Anti-Extension Core Rollout

2/6/2013

When we think of core strength or stability I think there is a general misconception that everyone has a flexed posture. While it may be true very often, I have had a few athletes and patients who exhibit that excessive lumbar lordosis posture. You can typically see it with their standing posture but it often becomes more evident when you get them exercising. Anti-extension core exercises can be a way to correct this deficiency.
Many low back injuries can occur as a result of uncontrolled extension, rotation, or flexion. Therefore we must consider thinking about core training in these 3 realms. When working with your athletes or patients, consider if they are too lordotic or too flexed. Furthermore, consider if rotation is something that is inhibited or uncontrolled. Core training is about motor control and increasing hip mobility and lumbar stability together so that a complicated movement can occur fluently.
To perform this exercise take a stability ball or ab wheel. Instruct the athlete or patient into neutral spine to begin. Cue them to keep that neutral spine or "flat" back throughout the exercise. When they begin to substitute the rollout ends. We want to work on controlling that lumbar extension in this exercise.

2 Comments

Seth SPT, CSCS

2/6/2013 11:49:48 pm

Great suggestions for core strengthening! I think just intentionally getting out of excessive lordosis every once in awhile would go well with these exercises.

I herniated my L4/L5 disc about ten years ago, and have typically been weary of allowing my spine to enter into any abnormal amounts of flexion due to the radicular symptoms that happen. However, I've definitely found recently that a little posterior pelvic tilting with ab engagement (anti-extension of L-spine) helps to keep me from always having an excessive lumbar lordosis. As we learned early on in PT school, the chin tuck cervical mobilization exercise is one of the best you can do for bad neck posture because it helps to pump nutrients and flush out the bad stuff in the cervical discs. It's definitely similar for your lumbar spine in my experience--a little "anti-extension" mobility can go a long way in making you feel better and keeping your discs healthy. What do you think?

Brian

2/10/2013 01:11:18 am

Hey Seth,

Thanks for the comment. I think the important thing is that we make sure that if we do have an athlete/patient who exhibits that excessive lordosis we choose exercises to correct that situation. As far as disc health goes, if someone who exhibits that excessive lordosis ends up with a disc herniation posteriorly in a lower segment like L5, the extension exercises we try to give them might not target the lower segments well. Just finding a neutral spine first would go a long way. With healthy individuals, a little anti-extension mobility can be good no doubt.

-Brian

Anti-Extension Core Rollout

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