Strengthen Your Core With Vibration Therapy

We have all seen the ad on television about ‘blasting your core in a 10 minute workout to get summer abs’. However many people haven’t heard about the core from a physio’s point of vire  and how it can help decrease pain and improve movement. If you have an ache or pain that affects your daily physical functioning, or find certain tasks difficult, have a read below about how strengthening your core can make your day easier, specifically using vibration therapy as just one technique.

What is your core?

When asking an avid gym goer or anyone off the street, most people will say their  core is abdominals, oblique’s, and maybe mention their back. This is correct, but there is another important muscle that many people don’t know about, called transversus abdominis (TA). This can be found deep in your abs and back muscles.

Image credit: Kinetic Physio

This TA muscle is constantly working to control the way you move and is the basis of how the rest of your body moves. Movements in your back, legs and upper body are all built on the foundation of this deep core muscle.

What can poor transversus abdominis control lead to?

The TA muscle should be controlling your body all the time, even while you are sleeping! When it is providing less then optimal control your lower back can be put in a position it shouldn’t be, giving you low back pain when sitting, standing or sleeping.

If the foundation is weak, then the movements based on this foundation will be difficult. For example, this can result in difficulty completing everyday tasks like squatting down to pick something up off the floor or walking for long periods. Furthermore, decreased control in the hips can lead to hip pain or even knee pain.

How do you know if your core is working properly?

A quick way to check how well you can control your core is with this quick exercise;

• Stand against a wall with knees slightly bent (there should be a small gap in your lower back)
• Flatten your lower back against the wall
• Return to neutral
• Repeat 5-10 times

This exercise should only be a subtle movement in the hips and lower back. If you feel yourself using a lot of leg muscles, back or ab muscles, then your control isn’t as good as it should be!

How to improve your core strength and control in two steps:

Step 1: See your Physio for an assessment of your body’s specific needs

With limited knowledge of their core, many people do not have the base strength and control to complete core strengthening exercises correctly which can be detrimental to your health.

Whole body vibration therapy and how it can strengthen your core

A great way to get started is to see a Back In Motion physiotherapist for a Free Initial Assessment. Your trained physio will look at how your body moves, assess any injuries and pain you have and educate you about core activation. Your physio can design a series of exercises specific to your body’s needs in some cases, incorporating a whole body vibration therapy machine.

These machines oscillate at frequencies that can turn on your TA muscle. Completing exercises using vibration therapy can train your TA muscle without you even thinking about it. This in turn can help increase your core strength allowing you to complete the at-home exercises safely.

Step 2: Exercises to try at home

Like any other muscle, your transversus abdominis muscle needs to be trained.  There are a few go-to Clinical Exercise exercises which can be valuable for beginnings to try at home. In order to do these exercises you need to be able to activate your TA muscle. It’s important you have a good understanding of your core muscles so in most cases step one above is vital!

Single leg bridges

1. Start lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Maintain activation of TA throughout exercise
3. Slowly raise your hips off the ground
4. Lift one leg off the ground while your hips are raised
5. Lower the leg
6. Lower your hips
7. Repeat with the other leg
8. Repeat 5-10 times each leg

With this exercise be careful not to let your hips drop or raise, they should remain horizontal. You can use your front hip bone as a reference point.

Dead bugs

1. Lie on your back with arms straight in the air and hips and knees bent 90 degrees
2. Maintain activation of TA throughout exercise
3. At the same time, slowly straighten one leg and opposite arm
4. Return to starting position
5. Repeat with other arm and leg
6. Repeat 5-10 times

Leg extensions

1. Lie on your back with hips and knees bent 90 degrees
2. Maintain activation of TA throughout exercise
3. Slowly straighten one leg
4. Return to starting position
5. Repeat with other leg

Bottom line

Strengthening your core to improve your function is very different to an abs workout! Ask your local Back In Motion how it can help make your day easier.

Tung Ngo – Physiotherapist, Back In Motion Aspendale Gardens

Tung grew up in Perth and came to Melbourne to study Physiotherapy at Monash University. His clinical interest areas include lower back pain, neck pain, and lower limb injuries involving the hip, knee and ankle. He is also passionate and keen to explore post graduate education in Clinical Exercise and dry needling. Outside of work Tung maintains his physical fitness with hiking, gym and body weight exercises. He is interested in starting competitive lifting and utilising Physiotherapy and Clinical Exercise to improve athletic performance.