I’ve been learning core stabilization exercises for my back. It’s supposed to help reduce my back pain. Each exercise starts with me sucking in my stomach but without holding my breath. What’s the point of this exercise? How does it work?

Core training or spinal stabilization is not a new concept but it has really caught on in the last few years. The idea is to contract the deep muscles of the trunk such as the lumbar multifidus (LM) and the transverse abdominis. This has the effect of increasing the stiffness around the spine and reducing painful motion at the spinal joints.

The first exercise taught in spinal stabilization is the abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM). The patient pulls the belly-button in toward the spine while still breathing in and out. This exercise teaches the patient how to activate these two deep trunk muscles. It’s done without contracting the other abdominal or trunk muscles.

This exercise helps you become more aware of your own control over selected muscles. Improving control of muscle activation has been shown to reduce low back pain (LBP). Following this program consistently has also been proven to reduce future episodes or recurrence of LBP.