Rehabilitation Programs – Core Body Strength

Anybody who has had a physical injury has probably worked with a physical therapist in an attempt to ensure that it is possible to fully recover from the injury.  If the injury was extreme, it is likely that the physical therapist implemented a system of rehabilitation that was centred on a core strength training system.  Core strength training is a type of physical training in which a person works to strengthen the muscles of his physical "core": the muscles in his or her abdomen, back and shoulders.  It is from these muscles that other muscles find strength, which is why the torso of the body is referred to as a person's "core." 

The reason it is so important for therapists to implement a regimen of core training into all of their patients' therapy programs is that a person's core is often responsible for facilitating the movement of the rest of the body.  The legs cannot move without the cooperation of the lower abdominal muscles and the thigh muscles.  The arms cannot move without the upper arm muscles working in tandem with the shoulder muscles.  If a person's core is not strong, he or she will not be able to physically recover from the injury as well as if the core was strong enough to support them.

In all likelihood, it was probably a weak core that facilitated the patient's injury to begin with.  When exercising, people place quite a bit of importance upon cardiovascular training and endurance training.  The strength core training is usually a second thought, which is tragic because the stronger a person's core, the easier cardiovascular and endurance training become.  As a patient works with a physical therapist, that physical therapist will probably teach them to do the following exercises (or a variation thereof):

Ball crunches: crunches done while sitting on an exercise ball.  This way the lower back muscles are worked as well as the muscles of a person's frontal abdominal region and shoulders. 

Push-ups.  Push ups force a body to balance its weight through the trunk and then balance that weight upon the body's arms and toes.  The back and the legs do not carry the weight, they simply help distribute it.  Planks are a variation of the push up that can be done by those not yet strong enough to bear their weight on their arms.

When a person's core is strong, he/she no longer has to worry about whether or not his skeletal or muscular alignment is correct, because a strong core naturally aligns the body.  A strong core is better able to handle weight and movement, which makes it easier for the rest of the body to function properly.  Successful rehabilitation is dependent upon a person having a strong core upon which to build his/her other muscles.