Spinal Stabilisation?

[Guest guest]

Casler wrote:

> Hi , what (and why) about this exercise could cause " the potential for

> low back trouble " ?

wrote

<There is a tremendous pressure trying to force the lumbar spine to become more

concave than it should be.

If you don't contract the glutes hard in a 'pelvic thrust' type action and use

partner or visual feedback

to keep an eye on the lumbar area, the discs could undergo a most unfortunate

uneven compression.>

Casler writes:

Actually I think the tension in the abdominus rectus will balance the lumbar

dorsal accentuation which is actually caused by the psoas (and gravity)

here. Tensioned gluteals provide a more stable femur/hip for the hip

flexors (psoas) to tension against. So the tensioned glutes actually

contribute to accentuating the lumbar curve. They also add a bit of

stabilization the sacrum, so they need to be tensioned.

If the lumbar curve is too exaggerated it is probably due to weak abs, since

the bodyweight and the psoas both provide a force on the lumbar spine, while

the abs (particularly the Rectus and the Internal Obliques) provide a

stabilizing balance against that force.

Casler wrote:

> I am also curious about the phrase " a strong

> isometric/stabilizing stimulus

> to the lats, various

> scapulae-torso muscles and the glutes " .

>

> Could you explain what " stabilizing effect " you are

> seeing here? What body

> area is being stabilized?

wrote:

<I'm not seeing the effect, I'm feeling it. I suppose

you could let your shoulders scrunch up around your

ears, but I don't think that's a very safe position

for the shoulders to receive force.

<snip> I strive to keep my scapulae in roughly

the same position they would maintain if I was

standing at military attention (Forward Mountain).

The yoga theory of optimal shoulder function that I

learned maintains that the shoulder will work better

and be more injury resistant if one learns to move the

shoulder primarily at the glenohumeral joint, not the sternoclavicular.>

Casler writes:

What I was looking for here was a little recognized property of lat

activation in lumbar spine stabilization. I have seldom seen the tensioning

of the lats referred to as a lumbar stabilizers and THEY ARE.

When the humerus is relatively fixed, tension on the lats will offer some

spinal stability due to the interlaced insertions on the posterior lumbar

spine. Especially if this is in coactivation with the TvA (and other abs)

which tensions the thoracolumbar fascia to the anterior lumbar spine you

have a very nice stabilization mechanism. Now of course this is not

happening in a vacuum (excuse the pun) and other stabilizing actions (and

pressures) are occurring as well.

Thanks for replying.

Regards,

A. Casler

TRI-VECTOR 3-D Force Systems

Century City, CA

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