Somewhere along the line, we have all heard someone telling us the importance of having a "strong core”. This term has increasingly become a trendy buzzword, and now a huge number of exercises and movements are being classified under their umbrella, for better or worse.
So one may ask, what exactly is core strength? The not-so-simple answer to this is that scientists can't agree on a universal definition for the term, and many seem to have a different answer to the question.
I am sure we can agree that the trendy term, “core strength” seems to describe the musculature of the trunk, especially those fundamental in stabilising it. When the body has good core strength we cannot deny that movement is more efficient and the body is better protected from injury. A scary statistic is that 80% of people describe having back pain at some point in their life. The abdominals are the muscle group that supports the back and takes the pressure off the spine. It is for this reason that it is typically the focus of a back rehabilitation programme. Due to the structure and shape of the spine, the abdominals give support to the lower spine, while the mid-back and upper back support the upper spine.