I’m currently getting a degree online @oregonstate. there are lovely forced discussions we have to have weekly in most classes. It’s an annoying task, but we must comment on other student’s posts. This week we had to pick a rehab exercise that transferred over to an injured knee on a bowling patient. The student who I responded to picked a medicine ball-type toss exercise but said how the person really needed to focus on their core for the exercise. I responded by saying “I push back a little on really focusing on the core for the exercise its something IMO that is over-emphasized in rehab, especially if the main focus is working on the injured knee”
the teacher who is a MPT and I’m currently a PTA responded to me this
"On a personal note - If someone has to be reminded of their core too often … then the exercise is too difficult. In general, if we are moving arms and legs in opposition the core will turn on. AND you run the possibility that they will OVER tighten their core and end up in a posterior pelvic tilt with weight anteriorly and bending and then you have a disc injury. "
I received this before my midterm and my brain went absolutely nuts during the whole test just ranting in my brain about it. I think I will try to be smart one time in my life and not respond but it’s been eating away at me.
JB,
Welcome back to the forum. Good to see you!
I agree that “emphasizing” the core, e.g. cueing it/discussing it, etc. too much during exercise is in error most of the time. The exercise and its constraints have a series of demands that force the body to figure out a way to do it. With respect to the core, it’s definitely “on” if it’s resisting or assisting movement. I don’t know that cueing, especially if it doesn’t improve efficiency in a way that allows for higher demonstrable force production, does anything…save for giving the coach something to do.
To your instructor’s comment, I would like to see one example of someone “overtightening their core” and developing posterior pelvic tilt, along with a definition of both. Absolute gibberish lol.
-Jordan