"Tuck your pelvis and press your lower back firmly into the floor." This once common cue sounds familiar to anyone who took dance or exercise classes during the 1970s. As fitness research evolved, physical therapists questioned the wisdom of annihilating the natural curves of the spine. The debate over the efficiency of the neutral versus the imprinted spine position during core exercise remains contentious among fitness professionals.
Three Spinal Curves
Your spine has three natural curves. Your neck or cervical spine curves inward. Your middle or thoracic area curves outward and your lumbar or lower back area curves inward. The stability of your structural architecture depends on the correct balance among those three curves. When balanced, your spinal curves act as shock absorbers, which protect your spinal discs from injury. Minor changes in the spinal curves create a domino effect, which whacks your entire spine out of alignment, and impairs your movement mechanics during core exercise.
Spinal Stability
Your deep core muscles, such as the transversus abdominus, the internal obliques, the multifidus and the pelvic floor, support your spine in the neutral position, says British track and field coach Brian Mackenzie. In contrast, your superficial abdominal muscle, called the rectus abdominus, supports spinal flexion, which is the movement used during the abdominal curl. While imprinting your lower back into the floor might engage your rectus abdominus, doing so might eliminate the need for core muscle co-contraction, which is necessary when your spine is in the neutral position.
Exceptions
Excessive curvature of the lower back because of injury or heredity might make it impossible to achieve a neutral spinal alignment. Balanced Body Pilates instructor-trainer Portia Page, author of "Pilates Illustrated," suggests that students place a rolled up towel under their arched lower back. She calls this the supported neutral spine position. Exceptionally weak core muscles might make it difficult to stabilize the spine, says Moira Stott, creator of the Stott Pilates technique, a strong advocate of the neutral spine position. Stott makes an exception to the rule in this situation. She encourages teachers to have these students work in the imprinted position, until they gain the core strength necessary for performing core exercises with a neutral spine.
Bottom LIne
While most instructors favor the neutral spine for core exercise, many admit to using a case-by-case scenario. Some use the neutral spine position when their students lie supine, with at least one foot on the floor, but switch to an imprinted position when both legs are in the air. If your core muscles are too weak to support your spine in the neutral position, practice core muscle isolation exercises. Take a breath in, then exhale and draw your belly button toward your spine. Breathe normally and hold the contraction for 10 seconds. Perform this basic exercise 10 times a day.
Member Comments