Unlocking Your Core: How Chiropractic Care Can Restore Communication Between Your Brain and Body
- 21 hours ago
- 3 min read
Imagine your body has a safety mechanism that turns on your deep core muscles before you even lift a finger, all without you thinking about it. This is known as "feed-forward" activation, and it's a vital part of staying injury-free.
Did you know there's a stack of scientific research showing how chiropractic care can positively affect many aspects of health and function? Let's look at one fascinating study involving muscle function for body stabilization.
The Core Study: Measuring Your Hidden Safety System
The muscles deep in your abdomen (your core stabilizers) need to be "turned on" before you lift your arms for stability. This has to happen extremely fast and unconsciously. Scientists call this "feed-forward" activation, because your central nervous system pre-plans it without you even realizing.
Researchers found a striking pattern in a group of 90 healthy students. Seventeen of them—nearly 20%—were unable to pre-activate their core abdominal muscles before moving their arms. That lack of co-ordination significantly increased their risk of injury. Six months later, when the researchers tested 13 of those same students again, they found that none of them had improved on their own.
The Chiropractic Solution: Restoring Optimal Function
So, what was the underlying issue? To find out, the students received a thorough chiropractic assessment. It was discovered that all of them had tightness and restriction of joints in their pelvis. In chiropractic terms, they were subluxated.
And guess what? After just four chiropractic adjustments, there was an almost 40% improvement in their ability to pre-activate their core abdominal muscles. That's pretty phenomenal!
Why It Matters for Performance and Prevention
This study has massive implications. These students were completely pain-free at the time, but scientists think that poor control of the core muscles may be a primary cause of future pain and injury.
We already know that people who have low back pain have delayed activation of their core abdominal muscles. We also know that their brains are much less aware of what is going on in their lower backs. This means that their brains are not receiving or processing accurate information from the small muscles close to their spine. Their brains essentially have to guess what's going on, which leads to suboptimal control of the lower back and potentially further damage.
This is why chiropractic care is essential. It can restore proper communication between your brain and your body. By correcting subluxations, chiropractic care helps your brain to accurately perceive what is happening, allowing it to control your entire body in the best possible way.
Keep your "feed-forward" safety system active to stay injury-free.
References
Hawk C, Khorsan R, Lisi AJ, et al. Chiropractic care for nonmusculoskeletal conditions: A systematic review with implications for whole systems research. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2007;13(5):491-512.
Marshall PW, Murphy BA. Muscle activation changes after exercise rehabilitation for chronic low back pain. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation 2008;89(7):1305-13.
Hodges PW, Richardson CA, Hodges PW, et al. Inefficient muscular stabilization of the lumbar spine associated with low back pain. A motor control evaluation of transversus abdominis. Spine (03622436) 1996;21(22):2640-50.
Brumagne S, Cordo P, Lysens R, et al. The role of paraspinal muscle spindles in lumbosacral position sense in individuals with and without low back pain. 2000;25(8):989-94. doi: 10.1097/00007632-200004150-00015
Dr Mark has a special interest in helping recreational athletes of all ages perform better and prevent injury. Correct breathing and postural alignment are critical for top performance and injury prevention and is an integral part of “The Over 40 Athlete System” that Mark has developed.
Dr Julie has a special interest in helping mothers and “mothers to be”. Her Post Graduate qualifications in Paediatric Chiropractic and as an ex-midwife give her a unique ability to help pregnant women, new mums and their young children.
Yours in Health,
Dr's Mark & Julie
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