Are core strength exercises causing your back pain?

As a Yoga Teacher, watching most people doing sit-ups and other core
strengthening exercises incorrectly is one of my worst nightmares.
So instead of turning away and allowing it to happen, knowing that person
will most likely be having or will have back pain in the near future, I feel
that it’s my duty as a fitness professional to do all I can to stop people
from unintentionally hurting themselves over and over again.

So I thought I should provide and share the information and tips that can
turn all of your core exercises into safe, successful and more effective core
work. Here are the top 4 mistakes most people make when doing core-
strengthening exercises.

1. Abdominal Doming

Ever heard a teacher say draw your navel to your spine? Well it wasn’t just
to make you work harder.

Not doing this actually means you are not supporting the spine (particularly
dangerous in exercises like Plank), and you are also not training the
muscles to be flat or for the muscles fibres to come together. This can
actually cause the muscles fibres to become weakened therefore doing the
opposite of what you intended to do.

But let me be clear about something: drawing the belly button in doesn’t
mean sucking in your tummy and breath as though to look as skinny as
possible. Absolutely not! The ribs should stay connected into the
abdominals as though you were tightening a corset.

At the same time, the pelvic floor muscles should be engaging and lifting.
This important action helps to activate the lower abdominals and core
muscles (therefore also supporting the lower back) as well as provide
support from the downward pressure that would otherwise cause
weakened pelvic floor muscles.

So take your time to do the exercise and make sure the belly button is
drawing into your spine just enough to keep the abdominals from doming
outward. Use one hand on the stomach during the exercise to check if the
abdominals are pushing out.

2. Arching Back

This is another common mistake and a major cause of back strain and
pain. It occurs when the back is allowed to arch when the core is under
tension say for example in exercises such as Plank and Leg Lowers.
This causes the lower back muscles to come under extreme strain from
being the main area holding the weight of the body or the leg. It is a clear
indicator that the core is not actually working or supporting the back.
When performing movements in which the legs lower toward to the ground
and putting more effort into the lower abdominals, there are 2 things to
remember:

1. Use your core muscles correctly as described above (i.e. Pelvic floor and
stomach flat)

2. Only taking the legs down as low as you can keep the stomach flat and
your back flat on the ground or in a neutral position where there is little
or no tension in the lower back muscles.

3. Neck Straining

Neck pain can occur at the back and front areas of the neck. Both are
usually caused by incorrect head placement when performing any exercise
that requires lifting your head off the floor from a laying position.
Excessive nodding or pulling with the hands on the back of the head can
over-compresses the discs between the vertebrae in the neck. Pushing the
chin up or forward puts increased strain on the neck muscles. Instead,
there should always be a small space between your chin and chest about
the size of a plum.

Start the exercise with a small nod of the chin keeping your head on the
ground. Then as you lift up off the floor, keep the same alignment of the
head and neck. Try to focus on lifting using the abdominals, not the neck.
Remember pushing your face forward only makes it seem like you’ve lifted
up higher.

Placing the hands below the base of the skull, can help to reduce the strain
on the muscles of the front of the neck. However it is important to allow the
head to stay heavy and relaxed in the hands and not to use the hands to
pull the head forward or up. Arms can alternatively be placed at the sides of
the body or crossed at the chest to stop from doing this.

4. Overuse of the Hip Flexors

The group of hip flexor muscles cross the front side of the hip joint. They
are highly used in everyday activities such as walking, running, climbing
stairs or any activity that lifts the leg forward and up.

The mistake that people often make when doing abdominal exercises such
as crunches or leg lifts, is that they tend to use their hip flexors more than
their abdominal muscles, therefore once again not really accomplishing the
objective of the exercise.

Take for example an exercise like chest lifts with the legs at a table-top
position. The objective is the lift the head and the chest without moving the
pelvis. If you were to try and lift higher than this, it may seem like you are
working harder and doing better, but it’s actually just “cheating” as the
hip flexors now are doing that work.

This is why it’s encouraged to either keep the pelvis and lower back in
neutral or to remain in a flat back position throughout the entire exercise.
The same incorrect muscle activation occurs also in exercises that require
the legs to lift off the ground. By not initiating the movement from the core
or by swinging or throwing the legs up, the strong hip flexors do most of the
work and not the intended muscles of the abdominals.

Not only does it then become less of an effective exercise for the core and
abdominals, but it can also be a factor causing lower back pain. Strong and
tight hip flexors can cause the pelvis to shift from its ideal neutral position,
leading to a shortening and tightness of the lower back muscles which
causes sore muscles and unevenly distributes the pressure on the shock-
absorbing discs between the spinal vertebrae.

This is not say that the hip flexor muscle group should not be exercised or
strengthened. Particular posture types require a strengthening of the hip
flexors in order to correct postural imbalances.

However, repeated overuse in exercises such as these are not beneficial to
the strength of the core nor are they an ideal way to strengthen the hip
flexors if that is what is required.