What is Dynamicore?

Pilates has long been regarded in fitness and rehabilitation as a great method for core strengthening. Practitioners and teachers of Pilates alike use or are familiar with the term "powerhouse," which is analogous to the contemporary term in fitness and Pilates, "core."  

Interestingly, Joseph Pilates never uses the term "powerhouse" in his writings, and in fact, only refers to the trunk once. However, he writes frequently about breathing and the spine. For example, he says, "Above all, learn to breathe correctly" and "If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old; if it is completely flexible at 60, you are young."

With this balance of breathing, spinal mobility and muscle control, Pilates is a perfect example of moving the body in an optimal way--from a dynamic core. 

Often the next word that comes to mind with core is "stability." My desire to move away from the term "core stability" is reflected in my choice of a name for this blog and for my core training system, Dynamicore. "Core stability" connotes the idea that the core is static. One definition of stability is "the quality or state of something that is not easily changed or likely to change; the quality or state of something that is not easily moved." That's not what Joseph Pilates taught, nor is it what we know to be optimal for functional movement.

As a Pilates teacher who has studied Joseph Pilates' original writing and various Pilates schools, I offer this: Mr. Pilates had this right all along. With his emphasis on breathing, posture, motor control, whole body movement, and spinal mobility, he was years ahead of physical education and fitness of his time. In fact, current research is circling back to these very concepts as parts of programs to prevent and treat such a wide variety of conditions as back pain, pelvic pain, hip dysfunction, incontinence, diastasis recti, and even shoulder dysfunction.

This is the basis for Dynamicore--the philosophy and basis of Pilates combined with contemporary research on the core into a movement system. This system can be used by Pilates teachers, physical therapists, yoga teachers, personal trainers, or any other movement expert to help their clients or patients breathe and move better.  Dynamicore provides a knowledge base, systematic assessment, and training of the core for optimal movement strategies, whether practicing Pilates, yoga, weight training, or rehabilitation as the main activity. It is a complement to these other disciplines.

What is the core?

The term "core" can mean different things to different people. Here, and in most Pilates schools, the core refers to a group muscles that research has shown, when functioning optimally, engage before movement occurs in the extremities. Your brain knows to fire these muscles before anything moves. 

The Anticipatory Core 

The muscles of the pelvic floor, transversus abdominis, diaphragm, and multifidi make up the anticipatory core. These muscles are key stabilizing* forces for joints in the trunk and pelvis. The core muscles are tonic muscles, meaning they are postural muscles that are working continuously. They do not need to be strong; they merely need to be trained to be functional.

Some fitness professionals and other experts refer to additional muscles as part of the core--for example, the internal and external obliques and the rectus abdominis.  For clarification, when I use the general term “core”, I refer to the deeper postural muscles as a group also referred to as the anticipatory core.

When the core has become dysfunctional, retraining happens with conscious breathing, identification of the individual parts of the core, coordination of the core muscles, and finally, integrating movement patterns with breathing and core engagement.  

As Joseph Pilates says, one works on movements until they are "correctly executed and mastered to the point of subconscious reaction."  This “unconscious competence” is the goal in learning a new skill, and it is particularly important for the anticipatory core muscles, which need to fire before movement occurs, and should be unconsciously working all the time.

Correct breathing is the first step to having a functional core. The major muscle of respiration is the diaphragm, so that is the first key player that sets into motion the other players of the core team. With the inhalation, the diaphragm descends, allowing air to fill the lungs, and sending the abdominal organs downward. The pelvic floor receives the abdominal and pelvic organs by eccentrically loading. On the exhalation, the pelvic floor rebounds, the diaphragm ascends back up into the ribcage, and the abdominal and pelvic organs return up and in. The transversus abdominis (TvA) facilitates the exhalation by narrowing the diameter of the abdominal canister, and by doing so, tenses the thoracolumbar fascia. The multifidi, now squeezed by the fascia, contract to segmentally stabilize* the spine.

Julie Wiebe refers to the cranio-caudal movement mechanism of the diaphragm and pelvic floor as the "Piston."  She says that the "gears" of the core team need to work together, starting with the breath and diaphragm/pelvic floor piston. Isolation of specific core muscles, particularly an over-emphasis on the TvA in rehabilitation of back pain or core strengthening programs, or kegels for pelvic floor muscle strengthening, is not an optimal approach.  

Reminding us that we cannot strengthen a muscle that our brains cannot activate, Diane Lee  stresses for many people these deep core muscles need to be activated first through imagery and intention--connecting the mind and body in order to activate muscles that may lie dormant.

Many Pilates teachers give the cue "inhale to prepare."  I love this and I use it a lot, because it sets up the core to do its work. We've all heard that we should exhale on the point of exertion, so this makes perfect sense. Using this cue also makes sure that we start with the breath. Julie Wiebe takes this a step further and adds, "blow before you go," meaning to start the exhale before actually moving. I find that helpful when working with clients who need a little more connection to their anticipatory core. Once we have set the body into motion, we continue a breathing pattern that matches or complements the movements for that exercise or exercise series.  Moving with the breath is one of the key tenets of Joseph Pilates' teachings: in Return to Life, every exercise instruction for movement is preceded by a breathing cue.

