Abdominal Hollowing
Starting
Position
- To perform abdominal
hollowing, get onto your hands and knees with hands under your
shoulders and knees under your hips.
- Tuck your chin in so that
you are straight from your head to your hips.
- Find your lower back's
neutral position such that your lumbar spine is not sagging, but also
not arching up.
Action
- Concentrate on your
navel area, and pull that region in and up.
Perform this exercise several times so you get a feel for the movement.
Try and hold this position for as long as you can.
Prime Movers
- Transversus abdominus,
internal obliques, slight external oblique activity
Physio Tips
- Your lower back, chest, and
pelvis should not move during this exercise.
- Use a mirror or get some
feedback from a friend to ensure you are doing it correctly.
Progression
- Try abdominal hollowing in
sitting, lying down, standing, and while moving.
Dynamic
stabilizing
exercises are now integral in rehabilitating back
injuries. The muscles around
the
spine must work together in synchrony to maintain a stable spine. Just
one inappropriate contraction can alter stability. When we pull open a
door, reach for something, lift our leg to get out of a car, etc, there
is a specifically timed sequence of muscle contractions that occur in
the muscles around our spine to control stability. Any history of
injury, inflammation, or pain, can cause this sequence to be disrupted
leaving our spine less stable and more prone to recurring injury and
pain.
We
teach this exercise in the clinic because it activates the deep core
musculature without loading structures in the spine that may cause
pain. This exercise does not focus on strengthening, but simply
control, and awareness.
This
exercise is fundamental to all core
stabilization. This exercise
activates the deep transversus abdominus without causing lower back or
pelvic movement, and minimizes activity in the larger, more superficial
muscles. Once you know what it feels like to engage your
transversus abdominus it can
become automatic prior to initiating any exercise.
Hold
this position for 10 seconds.
Hold
this position for 60 seconds.
Hold
this position for 3 minutes or more.
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