Hi! I’m Dr. Austin Abbruscato, a chiropractor with the Wellness Lounge! Let’s start this blog off with a little test! Who knows what a “ball and socket joint” is? Which joints in the body come to mind?
…that’s right! Shoulders and hips. Now, question 2, worth one million points, what buzzword is in between the shoulders and the hips? I will accept torso, but the answer we were looking for today wasss….your CORE! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, your core, hips, and shoulders are all constantly working together and today we will get a little insight as to why.
When we think of “core” our minds usually drift right to the abdomen. But if we want to be complete, we need to think of the core as a cylinder instead of just one plane on our body. Our abdomen, low back, pelvic floor, and diaphragm all play a huge role in a solid core, and when one part is weak, another area needs to take up the slack. A weak belly is usually accompanied by a tight and painful low back. This concept can be applied to the body as a whole, when the core is weak, now the shoulders and hips will work harder to pick up the slack. This is where chronic tight hips and rotator cuff injuries live.
But there’s an easy fix! Especially when caught early on (before an injury occurs). Back to the basics core exercises such as curl-ups, pelvic bridges, side planks, dead bugs, and bird dogs have all been proven to improve low back pain, posture, and hip mobility without the use of drugs. Now combine these functional movements with chiropractic care and we’ve created a recipe for wellness!