Where some Pilates teachers have deviated from Pilates' original teachings in this regard, most likely due to the fitness and rehab worlds' enthusiasm for the TvA, is in an over-emphasis on this deep abdominal muscle. Some teachers have learned that the abs must "draw in" at all times. This practice can lead to excessive intra-abdominal pressure, bracing, gripping, or over-recruitment of the abdominal muscles. We know these now to be a non-optimal strategies for the core. Research indicates that anticipatory postural adjustments (contraction of the diaphragm, TA, and pelvic floor) involve movements and not rigidification ("stability," not easily moved) of the trunk. Once the client's breathing pattern has been assessed and addressed if necessary--and breathing most often does need to be addressed--and proper core strategy has been learned (tuning up the core through awareness, gentle movement and imagery), there is no need to continually "pull in the abs."

Postural habits, breathing patterns, movement patterns, and injury can all cause the anticipatory core not to function optimally. We know that the multifidi cease to function after an acute injury, the pelvic floor muscles can become dysfunctional, and the transversus abdominis can be overpowered in excessive abdominal workouts or non-optimal movement strategies. The diaphragm, while known mostly for its respiratory function, is also a postural muscle; however, as respiratory demands increase, the diaphragm shifts its function to respiration. In other words, breathing wins. Therefore, if you are breathing in a way that causes your diaphragm to stop working optimally, the function of the diaphragm is likely to shift to just breathing, rather than contributing to postural support. Injury can also cause alterations in breathing patterns. 

Moving with a flowing breath pattern and in optimal postural alignment, as Joseph Pilates teaches, is enough to ensure the anticipatory core is working. The Pilates Method philosophy combined with contemporary research on the core form an ideal system to train an optimal core strategy, Dynamicore. 

*I used the term "stabilize" here. Stability is what joints need, in this case vertebral joints, when placed under load.  There needs to be a balance between stability and mobility in all joints--it's when there is too much or too little of one that results in faulty biomechanics and eventually injury. This idea is part of what I refer to as an "optimal movement strategy."

Resources:

• Julie Weibe, Physical Therapist: https://www.juliewiebept.com/
• Diane Lee, Physical Therapist: http://dianelee.ca/article-core-training-versus-strengthening.php
• Leon Chaitow, Osteopathic Physician and Naturopathic Doctor, published author on breathing http://leonchaitow.com/2013/05/02/four-exercises-for-better-breathing/
• Paul Hodges, Physical Therapist and researcher on the core: http://www.bettermovement.org/2012/review-of-paul-hodges-talk-on-motor-control-part-one/
• Joseph Pilates, Return to Life: http://www.amazon.com/Return-Life-Joseph-H-Pilates/dp/0976823209

Heroines and Heroes

Who is your hero? Can you think of someone who has inspired you today, or in your life in general?

Every day I get to work with amazing women and men who inspire me: my clients. I consider myself fortunate to be able to draw upon their life experiences, to enrich and inform my own and pass on inspiration to others. They are my heroes.

The work that I do requires that I come from a place of empathy. As a Pilates teacher with a focus on post-rehabilitation exercise, I find that many people come to me after having an injury that has stopped them in their tracks, or has altered their ability to function on a daily basis for years. I've striven to understand what it might be like all of a sudden to be unable to do the things you love to do, to live with constant pain or to face life-threatening, chronic, or terminal illness, as many of my clients have.  

It takes courage to heal--it is much easier to let an injury or illness take over and control one's life than it is to resist and put more energy into healing.  I admire their strength to forge ahead despite the obstacles that lie in their path to wellness.  

Having a reputation as "the patient one," I've had clients who were in need of careful instruction, sometimes spending half a session or more on just breathing and teaching very simple movements for weeks, months, or years. But this is the work I love and feel passionate about. I have a fresh start, an opportunity to reshape a person's experience of her or his body. People who have been in pain sometimes develop a fear of movement, and I have to help them trust their bodies again. This means moving slowly, and the very act of conscious breathing can be the catalyst to reconnecting with and trusting their bodies.

Rebuilding trust in their bodies not only requires empathy and patience, but also creating a safe place to share stories. When a new client comes to me, I take time to listen to her or his story. What brought them to me? How can I help them? This is particularly true for those with chronic pain: they need to share their journey. They've often been passed from one health care provider to the next, been diagnosed and labeled, and may feel as if no one understands them. If they have been referred to me from one of the talented physical therapists with whom I work, they have received good care and treatment, and are on the path to healing. What I provide at this point is a bridge from their experience as a "Patient" to one of a "Pilates student." This change in designation alone can help shift their perception of their bodies and themselves.  

Sharing stories also means that a client may need just to talk some times. I am not a psychologist and I refer my clients elsewhere when I feel they need help beyond my scope, but I can listen as a fellow human being, a friend, and someone who can try to understand. We feel better when we talk to someone who actively listens.  If a catharsis is what a client needs that day, I am happy to facilitate it.

To the clients who have shared with me their stories, allowed me to help them along in their process of healing, taught me patience and empathy, I thank you. You are my heroines and heroes.