Take 5 PAIN MANAGEMENT Study gets to the core of runners’ back pain A new study from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center examines what may cause chronic back pain in runners and the exercises to help prevent it. Published in the Journal of Biomechanics, the study sug-gests runners with weak deep core muscles are at higher risk of developing low back pain. Unfortunately, most people’s deep core muscles aren’t nearly as strong as they should be. To examine the role of the superficial and deep core muscles, researchers used motion detection technology and force-measuring floor plates to estimate muscle movements during activity. “We measured the dimen-sions of runners’ bodies and how they moved to create a computer model that’s spe-cific to that person. That al-lows us to examine how every bone moves and how much pressure is put on each joint,” said Ajit Chaud-hari, associate professor of physical therapy and bio-medical engineering at The Ohio State University Wex-ner Medical Center, who led the study. “We can then use that simulation to virtually ‘turn off’ certain muscles and observe how the rest of the body compensates.” What they found is that weak deep core muscles force more superficial mus-cles like the abs to work harder and reach fatigue faster. When those superfi-cial muscles are doing the work the deep core should be doing, there are often painful consequences. “When your deep core is weak, your body is able to WHAT’S ONLINE Canadianchiropractor.ca Canadian Chiropractor offers a lot more content on its website. Check out some of these pages the next time you go online. Reporting on the latest developments in health care as well as trends in practice News Video Job board Looking to hire or want to make a career change? Check out the online job board for the latest opportunities or post your job for free. Watch short features, practice advice and event highlights from the video archive compensate in a way that al-lows you to essentially run the same way,” Chaudhari said. “But that increases the load on your spine in a way that may lead to low-back pain.” Experts say it’s common for even well-conditioned athletes to neglect their deep core, and there is a lot of misinformation online and in fitness magazines about core strength. Traditional ab exercises with a large range of motion, such as sit-ups or back extensions, will not give you the strong core needed to be a better runner. Instead, Chaudhari said exercises such as planks that focus on stabilizing the core, especially on unstable sur-faces, are what’s really going to make you a better runner. “Working on a six-pack and trying to become a bet-ter runner is definitely not the same thing. If you look at great runners, they don’t typically have a six-pack but their muscles are very fit,” Chaudhari said. “Static ex-ercises that force you to fire your core and hold your body in place are what’s re-ally going to make you a better runner.” This research was sup-ported by the National Insti-tute of Arthritis and Muscu-loskeletal and Skin Diseases of the NIH. – Newswise April 2018 Canadian Chiropractor 9 Illustration: Brian Fray www.canadianchiropractor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor April 2018: Page 9
