| Anybody who has had a physical injury has | | | | When exercising, people place quite a bit of |
| probably worked with a physical therapist in an | | | | importance upon cardiovascular training and |
| attempt to ensure that it is possible to fully | | | | endurance training. The strength core training is |
| recover from the injury. If the injury was | | | | usually a second thought, which is tragic because |
| extreme, it is likely that the physical therapist | | | | the stronger a person's core, the easier |
| implemented a system of rehabilitation that was | | | | cardiovascular and endurance training become. |
| centred on a core strength training system. | | | | As a patient works with a physical therapist, that |
| Core strength training is a type of physical training | | | | physical therapist will probably teach them to do |
| in which a person works to strengthen the | | | | the following exercises (or a variation thereof): |
| muscles of his physical "core": the muscles in his | | | | Ball crunches: crunches done while sitting on an |
| or her abdomen, back and shoulders. It is from | | | | exercise ball. This way the lower back muscles |
| these muscles that other muscles find strength, | | | | are worked as well as the muscles of a person's |
| which is why the torso of the body is referred to | | | | frontal abdominal region and shoulders. |
| as a person's "core." | | | | Push-ups. Push ups force a body to balance its |
| The reason it is so important for therapists to | | | | weight through the trunk and then balance that |
| implement a regimen of core training into all of | | | | weight upon the body's arms and toes. The |
| their patients' therapy programs is that a person's | | | | back and the legs do not carry the weight, they |
| core is often responsible for facilitating the | | | | simply help distribute it. Planks are a variation of |
| movement of the rest of the body. The legs | | | | the push up that can be done by those not yet |
| cannot move without the cooperation of the | | | | strong enough to bear their weight on their arms. |
| lower abdominal muscles and the thigh muscles. | | | | When a person's core is strong, he/she no longer |
| The arms cannot move without the upper arm | | | | has to worry about whether or not his skeletal or |
| muscles working in tandem with the shoulder | | | | muscular alignment is correct, because a strong |
| muscles. If a person's core is not strong, he or | | | | core naturally aligns the body. A strong core is |
| she will not be able to physically recover from the | | | | better able to handle weight and movement, |
| injury as well as if the core was strong enough to | | | | which makes it easier for the rest of the body to |
| support them. | | | | function properly. Successful rehabilitation is |
| In all likelihood, it was probably a weak core that | | | | dependent upon a person having a strong core |
| facilitated the patient's injury to begin with. | | | | upon which to build his/her other muscles. |