Stabilization Exercises

Exercise Progressions

Hollowing vs. Bracing

Abdominal Hollowing

Abdominal Hollowing

• Explain the following to the patient:

– superficial abdominal muscles ( rectus and obliques) act to tilt the pelvis and move the trunk, but…

– the TrA narrows the abdominal wall to act like a corset and support the spine without producing movement

Abdominal Hollowing

• Four-point kneeling may be a good position for teaching the maneuver.

• The load of the abdominal contents and the subsequent stretching of the TrA in this position may increase the sensitivity of the stretch receptors and thereby increase the awareness of the contraction that needs to occur to “tighten the waist”.

Abdominal Hollowing

• Pt is instructed as follows: “Draw your navel up towards your head and in toward your spine without moving your pelvis. Continue to breathe normally as you do this.”

• After quadruped position, the patient can be progressed to prone and then supine.

Common Substitutions

• Pelvic Tilt

– only uses rectus abdominus

– cue pt. to maintain a neutral spine

• Holding his or her breath

– keep the patient talking to remedy this problem

– cue the pt. to count aloud during exercise

Bracing with Heel Slide

Bracing with Bridging

Bracing with Single-Leg Bridging

Bracing in Quadruped

Abdominal Bracing • Bracing should eventually be incorporated

into more functional activities for the pt.

• For example--if the pt. c/o pain while sitting at work, the bracing procedure should be advocated for use in that position to control symptoms.

• The ultimate goal is to re-train the TrA to work in the intended feed-forward pattern.

Curl-Ups

Curl-Up Intermediate

Curl-Up Advanced

Quadruped Exercises

Quadruped-Hip Extension

Bird Dog

Poor Form

Advanced Bird Dog

Advanced Bird Dog

Side Bridge

Side Bridge-Knees Flexed

Side Bridge-Knees Extended

Remedial Side Bridge

Remedial Side Bridge

Remedial Side Bridge

Remedial Side Bridge

Intermediate Side Bridge

Advanced Side Bridge

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