal health sustainable over time.
Reach out to us to assess core strength and other movements patterns and prescribed a customized core strengthening program for your individual needs.