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THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO ABDOMINAL TRAINING
(the transversus abdominis, multifidus and internal obliques) and the surface abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis and external obliques). When abdomal hollowing (see exercise 15) the internal oblique muscles work harder than the rectus abdominis muscle in most people. However, in people who have suffered long-standing lower back pain, the internal obliques work less and the rectus works more to try to compensate so that, as well as being weak, an imbalance is created between the two muscles (see fig. 17.1). In order to correct this imbalance, therefore, we must increase the work of the internal oblique muscles, and reduce the work of the rectus. Strengthening both
muscles will leave them stronger, but still out of balance. It is also vital to distinguish between the deep muscles and those on the surface during training. The same researchers7 looked at a 10week programme using 15 minutes of core stability exercises (especially abdominal hollowing) daily, and compared this to a gymbased programme involving trunk curls and weights. Over the training programme, those using core stability exercises showed a dramatic increase in the activity of the internal oblique muscles but little change in the rectus. Those on the gym-based programme, however,
Fig. 17.1 Abdominal muscle action in lower back pain
Strength of muscle contraction
0.9
Rectus abdominis
0.8 Internal obliques 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Normal people
7
People suffering from long-term back pain
O’Sullivan, P. B., Twomey, L. T., and Allison, G. T. (1998), ‘Altered abdominal recruitment in patients with chronic back pain following a specific exercise intervention’, Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy, vol. 27, pp. 114–24
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