3-dimensional exercising keeps patients fit
By Marc Golub, DC

Back pain is perhaps the most common and pervasive of complaints. Reportedly, more than 65 million Americans suffer from it.

A study by the Medical Research Council published in the online edition of British Medical Journal showed that chiropractic care was the treatment of choice for chronic low back pain.

However, this same study noted that for maximum patient improvement, exercise protocols needed to be added to the chiropractic manipulative therapy.

The most common exercises your patients engage in include lifting weights for strength, aerobic exercises for conditioning and yoga and stretching for strength and flexibility.

All of these exercises are good and work toward improving the major muscle groups in the chest, back, shoulders, arms, thighs and calves. But in this chic world of “hips, abs and glutes,” some muscles — the deep spinal muscles — remain forgotten. Yet, those “out of sight” muscles are important to spinal health to avoid back pain, since it is the spine that is primarily responsible for all bodily movement.

MULTI-DIMENSIONAL MOVEMENTS

Traditional core fitness is mostly one-dimensional. (Think “bench press” or “leg extensions” in pilates.) What is needed to improve core fitness, specifically deep spinal muscle fitness, is to introduce movement of the spine along three axes — sagital, coronal and longitudinal:

• Sagital axis. This is a horizontal line from the body’s front to back, at midline. The action movements along this axis in a coronal plane are abduction and adduction.

• Coronal axis. This axis extends horizontally from side to side. Flexion and extension are action movements in a sagital plane.

• Longitudinal axis. The vertical line that extends in a cranio-sacral direction is the longitudinal axis. Movements of medial and lateral rotation take place about this axis in a transverse plane.

To explain to your patients how multi-dimensional exercise works, ask them to visualize using a wobble board or its high-tech cousin, an oscillating platform. These devices, through their inherent instability, cause a kinematic muscular reaction in which the spine strives to maintain equilibrium.

When the body is put in a state of imbalance, it utilizes two methods of dynamic rebalancing: It coils forward/inward and it extends backward/outward. This pushing and pulling causes the deep spinal stabilizing muscles to act on the intervertebral disc, while facilitating full range of motion and the articulation.

This action creates an instantaneous, coordinated raction in bodily movements. The result of this muscular chain reaction: The deep muscle chains — specifically those crossing at the center of the body in the area localized between L3 and the pubic symphysis — become strengthened.

One 10-minute period of bodily movement and training three times a day, every day, is a good prescription for your patients.

Marc Golub, DC, ACE, has provided personal care to top athletes, the elite in the entertainment industry and corporate clients for 10 years. As part of his current practice, Santa Monica Pain Management Center, he focuses on wellness and teaches employees at major corporations a variety of movements and stretches as a way to prevent injuries and increase productivity. He can be reached at 310-274-6726.