Sitting Up for Core Control

r_fat_catMom was always telling me to sit up straight at the dinner table and as a kid I never understood why it was so important. Now I teach my clients the benefits of sitting and standing tall to keep their pelvic floor and core muscles continuously active in their endurance mode. This inner cylinder of muscle switches on when we become upright each morning and responds with higher bursts of activity depending on the task involved.

Try this quick activity with your clients to reinforce why posture correction is an essential daily habit to maintain core muscle endurance. Sit on the edge of your chair and become aware of what happens with your pelvic floor muscles with changes of position. Go into a full slump then grow tall through the crown of your head. Try this action again and become aware of how the pelvic floor relaxes with slumping and then firms when you sit tall without any effort to actively contract these muscles.

Years ago I was involved in a study demonstrating this effect.  Pelvic floor muscle activity was recorded via a vaginal electrode and when subjects were fully slumped minimal electrical activity was recorded from the pelvic floor. When asked to sit ‘tall’ they fired off high levels of electrical activity.

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Published on Sep 19, 2010
Author: MaryODwyer
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Mary,

Terrific post! I wholeheartedly agree with the importance of sitting upright. I always tell my patients that they should be doing core work all day long by focusing on sitting, standing, and walking properly. Until one masters these seemingly trivial tasks, only then do I start incorporating more involved exercises. The unfortunate reality of the situation is that people seem to only think about their core when they are at the gym and end up doing exercises that are most likely detrimental to their musculoskeletal health. Look forward to hearing more from you in the future. Feel free to check out my website as I think you will really enjoy a lot of my blog posts under the “Critter’s Corner” Tab. I am really fascinated about the harm of the seemingly innocuous daily activites that humans perform. Hope you are well otherwise
http://www.chrisjohnsonpt.com/critters-corner

posted by Chris Johnson on 09.20.10 at 5:41 am

I totally agree with you and teach this to my clients! You might be interested in a course taught by Julie Wiebe of Interior Fitness: Dynamic Core Restoration, Moving Rehab & Fitness beyond TA and Kegels http://bit.ly/cUuyAB

We’re on the same page with posture, core and pelvic floor!

posted by Karen, Kaizen Physiotherapy on 09.21.10 at 4:52 am

Hi Chris,

Thanks for directing me to your site! I really identified with Jason’s top 5 benefits of training and love his insightful balanced approach. So true about needing to master inner control first before adding over challenging exercises – bit like trying to master college level work without going through junior and senior high school!
Look forward to more of your site articles and catching up early next year when I’m in NY.

posted by Mary O'Dwyer on 10.04.10 at 12:11 am

[...] Sitting Up for Core Control-Article in PT project [...]

posted by Sitting Up for Core Control-Article in PT project « Movements Afoot’s Blog on 11.30.10 at 5:02 am

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